BACK TO SPACE-CON
74 minutes/US/English / Feature Documentary/Fandom
Director: Tom Wyrsch
garfieldlaneproductions.com/SpaceCon.html
EAST COAST PREMIERE
ABOUT THE FILM: On February 22, 1975, Northern California's very first Star Trek convention was held at Lincoln High School in San Francisco, CA. It was called "The Red Hour Festival." A huge success with the fans of the original TV series (1966-69), the smash event led to much larger conventions in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. These "Space-Con" conventions left an indelible mark on the science-fiction fans and "Trekkers" who attended. In the end, conventions like Space-Con helped awaken Paramount from hibernation and led to the creation of the first installment of the major motion picture series "Star Trek" in 1979. This full-length documentary film is the story of how fandom revolutionized an industry. Written by: Tom Wyrsch , Source: IMDB.com
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Born in San Francisco, California, Tom Wyrsch moved with his parents to Sonoma County at an early age. He worked most of his career for a major U. S. gift company as its West Coast Operations Manager. Always an avid collector of film and books related to movie-making, he began studying film production in the late 1970s. After the gift company closed its West Coast operations, Wyrsch decided to pursue a life-long goal of making films. A close friend of Bob Wilkins and John Stanley of "Creature Features" fame, Wyrsch produced a documentary about the popular Bay Area-based TV series entitled WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG: A JOURNEY INTO CREATURE FEATURES. Numerous theatrical screenings in 2008 were followed by a DVD release in 2009, making the documentary a very successful venture. Because he had worked with Richard Tuck in El Cerrito, CA., designing Playland-not-at-the-Beach, a museum dedicated to the fondly remembered San Francisco amusement park, Wyrsch decided to make his second documentary, REMEMBERING PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH, which premiered at San Francisco's Balboa Theater on March 16, 2010 to a sold-out house. Seven more sold-out screenings led to a near 5 month run. With two documentaries to his credit, Wyrsch has now completed his third, BACK TO SPACE-CON. Source: garfieldlaneproductions.com