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Creative Tornado Known as the Fringe Festival Comes to San Diego

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Affordable prices, no holds barred subject treatment and engaged audiences

By Mukul Khurana

If you were asked to describe what Fringe Festival was about, you might say that it’s an art festival that fosters genres as diverse as dance, drama, comedy, music, buskers and more. With a strong focus on artists, creativity, and community, the San Diego International Fringe Festival is a progressive undertaking (and as the name states, it has an international scope). But you would be missing the point.

On the opening day of the 2015 San Diego International Fringe Festival (SDIFF) on Thursday the 23rd of July, you would have witnessed the return of the 2014 SDIFF award winner Jack Lukeman. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Luke would have seduced you with his smooth accent and beautiful music. He presented Phantasmagoria as songs of “wickedness and wonder.”   [Read more…]

La Jolla Playhouse’s ‘Come From Away’ is a Different Take on 9/11

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By Mukul  Khurana

On 9/11 of 2001, Gander was discovered by America. To put it correctly, this small Canadian town on the island of Newfoundland was rediscovered by America. It is the location of Gander International Airport.

Here comes an important fact—it was, by virtue of its geography, an important refueling site for transatlantic aircraft as they had to stop somewhere after crossing the ocean.

Here is another fact—most of the streets in Gander are named after aviators—Earhart, Lindbergh, Yeager, and the like. To this day, Gander International Airport still serves as the airport of choice when it comes to medical or security emergencies–hence the 9/11 connection.   [Read more…]

If You Google “Pint of Science…”

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By Mukul Khurana

Pint of Science is not the kind of event one thinks of when looking for things to do around town. But San Diego is changing. Not only has the cultural and art scene been steadily changing for the better in the past decade or two, but even the content is getting “meatier.” Cleverly, one of the first events locally was titled: “Science of San Diego: Beer, Brains, and Beaches.”

That describes San Diego pretty well and it also shows that the organizers have a sense of humor. The idea of pairing beer and science makes sense as a way of making the average San Diegan interact with science on a casual basis. Not all of us are involved in PhDs.   [Read more…]

San Diego Latino Film Festival 2015 Wrap Up

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By Mukul Khurana

In case it wasn’t clear—The San Diego Latino Film Festival went through some big changes this year. The main change was the venue—from Hazard Center to Fashion Valley. Phil Lorenzo was on hand to explain the logic behind the move. Hazard Center wasn’t big enough to accommodate the growth expected over the next few years. As Exhibition Director, Phil has to look to the future of the festival. Besides the growth expected, there was the issue of working with sponsors (Lexus and Microsoft come to mind). Phil added that even the possibility of working in their storefronts was an option—moving into the mall from the theaters to a minor degree.   [Read more…]

Change Is Still in the Air for San Diego Latino Film Festival 2015

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By Mukul Khurana

Day 3+ began with EN FAMILIA, the shorts program meant for the whole family, which had some charming and funny entries: CHULA (Puerto Rico 2014) directed by Victoria Sorberal, was one of those funny and entertaining shorts. Bebo can’t be found on his wedding day! Various detours later, it is a happy wedding. But first…

Also from the islands, THE EXTRAORDINARY MR. JUPITER (Puerto Rico 2014) directed by Federico Torres Fernandez turned out to be a lovely magical tale of romance. True love is hard to find—but not if you are a magician. ***** Life can be cruel. Sometimes, only flowers can soften the blow. In EL MAESTRO Y LA FLOR (Mexico 2014) directed by Daniel Irabien, a teacher must decide what he is willing to give up for love.
  [Read more…]

Change is in the Air at the San Diego Latino Film Festival 2015

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By Mukul Khurana

It seems hard to believe that the San Diego Latino Film Festival has been around for 22 years, but it’s true! But with full adult status, come some growing changes. In the background since last year, a transition has been achieved from the Hazard Center to the Fashion Valley Center. But those are not the only changes to be felt.

Phillip (Phil) Lorenzo has returned to SDLFF as Exhibition Director after a seven year absence during which he worked with SDAFF. One other thing that was different this year—it didn’t rain to mark the beginning of the festival. Instead, we were in the throes of a heat wave courtesy of our Santa Ana winds (in keeping with climate change predictions).

The people who braved the heat were rewarded by the usual excellent shorts on the first day in the form of DOCU-SHORTS. The unusual mix included a short about the decline of marriage and partnership over time, a maternity home for pregnant women in Cuba, and a photographer’s story (a man in Castro’s rebel army), among others.   [Read more…]

It Almost Always Rains on the Second Day of the San Diego Latino Film Festival (in Otherwise Sunny Southern California)

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By Mukul Khurana

It’s true! As long as I can remember, it has rained in normally sunny San Diego. This year was no different. The weather forecast predicted rain at around 10:00 PM. On the dot, on the way to the opening party at Café Sevilla it started raining heavily. O.K.—so it might not always be the second day…

But that didn’t stop hard-working Lou Diamond Phillips, Sergio Arau, and Yareli Arizmendi from making appearances and mingling. As the San Diego Latino Film Festival celebrated it’s 20th year in 2013, the party kicked off another great year of Latino films, art, and music.

As we wrap up 11 days of culture, it is a good idea to reflect as to what two decades of the festival have brought us. A lot has happened from the days of a student film festival held at the University of California San Diego.   [Read more…]

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