Poppy Jasper International Film Festival director Mattie Scariot remembers growing up in Gilroy, California and feeling like she could never be connected to the film world.
“At 10 years old, I wanted to be a director of films, and I was in this community that was like less than 10,000 people,” she said Friday. “It was so small that we had one place that everyone bought their clothes, so we’d show up to school wearing the same thing. That’s how small it was.”
The town was Gilroy, an agricultural community famous for garlic and other spices. It’s grown, and so has the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival. At Friday night’s opening gala of the festival’s 20th edition, Scariot looked out at a crowd of filmmakers from around the world, who enjoyed local wines in Morgan Hill’s lovely CURA Contemporary Art Gallery before they moved across the street for more celebration at the 103-year-old — and beautifully updated — Granada Theatre.
Poppy Jasper has come a long way, and so have the communities it serves. Founded by film and TV industry veteran William W. Leaman, it was initially based in Morgan Hill and named for semiprecious poppy jasper stones, which are found almost exclusively in the town and are known for spherical shapes similar to those of poppy flowers.
Maddie Scariot on Expanding the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival
When Scariot became the festival’s director in 2018, she expanded it out from Morgan Hill to include nearby Hollister, San Martin, San Juan Bautista, and her hometown of Gilroy. She realized that its stunning location — notable for long stretches of breathtaking, rolling hills — could make it a destination festival like those in Santa Barbara and the Napa Valley.
Once a sleepy agricultural region, it is now just south of Silicon Valley, within commuting distance for those seeking a softer, more natural way of life away from the tech sector. And it still has plenty of locals who make a living on farms, vineyards and restaurants — Scariot notes that it has recently lured several Michelin star chefs.
The fest, which recently made MovieMaker‘s list of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals, has a similar blend of comfort and innovation. Scariot especially aims to provide a platform for discovering films by women, people of color, and other underrepresented filmmakers. The guests and speakers at the latest edition include representatives of CAA, Buffalo 8, Festival Formula and more, as well as Grammy and Emmy winners.
“We are just as cool as anywhere else in the world, and that’s the most beautiful thing— and that’s what we celebrate here, not just films from all over the world, but our local filmmakers, and our culture — which is ag and and our farm workers — to our politicians and everyone that creates this community.”
The latest edition of the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival features more than 300 films, and the smart programming includes assured features like American Comic, docs like Voices: The Danny Gans Story, and impressive shorts like “Clean Girl.” On Tuesday, it will host a special 3D screening of Amanda Lapore’s The Crown with a Shadow and the Search for Self, and will present its Icon Award for Lapore, a club kid-turned-artist known for collaborations with Elton John, David LaChapelle, Paul Reubens, and more.
The festival draws talent from afar, but also lures people home. Friday’s events at the Granada included two songs from Grammy Award-winning music executive, record producer, and songwriter Randy Spendlove, who served as president of Worldwide Music and Publishing at Paramount Pictures for more than two decades.
On Friday, he noted that he started his music career playing backyard parties with a band based in Morgan Hill.
“Some of the people that were at those keg parties are here tonight,” he noted, before unveiling “To the Stars,” a song commissioned for the festival on which he was one of several collaborators.
You can learn more about the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival here and read more of our festival coverage here.
