It was a full house at the opening night of the California Independent Film Festival at the Rheem Theatre in Moraga on Thursday night.
A reception was held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. inside the theater. At 7 p.m., the festival's first film -- Le Week-End -- was shown.
The Thursday night opening was complete with red carpet, photographers and spotlights.
Joanne Foy, the festival's program director, said the reception was sold out with 250 patrons. She expected the 300-seat theater to be full for the 7 p.m. showing, too.
She said the Lamorinda community has been quite supportive of the film festival. She said having both the Rheem Theatre and the Orinda Theatre available to show films is a boost, too.
"This is a great community. It's warm and welcoming," she said. "They understand this is art."
Two of the attendees Thursday night were Larry and Carol Tessler, residents of Moraga since 1975.
They said they wanted to support the festival as well as the Rheem Theatre. They said the theater is an important component of the community, not only showing films but providing space for events such as youth dance troupes.
The festival runs through Sunday with films showing in both Moraga and Orinda.
On Friday, films are shown between 1 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
On Saturday, showtimes are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
On Sunday, the showtimes are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
You can see a full schedule on this CAIFF page.
Foy said an added feature this year is a filmmakers' lounge in the Orinda Theatre complex where members can talk with the people who made the films in this year's festival.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
