Sitting in an open field by an evening fire under the almost full moon of a September sky in Bolinas, Enzo Resta and Chealy Jean were enjoying one of their jointly shared creative quarterly film retreat weekends, a structured period of time they had established for themselves as filmmakers to brainstorm, co-inspire, and support each-other in all things film related. The moon was illuminating the natural landscape and Enzo shared his vision to bring a film festival to the community.

 

        Both Chealy and Enzo agreed that there was only one path forward: to create the festival. Enzo, with his lifelong and important relationship with the history of Bolinas, is committed to supporting the cultural and storytelling identity of the village. Chealy was called to help bring people together to create and celebrate art, and to provide a platform for creatives to share their work.

 

        With their shared love of film as a medium for storytelling and creative expression, they knew that they would give shape to the ideas that were coming forth. In 2022, The Bolinas Film Festival, Inc. incorporated as a non-profit entity and they spent the year refining the vision of the festival, which includes the multi-day festival event, free community screenings of films throughout the year, film education, and local experience immersions that celebrate the local community and the environment.  In 2023, the inaugural launch of the festival happened and it is now going strong in the community.