She Likes to Watch

HopeDance FiLMs, the thought-provoking local movie series , is on hiatus until September.

Don’t despair, loyal moviegoers.

HopeDance Magazine is teaming up with Cal Poly this month for two food-related screenings.

“King Corn,” directed by Aaron Woolf, follows one acre of corn from the fields to the dinner tables of American consumers. The second film, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John,” chronicles the story of maverick Midwestern farmer John Peterson.

“King Corn” plays at 8 p.m. on May 21 at The Sandwich Factory on the Cal Poly campus. Bud Evans, a political science lecturer at Cal Poly, will lead a discussion on the importance of food choices.

“The Real Dirt on Farmer John” will play at The Sandwich Factory on May 28, also at 8 p.m.

Both screenings are free and open to the public. For more information, call Tracy Owens at (310) 938-0709 or e-mail towens@calpoly.edu.

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Meanwhile, you can rent films via HopeDance’s library at The Novel Experience, 779 Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo.

According to HopeDance publisher Bob Banner, the library has about 500 films, mostly documentaries on subjects ranging from spirituality to the environment to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Many have been screened as part of the HopeDance FiLMs series.

Rental prices are $3 for three days and $5 per week, with a $1 late fee.

Library users can also purchase a film card for $200, which qualifies a family to rent up to four films a week for an entire year. Novel Experience customers receive a free rental by buying more than $25 of books.

For more information, call (805) 544-9663.

Ever wonder what “Dungeons and Dragons” players do behind closed doors?

A movie with a Cal Poly connection offers new insight into the world of role-playing games that will make moviegoers laugh and probably cringe.

Geared toward hardcore gamers and total newbies, “Fellowship of the Dice” explores the joys of spending an afternoon armed only with paper, imagination and multi-sided dice.

The film will be screened tonight at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. at PolyCon, Cal Poly’s annual convention dedicated to card, board and role-playing games. Now in its 25th year, the San Luis Obispo event features game vendors, industry pros and tournaments for everything from “Warhammer” to “Magic: The Gathering.”

“Fellowship of the Dice” stars Aimee Graham as a bored party girl who accepts an invitation to play the fantasy role-playing game, “Wizards, Warriors and Wyrms.” (Think “Dungeons” with an extra dose of nerd.)

She finds herself trapped by confusing rules, high-stakes adventure and a big dose of geeky drama between the tyrannical Game Master and his fellow players.

“Fellowship of the Dice” blends the story with interviews with real-life gamers, filmed two years ago at PolyCon.

According to producer John Collins, “Fellowship of the Dice” draws on a life-long love of role-playing games shared by writer Tom Hietter.

“After encountering a good deal of quirky players and odd ‘Game Masters,’ we felt this subculture was ripe for the Christopher Guest treatment,” said Collins, who also stars in the film.

“Working on the film in our off hours from our day jobs in reality television, Tom and I have brought our love of the game and our professional expertise to form an entertaining and comedic entrée into the goofy world of RPG’ers, half-trolls, and paranoid computer game beta testers,” he said.

Collins and co-director Matthew Ross will be on hand at Poly Con to promote the film.

“Fellowship of the Dice” is also available at www.fellowshipofthedice.com and at online stores including Amazon and Barnes & Nobles. It’s slated to hit brick-and-mortar stores in the next six weeks.

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PolyCon XXV runs Friday through Sunday at Embassy Suites, 333 Madonna Rd. in San Luis Obispo. In addition to several game tournaments and a barbecue, the event will feature guest appearances by Randal Keith Hilholland of the online comic “Something Positive” and Tom Jolly, creator of WizWar, Drakon and Camelot.

PolyCon is also offering an Independent Game Prize worth $500 for aspiring game designers.

Registration is $35 at the door. For more information, visit the Web site.

– Sarah L.

Tune into any of MTV’s myriad channels today and you’re bound to catch a glimpse of San Luis Obispo’s own Sherwood.
The indie pop band is the subject of a news segment scheduled to be aired dozens of times on MTV, MTV2 and MTVu, the cable network’s channel geared toward college students.
Led by Cal Poly grad Nate Henry, Sherwood released its major label debut, “A Different Light,” on MySpace Records in March.
The band is currently on tour with Reliant K and Mae.