The Festival de Cine Todos Santos
By Bryan Jauregui
Since starting the Todos Santos Film Festival in 2004, Sylvia Perel has become known for escorting famous movie stars and directors through Todos Santos. But her real passion has always been engaging local children in film making through her nonprofit, the AC Escuela de Cine Leonardo Perel (Leonardo Perel Film School) and teaching the power of film to address environmental issues. In 2019 she made Desplastificate the topic of her Cineminuto film competition, and students from across Baja California Sur submitted movies illustrating the importance of eliminating single-use plastics in our state. Next, she almost single-handedly produced Alice in the Land of the Whales, an environmental love letter to Baja California Sur, with local children both behind and in front of the camera. Other environmentally-themed films created by Sylvia’s local students include Open Sky, The Little Prince in Todos Santos and Trapiches de Todos Santos. This year the topic of her Cineminuto film competition is “Our Ocean, Our Treasure,” and again students from across the state are being invited to submit films on the importance of caring for the health of our oceans. The grand prize is a Go Pro 10 camera. The Hollywood Foreign Press gave Sylvia a special award in 2018 for her festival’s focus on community and education.
The 18th Annual Festival de Cine Todos Santos (FCTS) will take place November 3 – 8, 2022. The FCTS will be the biggest to date, with exclusive Latin American premieres, Cuban cinema, special guests, and a huge celebration. For details on the films and events for Todos Santos Film Festival, please visit the festival website at https://todossantoscinefest.org