Lundburg puts it, "Elizabeth and I found out that Sarah was quietly making history and it was being undocumented. When we started researching her story we found out about the hardships she faced, the poverty, how she took care of her wheelchair-bound mother since she was 6 years old. She overcame all of those challenges through reaching academic and athletic success. What Sarah's doing in the surfing world is comparable to, in the biking world, riding in the Tour de France." At the time Lundburg and Pepin began filming Gerhardt's story, they were the only women on the Mavericks scene.

"It took us five years,' Lundburg recalls. "I had to go out there and film Sarah with someone driving me on a jet ski. You see the awesome size of these waves and you realize the power of the ocean, something you have absolutely no control over. We were really curious as to what drives Sarah to risk her life in this way."

"When Sally first approached me, it wasn't like I thought it would be a long film about my life, but more about Mavericks," she says. "I was a little embarrassed but I decided to open up and get in front of the camera and talk about what I do."

Like many extraordinary people who view what they do matter-of-factly, it wasn't Gerhardt's intention to become the first woman to surf 40-foot waves.

"It wasn't a goal of mine to be the first woman to do anything. It was just something I wanted to do. I believe in God. I'm a Christian," she says. "My spirituality is definitely expressed and enhanced in surfing."

Novato resident Pete Crowley, 42, was cinematographer on his first feature film. "50 Watt Fuse," directed and written by Taylor Barton and co-produced with Crowley, is a documentary about legendary guitarist and musicologist G.E. Smith, who fronted the house band for "Saturday Night Live." Less well-known is the fact that Smith is one of the most prolific and respected guitarists and musicologists working today, having performed with Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Hall & Oates and Rosanne Cash among others.

"This is the first film that we've wholly owned and financed, produced and directed," says Crowley, who has a background in live music production and concert cinematography. "I'm so excited. This is my home and I'll be at the Rafael Theater on Friday night. It's a dream come true. I feel like I'm finally getting noticed. You feel brand new but you've been doing it 15 years."

In many ways, a film festival is a vehicle for the storytellers themselves. The filmmakers become the story. At parties at the Outdoor Art Club in Mill Valley, at Q&A sessions following screenings, at some of the big tributes and the opening and closing parties, they'll mingle with filmgoers and have the chance to engage in 10 days of dialogue about their business.

"It has do with having your finger on the pulse of the world and then having the world come view your vision," says Zoe Elton, MVFF's director of programming. It's life-changing, she says, especially for directors who come from other nations.

"Ten years ago, a young filmmaker who was also a novelist was here from Zimbabwe. Alice Walker ("The Color Purple") had written the blurb on the back of her novel. They'd never met. I introduced her to Alice Walker at the screening, and to her Alice Walker is like a god. The young filmmaker burst into tears. We witness a lot of things like that putting this festival together."

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