Main story: Comedy filmed in Gilroy is part of PJIFF’s 40s and Up program

This year’s film festival received more than 600 submissions; judges have chosen 150 for audiences

By Calvin Nuttall

On the steps of the Gilroy Museum in the golden afternoon sun, female impersonator Anthony Micheli, dressed in a full wig and sumptuous dress, soaked up the spotlight Nov. 12 during filming for “The Adventures of Belle Bottoms.” The offbeat comedy tells the tale of a superhero drag queen.

Photo courtesy PJIFF
From left, Greg Annable, camera; Alina Maletti Galore as “Belle Bottoms”; May Yam, director “Adventures Belle Bottoms”; and Nils Myers, cinematographer, 152 West Productions.

Also known by his stage name “Alina Maletti Galore,” Micheli performed a scene with actor Charlie Gilmore, who plays the role of a mayor presenting   the superhero with a special honor. Micheli hammed it up with the Gilroy resident in accepting the award, even giving him a playful kiss on the forehead.

“I love my job,” Micheli said during a break from filming. “We’re having a great time, and I’m the center of attention. Hello!”

The short film is part of the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival’s 40s and Up educational program. It will be shown at this year’s event in April. The workshop leads a group of aspiring storytellers through the collaborative filmmaking process from script writing through production. The film festival also has a similar program for people aged 70 and older.

Participants don’t necessarily have to be 40-plus, but it is a more mature class in filmmaking. The program consists of writing, directing, and editing. This year they added industry professionals in other areas to help teach the filmmaking process. These include production designer Roger Fires (“Hypnotic,” “Nobody,” “Violent Night”), two-time Emmy nominated screenwriter Kevin Rubio, production manager Mary Ann Rotondi (“Queen of the Desert,” Dateline NBC), music composer Randy Spendlove (president of Paramount Studios Worldwide Publishing and Music),  graphic designer Paul Johnstone, and vice president of marketing Norma Garcia Muro (Lucasfilm, Paramount, Kaliedescape). Jeff Turner, a freestyle rapper who has toured the world, wrote a song for the film. The music video will be filmed in all four cities.

This program gives these adults the opportunity to collaborate creatively on a short film. The purpose of the 40 & Up workshop is to work with people who, growing up, always wanted to make a movie but never had the opportunity. The program grants access to resources such as camera equipment, said Mattie Scariot, executive director of the festival.

Photo courtesy PJIFF
Above left: In Gourmet Alley Gregory Annable, camera; Amaobi Ajawara, sound; Jahnae Zappel, production design; and Bill Doherty, lighting, film a scene.

“This is an opportunity for people to use newer technology, learn how to tell a compelling story, and realize filmmaking is a viable career path,” she said. “With this program, it is our hope to tell people they are never too old to learn a new skill or follow their dreams.”

After coming off a successful but exhausting 2022 festival run, Scariot wanted to do something creative with the community and the industry professionals that the festival created relationships with. That’s how the idea formed for “The Adventures of Belle Bottoms.”

The film features Bottoms as a “modern-day superhero who fights the good fight,” Micheli said.

“It’s a superhero comedy/drama/happiness/sadness, it’s life,” he said. “Everyone’s been picked on at some point in their lives. Everyone has been made fun of at some point in their lives. And then they’ve always had a champion to make them feel better about themselves. So basically what I’m doing is telling the all-American story.”

Micheli worked as a flight attendant for 25 years and retired in 2017. He asked himself what he was going to do. His husband suggested he do “drag” because Micheli had done it on a part-time basis. Now he does it full time.

He served as the emcee at the 2022 festival’s big filmmakers bash at the District Theater in downtown Gilroy. He stunned the crowd when he walked on stage in his flamboyant costume, big-hair wig and got plenty of laughs from his humorous repartee with filmmakers and members of the audience.

“I had people gawking,” he said. “I walked in and they thought they were gonna see a big, huge drag queen. I’m a female impersonator. There’s a difference. Drag queens’ makeup is usually a little more severe. Female impersonators, we actually impersonate a female. So, I’m a man by day and I dress in drag by night.”

“The Adventures of Belle Bottoms” is about making sure everyone is made relevant despite how others might judge them, he said.

“It shouldn’t matter what your sexual orientation is, or what your gender identity is, or whoever you are, just as long as you’re accepted. I’m here to say, stay out of other people’s lives unless you’re there to make them better.”

Director May Yam brings decades of experience to the project as an award-winning visual storyteller and cultural anthropologist. She served as a judge for the Emmys and also program director for Cinequest, the film festival based in San Jose. Her work has aired on Lifetime, CNN, ABC, CBS and FOX. Despite her many accolades, she admitted to feeling nervous about this project.

“This is my first time doing comedy,” she said. “I would say comedy is the hardest genre. My specialty is more documentaries, and mentoring, and teaching high-school kids. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to be able to push myself. I think it’s a fantastic program.”

Established in 2004, the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival is an annual event managed by nonprofit group Poppy Jasper Inc. This year’s event will take place at venues in Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, Hollister, and San Juan Bautista April 12-19. Attendees will enjoy film screenings, panel discussions, and award ceremonies. Scariot encourages moviegoers to get tickets early.

“I started in 2018, when there were 300 people attending,” she said. “And this year we’re expecting about 5,000.”

From humble beginnings, the festival’s popularity with filmmakers has skyrocketed, with submissions exceeding capacity. Originally a local affair, it now receives submissions from more than 50 countries.

“This year is off the charts,” Scariot said. “I have 600 films, I have to take it down to about 150. As a filmmaker myself, I know what it is like to get that letter saying your film hasn’t been selected. Some of the films we’re not selecting are not because they’re bad, but we’re not selecting them because we don’t have any space.”

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill resident who has a passion for science, technology and politics.