Santa Cruz Film Festival 2009

CLOSING NIGHT

What if you could transform your car into a mobile work of art, and drive it down the street for all to see? What would it look like? What would the world think of you? How would you be changed? Automorphosis looks into the minds and hearts of a delightful collection of eccentrics, visionaries, and just plain folks who have transformed their autos into artworks. Director Harrod Blank, who grew up in Santa Cruz and “slugged” it out at UCSC, realized while in college that his 1965 VW Beetle could be treated as a canvas. The result was “Oh My God!” and it became the catalyst for his remarkable career.

Blank’s 1993 Wild Wheels documented art car and driver culture and, to his credit, over 55 million people worldwide have seen the film. Automorphosis is his soulful follow up opus and features world-renowned spoon bender Uri Geller and his fork-and-spoon-covered “Peace Car,” Howard Davis’ “Telephone Car”, Leonard Knight, a religious folk artist who has painted his vehicles as well as most of an entire mountain in the desert as a testament to his faith and, of course, Harrod’s “Camera Van,” inspired by a dream to attach 1,705 cameras to a 1972 Dodge van (cleverly hiding ten working cameras among the rest).

Weaving his own tale amidst the many others, Blank, as tour guide, is the glue that binds these vibrant portraits. On this humorous and touching journey, we discover what drives the creative process for these unconventional characters. Ultimately, we learn that an art car has the power to change us - to alter our view of an increasingly homogeneous world. Ride on you crazy drivers!

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Following the screening, the Santa Cruz Film Festival Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Party will commence right here at the Vets Building.

Audience Awards and Jury Awards for Best Documentary, Best Feature and Best Environmental Film will be announced and the awards presented to the filmmakers.

Organic Wine by Hallcrest Vineyards, Beer from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and EX Drinks will be available for the celebration of the year.