North Hollywood While attending film school at New York University, Tracey Adlai learned early on that she was not cut out to be a director. But the San Fernando Valley native wanted to stay involved with film and took her talent for event planning to start the Valley Film Festival in 2001. Now in its sixth year, the festival took place Sept. 13 to 17 at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, a 1920s-era theater that once hosted silent films and vaudeville acts. “I like meeting the filmmakers and seeing their passion and enthusiasm for their art,” Adlai said. In an area where film festivals seem to be a dime a dozen the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival and Method Fest, held in Calabasas, take place every spring Adlai’s creation sets itself apart with a focus on local filmmakers and promoting filming in the Valley. A mix of independent and studio films, shorts and feature length work makes up the festival’s schedule. The filmmakers range from those who have been nominated for the industry’s top awards to those whose names are virtually unknown. In past years, the festival included a “Valley After Midnight” showcase for what Adlai termed “racier” films in a nod to the Valley’s position as a chief supplier of the world’s adult entertainment. For this year’s festival, Adlai included a screening of “World Trade Center” to coincide with the launch of NYU’s West Coast alumni programming. The film’s director Oliver Stone is an NYU alumnus. Other screenings included “Mojave Phone Booth,” by John Putch, who also had a film in the 2003 festival; a series of eight horror and thriller shorts; “Reach for the Sky,” a documentary on school teacher turned astronaut Christa McAuliffe; and “Chasing the Horizon,” a documentary on the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race. Putch, a Studio City resident, said the festival is just one stop of many for his film about the interaction between four people and a phone booth in the Mojave Desert. The festival also gives filmmakers a chance to interact with each other, Putch said. “It reminds me of a high school or college play,” Putch said. “The filmmakers show up and cheer each other on.” The festival is funded through Community Partners, a not for profit organization, donations and out of pocket money, Adlai said. Ideally, Adlai foresees linking the festival with a resource center to connect filmmakers with each other and allow them to pass along information and tips about what actors to work with and good areas to film. The center would also promote filmmaking in the Valley. At least half of the films included in this year’s festival were made somewhere in the Valley, Adlai said. The Valley should attract filmmakers because every community within it is different, from east side where Studio City is the trendy area to the West Valley with its ranch-like settings, Adlai said. “It’s so big that you’ll be able to find a pocket to suit whatever it is you are looking for,” Adlai said. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Gallery: Art lovers and others will have an opportunity to peek into the studios of 45 San Fernando Valley artists next month at the Valley Artists Studio Tour. The tour, which is in its fifth year, is sponsored by The San Fernando Valley Arts Council, a non-profit group that helps to fund music and art education projects with the proceeds from the event. Participants can meet the artists and have an opportunity to purchase art work from them. Tickets for the tour, which will take place on Oct. 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. are $20 in advance and $25 on the weekend of the event. They include both days and a reception and benefit art sale on Saturday night, Oct. 14. For more information: (818) 572-3150 or www.sfartscouncil.com. Burbank TKO: North Hollywood entrepreneur Hector Galvan has a little fight in him. The owner of Prime Building Materials is a boxing fan, regularly sponsoring events in the area. The latest features middleweight Miguel Espino, a former contestant on NBC’s The Contender, versus Rigoberto Placenia. Both hometown boys, Espino, from North Hollywood, is 12-6-1 with three knockouts and Placencia, from North Hills, is 10-6-1, also with three knockouts. The event takes place Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Burbank. Tickets, which can be purchased at Prime at 6900 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, are $35 for general admission; $55 for reserved seating and $75 for ringside seating. For information: (818) 612-9296. Encino Anniversary: Kosmont Companies, a real estate and economic development consulting and research firm, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Founded in Burbank, Kosmont, which now is headquartered in Encino, has most recently focused on the Renaissance Community Fund, which develops workforce housing in infill markets, mixed-use, downtown revitalization projects and industrial and business parks. “Many small and midsized communities have derelict or underutilized parcels of land that have stubbornly resisted attempts to put them to productive use,” said Larry Kosmont, who is managing partner with RCF. “RCF assists cities in addressing this problem by developing innovative public-private transactions that help realize the optimal development or re-use of these dormant assets.” Glendale Trade: Citigroup’s Global Transaction Services unit has opened a West Coast trade service window here. The units will enable clients to process letters of credit locally, shortening processing time for the transactions, bank officials said. The Glendale location joins an existing location in Tampa, Fla. and a new location in San Francisco. Northridge Scary: Northridge Fashion Center is kicking off its Fall Festival Oct. 12. The event includes food exhibits and activities such as pony rides and a Ferris Wheel. The shopping mall will also host The Haunt, a Halloween attraction with special effects, and a graveyard maze. Woodland Hills Investment: Fidelity Investments has opened its new investor center in Woodland Hills, one of 111 such centers around the country. The newly renovated center, among many units the company has refurbished, provide increased privacy for clients, centralized technology areas, and on-site seminar facilities. Financial seminars and presentations are planned to help celebrate the grand opening of the new facility on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. Santa Clarita VALLEY Newhall Kung-fu: City officials are looking for a temporary site for a martial arts museum. The museum would house Kendo costumes, swords, martial art films and other relics that have been part of a traveling exhibit for the past two years. A permanent site for the facility, founded by museum President Michael Matsuda, is part of the Downtown Newhall Redevelopment Project. Santa Clarita Trolley: A new trolley will be making its way through Santa Clarita come next year. The City Council on Sept. 12 approved a transfer of a Santa Clarita Transit bus for a federally-funded trolley bus owned by the Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority being used in the High Sierra. The 35-foot red and green trolley will now wend its way from the Town Center to the Valencia Industrial Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays free-of-charge. It will also be used to promote public transportation and appear in various parades and other events. Conejo VALLEY 25 Years: City officials, business leaders and ordinary residents on Sept. 10 celebrated the 25th birthday of Westlake Village, which in 1981 was incorporated as Los Angeles County’s 82nd city. Westlake’s development dates to the mid-1960s by the American Hawaiian Steamship Co. Today, the city has just 8,300 residents and measures less than six square miles.
