The San Diego Film Festival is one of the most alluring festivals on the rise, boasting a close proximity to LA and a trendy crowd of nearly 13,000 people. It doubles as a film lover’s paradise and a weekend getaway where participants can take advantage of sunny weather, thriving art culture, and the cities robust nightlife in the famed Gaslamp quarter.
Each year, the San Diego Film Festival honors the filmmaking process with their Industry Tribute award. Last year’s recipient was Gus Van Sant, the award-winning director of Good Will Hunting (1997) and Promised Land (2012). Stars such as Diane Ladd, Anne Heche, Robin Williams, and Ben Affleck paid tribute.
This year’s festival will also display a wide range of the year’s most promising films. Last year’s lineup included premieres of Silver Linings Playbook, The Sapphires and Seven Psychopaths among many others.
Additionally, The San Diego Film Festival is filled with groundbreaking panels. Last year’s included a discussion and screening of the documentary Trek Nation, featuring Rod Roddenberry and many others.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
