'Corked' about to pop

Unlike “Bottle Shock,” with its international if B-list cast (Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman), “Corked” is decidedly C-list. It’s written and directed by Ross Clendenen and Paul Hawley, both of whom boast local roots – Clendenen graduated from Healdsburg High before going off to study film at Brooks Institute of Film in Santa Barbara, and Hawley is the son of a Sonoma County winemaker, John Hawley, formerly of Clos du Bois and now making wine under his own label.

The other key filmmakers include producer Brian Hoffman and editor and cinematographer Miguel Media, who also went to Brooks. This is their first film, and it's clearly meant to be enjoyed, not analyzed.

It being a low-budget effort, Clendenen also has a featured role as a tasting room “ambassador,” and other local wine personalities are said to pop up here and there. The mockumentary pokes fun at the business in general and, some think, specific personalities that locals might recognize.

The biggest name in the cast is also a local, Jeffrey Weissman of Petaluma, who has numerous regional theater credits as well as parts in several movies – “Pale Rider” and two of the “Back to the Future” films among them. Weissman’s wife is a tasting room manager in Freestone, and he credits her with adding to the authenticity of his performance.

The movie premiered to an enthusiastic reception at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival last spring, but it’s still being fine-tuned in audience screenings. Two of those are this weekend on home turf, at the Raven Performing Arts Center in Healdsburg.

Friday’s screening is sold out, but another has been added for Saturday, Aug. 2, at 8 pm. Many of the filmmakers and actors will be on hand to answer questions after the movie. The screening is sponsored by Hawley Winery, which means you’ll be able to enjoy the wines along with the insights, and laughs.

-- Christian Kallen