This feature-length drama-documentary commemorates the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, which hosted almost 19 million visitors. It was a showcase for over 2 dozen foreign countries and 27 states. Though the fair was meant to salute the newly-built Panama Canal, it became a celebration of the rebuilding of San Francisco following the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906. Writer and director, R. Christian Anderson, says: "I've had a head start, since I've been collecting memorabilia and souvenirs of historic San Francisco for over 38 years. For the past year I've been painstakingly collecting, sorting, and digitally restoring hundreds of images from the fair especially for this the film'. Many images belonged to the late Reyna Belasco Rosenthal, niece of the famed New York producer David Belasco. Reyna's father Solomon Belasco was a shareholder and, with her family, she was able to visit the fair 14 times over the course of its run. The film is unique, in that it's be told in a dramatic style, through eyes, of Reyna, as she might have remembered it. An original song has been composed especially for the film, sung by Oscar-nominee Chris Clark, with music by John Thomas Bullock and lyrics by R. Christian Anderson.
When the World Came to San Francisco
A drama about a young woman's visit to the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The film tells the story of the exposition, as imagined through the eyes of a visitor.
