The 31st annual San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is back alongside the year-round SLO Film Center, which launched out of the Palm Theatre in Julyas the only non-profit movie theater in the county.
“Really just creating more synergy between the two," said Skye McLennan, Executive Director of both the SLO International Film Festival and SLO Film Center.
McLennan says the two work in tandem, each promoting the other, a change from past years’ film festivals.
“We were just kind of renting the theater out for those couple of days, but now we've been promoting the festival throughout all of the screenings that are happening here. It's just really exciting," she said.
It’s also grown among the younger generations. Cal Poly lecturer and filmmaker Randi Barros and associate professor James Werner teach film classes and, for the last eight years, have seen their students’ work make the big screen along with their own work. Barros has a short film in the festival titled "YES."
“That experience to not only show my own film, but to help nurture young filmmakers and then see their work on the big screen, it's really exciting,” Barros said.
With Barros now accustomed to seeing former students go on to have success in other film festivals after graduation, she shared an anecdote about watching two former students at the Pasadena Festival get honored.
“It's just so great to see them there and to see that they're still working in film and passionate about film," she recalled.
USA Today named the SLO International Film Festival one of the top 10 best film festivals in the U.S. for 2025, a recognition that can be attributed to the greater emphasis on celebrating filmmaking.
“I feel like the audiences are coming back. The last films that I've seen at the Palm have had great audiences," Barros said of the Palm Theatre.
McLennan is hopeful that the movie-going experience will continue to trend upward after movie theaters all over the country struggled during and directly after the pandemic.
“I'm definitely encouraged," she said. "I think that people still really enjoy coming to the movies. It's about the programming, really.”
The film festival kicks off Thursday, April 24, and runs through Tuesday, April 29, with more than 100 films playing throughout the week. For more information, schedule of events, and tickets, visit slofilmfest.org.
