Nov. 19 The Big Tell at the Tower Theater showing Kings County Local Filmmaker Silvia Gonzalez S.

The Big Tell is the only annual film festival in the region which exclusively features Central Valley filmmakers and their stories. Led by the Community Media Access Collaborative CAC and supported by the Foundation with generous financial support from the James B. McClatchy Foundation, TBT offers ten local filmmakers the opportunity to produce a mini-documentary that features Central Valley stories. This time Kings County is included.

Silvia, from Hanford Multicultural Theater, is one of the ten. She filmed “Retired and Inspired: A Town Transformed by Senior Creativity.” The logline is: In the quiet town of Hanford, California, retirees breathe new life into their community by embracing the arts, led by 71-year-old Sigfredo, who takes an unexpected leap into stand-up comedy, proving that it’s never too late to chase a dream.

Launched in 2017 by the Central Valley Community Foundation and now managed by CMAC, ten area filmmakers are selected to film stories about people, places, history, and future of the Central Valley. Winners have 3 months to complete their short films and receive one-on-one mentorship from Emmy-nominated

documentarian Sascha Brown Rice.

The ten films are showcased at the annual The Big Tell film premiere at the Tower Theater on Wednesday, November 19. The address is 815 E. Olive Ave, Fresno. Doors open at 7pm. The public is invited!

The other films are Karina Ezitis’s “The Joy of Lao.” Naindeep Singh’s “The West Was Ours Too: From Forgotten to Khalra’s Fresno” Debra Youngquist “Happy Trails: Where Every Stride Transforms.” Kristin Lesko“Still in Print.” Christine Rose’s “Stories in the Soil: Where the Delano Manongs Rest, Their Stories Rise.”Jeremy Miller’s “Rhythm in Motion. Culture in Power.” Adam Perez’s “The Last King.”  Marcos Dorado’s “The Reel Story: All About Family at the Madera Drive-In” Jackie Schuster “Growing Forward.”

Silvia says she interviewed as many as 30 seniors clenching the arts for her project and promises to launch a 35-minute version of the same film later in Hanford.