The headquarters of Community Film Studio Santa Barbara doubles as CopyRight Printing, a book- and print shop owned by Phebe Mansur, the studio’s president. CopyRight reflects Mansur’s independent approach to business, which is also what prompted her involvement in the Film Studio, along with her excitement at the prospect of creating opportunities for aspiring area filmmakers. With romantic comedy The Bet already finished, CFSSB has eyes set on their next full-length feature, Salsipuedes Street. It’s a story about the resilience of two Mexican-American children whose parents are deported for a few unpaid traffic violations.
What is the film studio’s mission? The studio gives people in the community a chance to get involved in the filmmaking process. For example, I have a friend who’s a retired Delco guy, and he decided he wanted to be an actor. We’re going to give him that chance. He can participate in any of the productions, he can audition, and there are others. The gentlemen who is our locations manager is a retired firefighter. One of the actors is a sheriff. So, we’re bringing filmmaking to the community, so anyone can participate. That young man who was here earlier just graduated from USC, and he wants to have a career in film, so we are giving him and other emerging filmmakers an opportunity to show their skills.
What inspired the film Salsipuedes Street? A friend of mine who was running a nonprofit had been a gunrunner and when he was arrested a second time, they tried to get him to reveal his contacts. He said, “No way,” because then he’d be a target. So he decided he was just going to plead guilty. He went in and they were expecting him to reveal his contacts and he was like, “No, I’m pleading guilty.” They were really surprised when he said to the judge, “No, I did it. No one forced me to do what I did. I did it. I have to be responsible.”