SAN DIEGO — It was supposed to be a big first moment for San Diego filmmakers but the coronavirus pandemic changed things.
“We got such a high feeling of accomplishment," said Aldo Sandoval.
Sandoval and his upcoming filmmaker partners at the University of California San Diego were ready to see their short film played on the big screen at the 27th annual San Diego Latino Film Festival.
Their 10-minute short film about Chicano Park and Salvador Torres, a local muralist who grew up in Barrio Logan, had been picked among hundreds of entries. But then came the coronavirus.
“It was supposed to be a celebratory moment for our festival and kind of turned into a bit of a nightmare,” said Moises Esparza, from the Media Arts Center of San Diego.
“We were definitely heartbroken that you know we felt in a way, we were letting down San Diego and it's filmmakers,” he told News 8.
The in-person plans were canceled in March but after some brainstorming organizers decided to take the festival online. A virtual festival ensured its filmmakers and its audience would still have access to the films so many people worked so hard to produce.
“Obviously there was nothing could do about it. We still felt like it was going to come back,” said Sandoval. “And it coming back in a virtual format, we're still very happy about that."
Esparza said he understands how important it is to keep people safe and that festivals are not an option right now.
The virtual festival has a silver lining to what was a devastating situation - films will now be seen by a broader audience.
“We're just happy to have that and even if it's still a virtual festival, still that's huge and we're really excited to be a part of it,” Sandoval said.