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When Tony Gapastione first attended the Sundance Film Festival, he was captivated, feeling “empowered” in a community of filmmakers and artists like himself.
He told all of his friends, trying to convince them to experience it just as he had, but he would “always hear similar complaints from people in the Bay Area.”
“(They’d say) ‘it’s too cold, it’s too expensive, and sometimes not accessible for people who have disabilities,’” Gapastione said. “And I thought, ‘what could I do to create something that would meet all those needs, (provide) all that inspiration that I got and community that I felt?’”
So he took it upon himself to bring a unique festival experience to the Bay Area.
“The Bay Area already has great festivals and film communities in San Francisco, the East Bay and San Jose, but I noticed I could fill a gap on the Peninsula and when it came to a consistent focus on justice, diversity, and inclusion,” he said.
So, he organized the first ever BraveMaker Film Fest in 2019, hoping to create an experience that centered community and uplifting brave voices.
Held in Redwood City, the film fest provided workshops, screenings, networking events and community for local filmmakers. After that first film fest, Gapastione felt “exhilarated.””
“People kept coming up to me saying, ‘We need more of this,’” he said. “Are there thousands of film fests in the world? Yes. But we were crafting a community for people to belong and create together (and hopefully find support and resources). … That’s when I knew: this wasn’t a one-time thing — it was a movement.”
BraveMaker has only grown from the first film festival. It is now a nonprofit organization that hosts monthly screenings, teaches acting and screenwriting classes, awards sponsorships for films, and even hosts a podcast, all on top of continuing the annual BraveMaker Film Festival, which will be hosted once again in Redwood City this year, July 10-13.
Community is what drives BraveMaker, as being an artist can be “a really tough calling,” according to Gapastione.
“I want to build a community that is not islands, and not isolated and full of people who hoard their resources,” he said. “I want to be a part of a community that shares their resources and gives encouragement. It looks people in the eyes and says, ‘you belong here, and how can I help you?’”
This year, Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin will be attending and screening her new documentary, “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.” Along with an Academy Award, she has earned a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award, and has starred in “CODA,” “The West Wing,” “Children of a Lesser God,” and more. She is also known for her activism and advocacy for the deaf community in Hollywood and beyond.
Of course, many of the other films screened will also feature brave stories, whether of domestic violence, educational disparities, grief, disability, and so much more. First-time attendee Luke Kreger will be screening his short film, “The Print in the Woods,” a love letter to his childhood in Iowa watching movies about cryptids like Bigfoot and the Mothman. The film, only about 12 minutes long, took more than six months to complete.
“This is sort of a story about somebody who’s so locked into their own belief systems that they don’t consider any other possibility that it’s a hoax or it’s fake,” he said.
“The Print in the Woods” was a Bay Area operation in many ways. The film is set in a redwood forest, and the crew filmed near the Chabot Space & Science Center just east of Oakland. Bay Area artist Skinner, a friend of Kreger’s, designed the costume for a monster in the film. His producer, Sam Hyatt, is also a Bay Area resident, based in San Jose.
An Oakland resident himself, Kreger’s connections to the Bay Area community inspired him to submit his film to the BraveMaker Film Festival.
“I’m a Bay Area local, and so going to the festival and getting to meet other local filmmakers is sort of a perk of it,” he said. “There’s a lot of benefit for filmmakers to attend and get to know other future collaborators and get closer to the community.”
Gapastione and the BraveMaker team begin planning the following year’s festival almost as soon as the previous year’s festival wraps. Their staff of 15 and three directors join a team of over 50 volunteers to organize every element of the festival, “from ASL interpreters to popcorn machines,” as Gapastione said.
The BraveMaker team is also making use of venues all over Redwood City. For example, there are screenings at the Fox Theatre and the Redwood City Library, comedy shows at the Alhambra Irish House, and artists’ meetups at coffee shops like Coffee Bar and Con Azucar.
“Using multiple venues helps us meet different audiences where they’re at — whether they want the big, theatrical experience or a cozy, community gathering,” Gapastione said.
The festival will feature 99 films, with special screenings for Bay Area-made films, comedy films, films produced by the BraveMaker Academy – their acting and film school. Beyond just screenings, the festival will also have panels and workshops with industry professionals from Los Angeles, and a Pitch Fest. This year, there are even art exhibitions and stand-up comedy shows.
Gapastione hopes the BraveMaker Film Festival will give attendees whatever they need, be it networking, funding, or even hope.
“They’re discouraged,” he said. “The world … is just a very challenging place, and they need to come and be reminded that they’re not alone, that life can get better in stories. Films can really do that for people.”
As the film fest touches more and more artists, Gapastione hopes they can find a haven and a community with BraveMaker.
“I want to create spaces that really make people take a breath and feel, ‘I can become whole here, and my creativity can not just be a burden but can actually be a blessing and a gift to me and to the world,’” he said.
BraveMaker Film Festival takes place July 10-13 at venues in Redwood City. Admission to most screenings, panels and workshops is $25 per event. For tickets and a full schedule, visit bravemaker.com/film-fest.
