Dos Pueblos High School student Aislinn Wilson (12) starred in “The Golden Hours,” which premiered at Paseo Nuevo Cinemas May 19. The film was written and directed by independent filmmaker Jorrit Van Der Kooi and also featured DPHS alumni Annette Mcguire and Matthew Weitzel.
The film follows Raven Becker, a teenage girl who lives with her father after a car accident paralyzed her from the waist down and killed her mother. Becker grapples with her trauma and feelings of guilt until she is pulled out of her depression by making friends with members of Santa Barbara’s houseless population. Using her photography skills, she takes photos and sends them to a newspaper, which leads to an article being published that helps her new friends get more security. Eventually, she comes to terms with her past and becomes acquainted with her new version of normal.
“The Golden Hours” was entirely produced and filmed in Santa Barbara and features multiple in-town locations, such as Stearns Wharf Pier, West Beach, and Paseo Nuevo.
Guests were invited to Paseo Nuevo Cinemas on the evening of May 19.
“I was actually invited by the star of the Amazon Prime film, Aislinn Wilson, because we know each other from ‘Mamma Mia,’” Audrey Messer (12) said.
The premiere began at 6:30 p.m. Guests were led into the theater, where there was a red carpet photo opportunity with a background set up and a photographer.
“It was nice because it was a local movie all shot in Santa Barbara, so a bunch of local people were there, like my friends,” Messer said. “So, we all took pictures together, which was fun. And then, it was at Paseo Nuevo, so that was fun, easy to get to, and it was all fancy.”
Afterwards, guests were brought into the private screening room and listened to a speech from Nick Uemera, a producer on the film. Uemera discussed how he and Van Der Kooi have been friends and coworkers for years.
Before the film began, Van Der Kooi’s daughter, Lou Anne Van Der Kooi, made a short speech in which she warned the audience that the film centers around the aftermath of a car accident that paralyzes a teenage girl and takes the life of her mother. The audience was told they could step out at any time if the events portrayed were triggering in any way. The premiere itself took place just hours after news came out regarding the accident that took the lives of three DPHS students.
“I think it was definitely nice that they stated that before,” Messer said. “I feel like a lot of planning went into the event. If they could have moved the event, that probably would have been nice, because I feel like a lot of people … were sad when they were there. But I think without moving the event, they handled it relatively well.”
The film features various teen actors from the Santa Barbara area that DPHS students might recognize. Messer said that some moments of the film became “unintentionally funny” because of her friendship with the actors.
“It was kind of fun seeing actors that I knew,” Messer said. “And I could be like, ‘Hey, I know that dude,’ but also [it] kind of took me out of it a little bit because I knew them personally. … I feel like, especially knowing these actors, you see them on stage, and you know things that they do, and then you see it happen in the film again, [and] you’re like, ‘Oh, that was funny.’”
