The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival revealed the five initial selections for the 28th edition of this year’s film festival taking place April 26-May 1, 2022. They include a recent hit out of Sundance, an award winner and an audience favorite from the film festival tour, an indie comedy with some familiar faces, and an international drama.
“This is a great sample-size of films to tease what’s in store for our audiences this year,” said SLO Film Fest Festival Director Skye McLennan. “While we are hard at work to nail down the logistics and production details to make sure we come back in-style and with all the fun and all of the great movie-loving energy that this film festival is known for, ultimately everything we do is built on the films we have selected. And we couldn’t be more thrilled with what we have got in store for everyone.”
Mye Hoang’s documentary Cat Daddies about men who have had their lives changed thanks to their pet catsis already a certified crowd-pleaser on the film festival tour, Justin Monroe’s you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it documentary Holy Frit, about artist Tim Carey and the artistic predicament he creates for himself won Best Documentary Feature at the Naples International Film Festival, and Rita Baghdadi’s Sirens, about the growth pains of the first all-female thrash metal rock band in Lebanon was a critical and popular hit out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
On the narrative side, Fabio Frey’s My Dead Dad, is a classic comic indie about a young man who inherits an apartment complex from his estranged dad and finds out from the tenants that he didn’t actually know the man. Among the film’s cast are Breaking Bad’s Raymond Cruz, Red Rocket’s Simon Rex, and Scarface’s Steven Bauer. Representing the international offerings is Peter Luisi’s Switzerland/Ukraine co-production, Princess, about the unexpected friendship that develops between a broken-down alcoholic and the young niece of his sister. Several years later, the now grown woman is in trouble and the old man has an opportunity to repay for her kindness when he was in need.
2022 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Initial Selections
Cat Daddies
Director: Mye Hoang
Country: USA, Running Time: 89 min
Following a group of firefighters, a stuntman, truck driver, disabled homeless man, tech worker and schoolteacher, Cat Daddies is a refreshing and timely exploration of modern masculinity and the unlikely bond between man and cat.
Holy Frit
Director: Justin Monroe
Country: USA; Running Time: 120 min
In this three-year race against time, talented yet unknown L.A. artist Tim Carey bluffs his way into winning the commission to create the largest stained-glass window of its kind. The problem is: He doesn’t know how to make it. After a desperate search, he finds someone who might have the answer: a famous glass maestro by the name of Narcissus Quagliata.
My Dead Dad
Director: Fabio Frey
Country: USA, Running Time: 93 min
In this charming coming-of-age film, Pedro Correa stars as a young skateboarder who discovers his estranged father has died, leaving him the responsibility of managing an apartment complex in Los Angeles. Forced to quickly grow up, he learns about the dad he never knew through the building’s eclectic tenants and a brief trip to San Luis Obispo (Booboo Stewart, Chris Pontius, Simon Rex, Raymond Cruz).
Princess
Director: Peter Luisi
Countries: Switzerland/Ukraine, Running Time: 101 min
It is the year 1985: Josef (47) is an alcoholic who has given up on life. When his younger sister moves into the same house, an unexpected friendship develops between him and her 4-year-old daughter, Nina. Thirty-five years later the two meet again. Nina is in trouble and Josef, now 82 years old, sets out to help her.
Sirens
Director: Rita Baghdadi
Countries: USA/Lebanon, Running Time: 78 min
On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and her thrash metal bandmates, Shery, Maya, Alma and Tatyana (Slave to Sirens), have big dreams but few opportunities. When the band’s appearance at a UK music festival isn’t the life-changer they had hoped for, Lilas comes home to Lebanon on the brink of collapse. At the same time, the complicated friendship between Lilas and her fellow guitarist Shery starts to fracture. The future of her band, her country and her dreams now all at stake, Lilas faces a crossroad.