Cal Poly Student Film to be Shown At Santa Barbara International Film Festival Feb. 3, 6

SAN LUIS OBISPO -"Leave it to Chance," a film by Cal Poly alumni and current student filmmakers, has been accepted by the 21st Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The romantic comedy will be screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Center Stage at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, and 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 6. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is Feb. 2-12 in Santa Barbara; venues include the Arlington Theatre and other downtown cinemas.

"Leave it to Chance" premiered in spring 2005 at the Performing Arts Center on the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo, and screened at the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival last fall.

The film was financed, written and produced by Cal Poly students with a cast comprised entirely of student actors from the university. Several have graduated, but several more are current Cal Poly students; all were involved with the Cal Poly Film Club.

Many of the "Chance" cast and crew members will be attending the festival, including Bernard Badion (director/writer), Stephen Heraldo (Charlie), Eileen Chiao (producer), and Santa Barbara native, Katrina Dela Cruz (Christine).

The Cal Poly group financed the romantic comedy that totaled $35,000, from preproduction to postproduction, primarily by personal funds from director Badion of Sunnyvale and cinematographer Benjamin Kantor, as well as by fundraisers and donations from private businesses and other sponsors.

During production, the cast and crew were all attending Cal Poly, majoring in fields unrelated to film or theatre. The self-taught filmmakers came together on weekends, holidays, and during free time between classes and part-time jobs. With support from residents and business in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Sunnyvale, and Lake Tahoe, the students shot the feature-length film on a production budget of $15,000.

Tickets and film festival schedule and details are available through the festival Web site at www.sbfilmfestival.org.

About the film
The student filmmakers have taken "Chance" on the road to colleges across the country, personally financing the tour. The film has been seen at Sacramento State University and San Francisco State University. It is scheduled to appear at University of California, Davis (Jan. 26), University of Urbana-Champaign in Illinois (Feb. 17), University of California, San Francisco (Feb. 21), and Marquette University in Wisconsin (March 3-5). Additional locations will be available at a later date at the film's website.

The romantic comedy revolves around character Charlie Vallejo, a mild-mannered, 20-year-old Filipino American, going through something that college-aged students often go through, a break in his relationship with girlfriend Kailin Villa Cruz. Visit the film Web sites, www.leaveittochance.info and www.myspace.come/litc, for more details.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Dedicated to the art of filmmaking, the festival offers a broad array of international and independent films, with a commitment to diversity. It attracts more than 43,000 visitors each year. The festival endeavors to enrich the community both culturally and economically by presenting 10 days of films, seminars, symposiums and parties. Films from American independents to major studio releases, to award-winning foreign films and international documentaries, cinephiles have the opportunity to discover mainstream and alternative films, as well as meet the filmmakers and talk with them after screenings. SBIFF is in its' 21st year.

Festival Box Office Information
Pre-sale tickets for events are on sale NOW at the official SBIFF Box Office, toll free 888.456.2376 or local 805.963.0761 or visit www.sbfilmfestival.org. Box Office is located at Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
For any questions call the Festival Office at (805) 963-0023 or visit the website www.sbfilmfestival.org.

- # # # -