Spring Break
Annual festival kicks off
Megan Wood
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: News
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The festival kicked off with the premiere of Mira Nair's adaptation of author Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Namesake."
The movie is about the melding of cultures, expectations and family traditions among Eastern Indians in America.
Nair's other films include "Mississippi Masala" and "Monsoon Wedding," which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
"It was fantastic - beautiful, I loved it," said Deila Caballero, a senior majoring in television, radio, film and theatre.
Caballero said she has been attending Cinequest since she was a freshman at San Jose State University.
She said this year the company that she works for is sponsoring the event - enabling her to attend the opening night premiere and gala following the movie.
Dana Nguyen, a freshman majoring in liberal studies, said she came to Cinequest last year and enjoyed it so much that she came back this year.
"It was really cool," Nguyen said. "I'm definitely going to try to catch more screenings this year."
After the event, filmmakers and guests joined at Paragon restaurant in the Hotel Montgomery for the opening night gala with appetizers, desserts, cocktails and entertainment.
"This is such a cool event," Caballero said. "The premier and the gala is what everyone wants to go to. … This makes San Jose much more influential in the film industry, and it really puts SJSU on the map as far as schools go."
Thursday night was Cinequest's first ever College Night, with free tickets for college students.
"You Are Here," directed by Henry Pincus, premiered at the California Theatre on Thursday evening.
The film featured Adam Campbell from "Date Movie" and Danny Masterson of "That '70s Show."
The movie is a rehashing of events after an evening of partying, romance and mishaps and is told from the perspectives of the major characters.
"We actually had an idea like this," said freshman Riley Richards, "to make a movie of the crazy things that happen to us … this totally inspired us."
The film was a big hit among those who attended and they expressed their enthusiasm for the film during the question-and-answer session following the film.
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