Cinequest Film Festival awards Deepak Chopra ‘Life of a Maverick Award’

Today Cinequest announced that Deepak Chopra, who has "transformed the lives of millions," has received the Life of a Maverick Award. The presentation will be held next month in San Jose during the 20th anniversary of the film festival. Chopra was born in 1947 in New Delhi, India, and "has devoted his...

Cinequest Question of the Day #2 – Being unique, managing growth

https://vimeo.com/9137527 It's hard to believe how fast Cinequest has grown in the last 20 years. Halfdan Hussey, co-founder and executive director, told us the original festival drew about 3,000 fans. Last year, even in a tough economic environment, over 80,000 showed. Being in Silicon Valley I'd say Cinequest itself has...

Gone in 60 Seconds: Cinequest, On Location, Animals Out of Paper

https://vimeo.com/9122395 Another week of West Coast living here in the San Francisco Bay Area gone in just 60 seconds. Well, okay, again that doesn't  include the extra blooper stuff at the end, my favorite part. Fans of Cinequest will see a sneak of what's to come in our continuing coverage of...

Tickets & Passes on Sale Now — 20th Cinequest Film Festival

Cinequest tickets, film and event information are now live. Please go here to enjoy a twentieth anniversary line-up that will astound, electrify, inspire, pioneer and make you laugh. Highlights include: Life of a Maverick Award recipient Deepak Chopra Maverick Spirit Award winner Benjamin Bratt with a special screening of La MISSION. Directors of global impact including Dagur...

Cinequest news: Inside the media launch party in San Jose #cinequest #cqff20

https://vimeo.com/9015017 Last night at the Works Gallery in downtown San Jose, the Cinequest team revealed the Film Festival 20 lineup including some of the stars, films and events. Opening February 23, the festival has been extended by an additional day this year to allow for encore screenings and a "Maverick...

Excitement Builds: Cinequest 20 Media Launch Party at The Works Gallery in San Jose

Tonight I attended the Cinequest 20 Media Launch Party at The Works in downtown San Jose. The annual film festival doesn't start until February 23, but already the excitement is building. Outside, city center streets are lined with red and black Cinequest banners. Inside, there was a lot of good...
Cinequest Film Festival 20 San Jose

Cinequest Question of the Day with Halfdan Hussey – #1 Gun shots

https://vimeo.com/8981280 Halfdan Hussey, co-founder of Cinequest and executive producer, took an unusual, but now entirely understandable route into the world of film. Find out how gun shots motivated him to quit driving a taxi in the streets of New York, as we reveal the first "Question of the Day" with...

Maverick poses with co-founder Halfdan Hussey at Cinequest HQ

This past week, I caught up with Cinequest Film Festival's co-founder, Halfdan Hussey at his office in downtown San Jose just before the 20th Cinequest Film Festival sweeps him and his team off into a frenzied tornado of film screenings, parties and camaraderie with other Indie film lovers. Last...

Gone in 60 Seconds: Cinequest, Coupa Cafe, Bay Area Theater

Another week in the San Francisco Bay Area. Gone in 60 Seconds. Despite the rain, we hit the streets; downtown San Francisco, San Jose and Berkeley look even more vibrant when soaked. Just to be clear: no one is ever injured or killed in these videos. Egos are bruised,...

5 day theater recap: Tragedy, tragedy, orthopedic ménage à trois, tragedy, tragedy

This is, dare I say, precisely why we write about more than just theater here on SSC. Wine comes to mind. I'm fortunate it too is part of our repertoire. Especially after an intense 5 days of theater. Tonight, I sense I'll be tasting the hell out of the...