OC Gente Fading Light by Thien Do

OC Film Fiesta: Fading Light by Thien Do

As a major movie buff, time and again walking out of a movie that I have waited to see for months ends up a letdown. It leaves me wondering if I am going to have that experience that endears me to all of my favorite films. Then came Santa Ana’s OC Film Fiesta running until September 18th, a festival providing movies for free at some of Santa Ana’s remarkable landmarks. From a screening at the Old Courthouse to the newly remodeled Yost Theater, it is a film event catering to classic and independent films.

It began with films such as The Mark of Zorro (1920) starring Douglas Fairbanks, The Mexican Golden Age Classic Bugambilia starring Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendariz, Paraiso for Sale directed by Anayansi Prado a documentary screening at Calacas, The Longoria Affair directed by John J. Valadez and Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) screening of Touch directed by Minh Duc Nguyen at the Yost Theater.

At the “Touch” screening there was a haunting short-film Fading Light directed by Thien Do from Vietnam. It was a reminder of why the Festival Director Sandra Pena Sarmiento and the staff of volunteers labor so hard to put on such a great event.

Fading Light follows a Vietnamese man who revisits his childhood home in Vietnam for the first time since his family fled the country by boat. The film is tense, unpredictable and hard to forget. I believe that is what writer & director Thien Do was going for in creating this 22 minute short-film.

I am just glad to see that with the OC Film Fiesta audiences are being provided a valuable service by getting a chance to catch films that they may never even heard about otherwise.

There are still gems to be caught at the OC Film Fiesta including Harlistas: An American Journey directed by Alfredo de Villa, The Storm That Swept Mexico directed by Ray Telles, The Disney family animated-favorite The Three Caballeros and the “Red Carpet Screening” of White Knight on September 18th.