Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival keeps it local

A scene from "Bodhisattva." (courtesy photo)

WorldFest has sheer volume. The Cinema Arts Festival has sparkle and star power. But the Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival [1] has pure local heart.

The 14th annual event boasts a weekend full of features, shorts and documentaries, all shot in and around Houston or by local filmmakers. (The only exception is “The World of the Fight Doctor.”) The lineup includes University of Houston graduate Baldemar Rodriguez’s “In Search of the American Dream,” an intense drama about a Pasadena family ripped apart by immigration laws; and “Stick ’em Up,” Alex Luster’s acclaimed documentary on wheat-pasting.

Also on deck are two pieces by San Banarje [2], a native of India who has lived in Houston for two decades. The feature “Bodhisattva” was shot in Calcutta, India, and revolves around a woman who blames her father (the legendary Soumitra Chatterjee, in the title role) for her mother’s suicide. The short film “Semper Fi’’ was shot in February in Houston. Both examine the idea of destiny dictating the events in life.

“The inspiration behind ‘Bodhisattva’ is twofold — my years of watching thrillers made by Hitchcock, Melville, Polanski, De Palma and my eagerness to work with Soumitra Chatterjee,” Banarje says.

“Semper Fi” packs several true-crime elements into 16 ominous minutes. Banarje was inspired by an article in the Houston Chronicle about the 2005 death of Marine reservist Nitin Sarangapani, who was shot by his girlfriend’s father just a few days after Hurricane Rita. Sarangapani had just celebrated his 24th birthday. Hardeep Grewal was found not guilty of murder [3].

“The whole city was almost empty, and here is a Marine, who survived bullets in Iraq and survived Hurricane Rita, but got killed by someone he knows very well and lives a block away from his house,” Banarje says.

“I met the guy briefly at a friend’s place a few months before this incident, so this came as a shock. It’s destiny.”

(Ticket prices vary and can be purchases for individual screenings or the weekend. Check gulfcoastfilmfest.com [1] for specific screening times.)

Schedule

Star Cinema Grill,
1020 W. NASA Road 1, Webster
(Beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday)

“Dr. Oscar Griffith: Hollywood Psychiatrist”
“Loop” (feature)
“The World of the Fight Doctor”
“Liz Ub-Caged”
“A Mother’s Lie”
“Semper Fi”
“Asesinato De La Inocencia”
“Flash Mob”
“Simulation 9”
“In Search of the American Dream” (feature)

Villa Capri Restaurante, 3712 NASA Parkway, Seabrook
(6 p.m. Friday)

Meet-and-greet mixer with Brandon Smith, whose credits include “Bernie,” “Lone Star,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Jeepers Creepers” and “No Country for Old Men.”

Star Cinema Grill
(beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday)

“Benjamin”
“12 Hungry Men”
“Wicked Happening”
“Catastrophic Skies”
“Gun Metal Gray”
“Undone”
“Out in the Garage”
“Bodhisattva” (feature)
“June”
“From Fries to Fuel”
“Baker’s Mound”
“Reverse”
“Election Day”
“Playdate”
“El Secreto De Elias”
“Chance 27”
“Alfred Thinks We’re Aliens”

Star Cinema Grill
(Beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday)

“Hidden Hero”
“An Encounter”
“Looking for Dandelion”
“Awaken”
“Burnt”
“Ward 11”
“Guardian Angel”
“The Right Demographic 2”
“Cops & Robber”
“Stick ’em Up” (feature)
“2012 Clean Up”