SUNDAY | BLOCK K | 1:00 |
SOS: The Salton Sea Walk (62 min) dir: Corbin Schweitzer

#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it in less than 280 characters?

As California’s largest lake approaches an environmental point of no return, one man will attempt to become the first person to walk around its hazardous shoreline in order to prevent an ecologic disaster that could impact the entire western hemisphere.

#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?

This is a time-sensitive story that has horrific environmental and health implications should it continue to go unnoticed. It's impact could extend far beyond California's borders and ultimately could impact the entire western hemisphere. From renewable resources to emerging technologies, the Salton Sea is a true “diamond in the rough”, and holds numerous opportunities for improving the economy and ecology of southern California. This film also talks about improving relations between the U.S. and Mexico through an international canal or pipeline, greatly benefiting both countries.

#3: What is your movie making background?  Tell us about yourself.

There are two main filmmakers for this project:

Corbin Schweitzer (Myself) - With over a decade of film production experience, Corbin approaches the creative production process very methodically, combining imagination, strong attention to detail, and a passion for storytelling. His dedicated filmmaking prowess began at a young age, where he was first inspired to pursue his dreams. A degree in Cinema from University of Washington and a Masters in Film production has been the educational foundation cementing his youthful dreams into a firm reality. Today he seeks to provide future audiences with the same awe inspiring experience he had when he went to the theater for the first time. Corbin is a founding member of Black Moon Productions.

Blake Alexander - Blake attended the University of Washington where he graduated with a degree in film. While in school, Blake worked in the local entertainment industry on films and television, and produced several short films and commercials. Blake's approach is that film has a responsibility to be a steward for societal change, in the ways in which we live, eat, and interact with each other. Film has an enormous amount of responsibility to tell a story that is simultaneously entertaining, beautiful, and yet meaningful. It is from this ethos that he approaches his documentaries. During the arduous Walk, Blake joined Randy in the entire trek around the Salton Sea and many training missions. Blake is a founding member of Black Moon Productions.

#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?

In hindsight, we should have tracked, logged, and organized our footage immediately after our shooting days finished. We frequently skipped the "dailies" (or watching over the footage we captured at the end of the day). This unfortunately added mountains of time and effort later in the editing stages. We were forced to painstakingly categorize and sort through each clip and piece of footage to determine the viability and use within the context of the narrative.

#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?

Our plans for this film are to get it into the hands of important decision and policy makers in the hopes of inspiring a permanent and viable solution. For the future, our plans are to return to the Sea and bring to light it's current state of affairs through a story-driven narrative instead of another documentary. We believe a different perspective could help continue to raise awareness without repeating facts, figures, and issues. We also are planning on a separate documentary around the message highlighted at the beginning of the film: water; from the dwindling sources of freshwater, to the importance of what kind of water we drink.