Dar Miller loves film, but by her own admission, was not born to be a filmmaker.

She learned as much after directing her very own short film last year.

“I realized I wanted to leave the filmmaking to filmmakers that love the art,” said Miller, who has primarily worked in behind-the-scenes film operations in the San Antonio area. “I gained a whole new respect for filmmaking.”
So much so that she has launched the San Antonio Local Film Festival. The event, which takes places on Friday, Sept. 28, at the Aztec on the River Theater, will showcase eight short films from San Antonio directors.

“I think people are excited about the idea of something going on in San Antonio by San Antonians for San Antonians,” said Miller, the festival's managing director. “It's a unique concept in film reaching out to the entire community.”

Miller and her film-selection panel were steadfast in their desire to screen films exclusive to San Antonio filmmakers.

With that in mind, they put forth a few requirements for those who submitted movies for consideration.
Among them:

-Four out of every five positions on a film crew had to be filled by Bexar county residents.

-The films had to be live action and fiction.

-The shorts could be no longer than 20 minutes in duration.

After viewing more than 30 submissions, Miller and her panel from the San Antonio Film Institute selected a Grand Jury Prize winner (first place), a Jury Prize winner (second place), a Jury selection (third place) and five general selections (honorable mentions) to screen at the film festival.

The winner of the Grand Jury Prize was A.J. Garces, whose film “Crush” tells the story of a woman who finds true love while working late one night.

“The cast and crew worked so hard on this film, (that) they deserve most of the credit,” Garces said in a news release. “I'm glad to know that there is an organization such as (the San Antonio Local Film Festival) that is working diligently to put film in San Antonio at the top.”

The other two Jury selections – “The Second Coming” and “Roses and Graves” – are both dramas, though Miller said the honorable mention selections are split fairly even between comedy and drama.

As for the top three Jury selections, Miller isn't shy in declaring her admiration for them.

“They are just beautiful productions, and I think people around San Antonio are going to be really impressed with the level of professionalism,” she said. “I think these top three films are all IFC (Independent Film Channel) material.”

CLINT HALE | 210SA