San Jose Teacher Gets Film Into Cinequest

Teacher by day, film guy by night

Derek McCaw grew up as a fanboy, loving movies, and shows like "The Greatest American Hero." Fast forward to adulthood, and McCaw teaches drama, writes graphic novels, and even got one made into a movie starring - wait for it, guys of a certain age - William Katt! Star of The Greatest American Hero!

His graphic-novel-turned-movie is called "Sparks," and is making its debut at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose. In fact, actors from the movie like Katt met fans Thursday night at Cinequest. McCaw was there for the meet and greet as well.

His film debuts at the festival Friday night.

And because having a movie release isn't enough, McCaw gets to see his "Sparks" graphic novel released via Amazon on Friday.

Not a bad week.

Then, it's back to San Jose's Notre Dame High, where McCaw teaches drama. I'm guessing he'll have some pretty cool stories to tell his class.

Scott, a Cinequest fan, is on Twitter: @scottbudman

Cinequest kicked off this week and runs through March 10.

The film festival has celebrated the power of film and art for over two decades.

This year, the schedule of events will feature not only world premieres of global films, but will also include iconic actor Harrison Ford as well as debut three film masterpieces restored in Sony 4K. Celebrate creativity and discovery of the ever-evolving world of film, art, technology, and innovation.

  • Maverick Spirit Awards:  Actor Harrison Ford; writer Salman Rushdie; chef/food artist Dominique Creen
  • Eight-six World, North American and U.S. premieres from 48 countries, including more than a dozen star performances
  • Cinequest Picture the Possibilities World Premiere Event: astonishing world premieres of global youth films from Silicon Valley and New York, Mexico City, Jakarta, and Beijing along with youth and leaders in conversation - plus 7 screening and party
  • Experience Taxi Driver, Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Strangelove restored in glorious Sony 4K.

For passes and ticket information, visit here, or for more information about the festival, check out Cinequest's website.

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