Lights, Camera, Action!

by Jerry Day, Film Commissioner

We’ve had a busy start to 2013 with three productions in January and another couple in February. Among these were a Dutch film crew’s  Gold Rush story on Woods Creek and a BBC documentary on the grisly Cary Stayner murders, and a SciFi Channel visit to the ghosts of Columbia. In March we have another ghost story, this one a feature film to be shot in just one weekend at the former Tuolumne General Hospital.

I did attend Sundance, both in my capacity as Film Commissioner and Secretary of the AFCI. I also went to support the filmmaker working in our community right now, Chris Brown. Chris edited a film in the International Documentary competition entitled A River Changes Course. I attended the premiere of the film, was able to meet the director and several other filmmakers from the Bay Area. And I’m happy to report that Chris’s film won the competition!

Chris will continue to film with local teenagers throughout the school year and into the summer. He’s been very appreciative of everyone’s support of his project, and is even helping us out further by loaning his camera to shoot our promotional video.