CLU hosts first Conejo Valley Film Festival

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Oct. 23, 2012) The first Conejo Valley Film Festival, featuring Hollywood productions that were shot locally, will be held from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, Nov. 10, at California Lutheran University.

The cultural and educational event will offer screenings of five films in which the Conejo Valley plays a role, often in disguise. The festival will provide an opportunity for a wide range of audiences to sit together and view vintage Hollywood movies, sharing the experience of seeing local hillsides and namesake oaks. Each film will be introduced with stories about the role of the Conejo Valley in the filmmaking process.

“Doctor Dolittle,” which will appeal to children and families, will open the festival at 10 a.m. Shooting on the film began in England and the West Indies, where the crew encountered terrible weather and had trouble getting animals. The production went three times over budget and was forced to resume in accessible locales of the Conejo Valley with animals from Jungleland.

“The Adventures of Robin Hood” will be shown as the matinee feature at 1 p.m. Errol Flynn played the swashbuckling character of mythic proportions, galloping through forests of oak trees and an undeveloped Lake Sherwood in the movie that gave the area its name.

“Wuthering Heights,” a story of passionate and doomed love, will be shown at 4 p.m. Wildwood appeared as the Scottish Moors, with purple dust applied to tumbleweeds to make them look like heather, in this film starring Laurence Olivier and released in Hollywood's greatest year, 1939.

“Spartacus,” which will start at 7 p.m., is the quintessential epic featuring some of the most well-known actors of all time in armor, sandals and robes. The heart of ancient Rome was recreated in the hills of the Conejo Valley. The film is historically significant as it marked the end of the Hollywood blacklist.

“Sleeper,” which will be shown at 10:30 p.m., was made in 1973 when Baby Boomers were coming of age and Woody Allen was in his prime. This movie shows his vision of the future of the world.

Co-sponsor CLU will show all the films in the Preus-Brandt Forum, which is located south of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Prices range from $5 to $10 per movie. Tickets and more information are available at http://www.conejovalleyfilmfestival.com.