Julia Morgan
Currently in Development
Julia Morgan is a woman of many "firsts." One of the first female engineering majors at the University of California, Berkeley, the first woman to pass the entrance exam in architecture for the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris (and the school’s first female graduate in architecture), and the first licensed woman architect in California.
Over the course of her 46-year career, Morgan designed about seven hundred buildings, primarily in California, and is best known for her work on Hearst Castle, publisher William Randolph Hearst’s spectacular estate in San Simeon, California, now a National Historic Landmark.
The films have a target audience of 4th through 6th grade students in San Luis Obispo County.
Another film in development explores Julia Morgan's relationship with the women of The Monday Club in San Luis Obispo.
Documentary Screens at Cambria Film Festival and SLO International Film Festival 2023
Something to Crow About
Every October, local artists stage hundreds of handmade scarecrows throughout Cambria, California. It takes about eight months for volunteers to present the Cambria Scarecrow Festival, which a recent USA Today readers poll named one of the top 10 US fall festivals for tourists to visit.
Robin Smith, a local filmmaker, followed the crow makers over the summer as they whipped Mod Podge, pool noodles, CelluClay, and card board into unique works of art.
"Art brings people together."
At the heart of the story are the community artists (many who don't even know they are artists) who meet every day, collaborating on their creations, at a converted storage unit called Dr. Crow. Follow the crow makers as they overcome challenges and find innovative ways to present the Cambria Scarecrow Festival.
"For this film, I figured out quickly that there was little room to maneuver in the Dr. Crow studio. Big tripods and light stands were not possible. Instead, I used a monopod and a Panasonic s5 with a shotgun mic. I also had to go with natural light most of the time and shooting in V-Log made such a difference!"
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival
April 26, 2023
"Having a lean footprint enabled me to become a part of the studio environment and the artists got to a point where they didn't take much notice of me. I think that's one of the strengths of the story.
I captured the work of the crow makers for many months. I was genuinely surprised to experience their joy at creating and collaborating with each other. "Art brings people together."
Something to Crow About premiered at the Cambria Film festival in February 2023 to a packed house!