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Beth Accomando
Arts & Culture Reporter
Beth Accomando covers arts and culture around San Diego for KPBS News. Beth studied film at UCSD and had her student film Writer’s Notebook screened as part of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s "Forty-Two Emerging Artists" showcase in 1981. She has edited the sequels to "The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" and video documentaries on Billy Wilder and roller hockey.
Beth is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Online Film Critics Society, and is the past President and former Education Chairperson for the San Diego Film Critics Society. She served as the festival director of Film School Confidential: A Showcase of San Diego Student Filmmaking. In the past she has served on the film selection committee for the San Diego State University Student Film Festival, San Diego International Film Festival and San Diego Latino Film Festival. Now she volunteers as part of The Film Geeks at the Digital Gym Cinema to bring independent and envelope-pushing genre filmmaking to the Media Arts Center San Diego's micro cinema.
Beth has been a film critic for more than 25 years and began at KPBS in 1987. Since 1997 she has been covering independent and international cinema as well as pop culture for National Public Radio and Public Radio International’s The World. She has received numerous Society of Professional Journalist Awards and San Diego Press Club Awards for her radio and web site work at KPBS. She has also received 11 southwestern area Emmy Awards in the categories of producing, writing, and sound design for promotional spots as well as national Pro Max and Telly Awards while working at Fox.
She has a passion for Hong Kong cinema, Japanese monster movies, horror, and film noir. She collects movie posters and toys, and loves putting on a haunted house every year.
Recent Stories by Beth Accomando
Chicano Park Mural Remembers Anastasio Hernandez Rojas
- May 29
- By Beth Accomando
Ten years ago San Diego resident Anastasio Hernandez Rojas was brutally beaten and shot with a Taser by border agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He died two days later. Now a mural at Chicano Park pays tribute to his memory and to the continued battle for justice.
'The Vast Of Night' Riffs On Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone'
- May 28
- By Beth Accomando
"The Vast of Night" very consciously taps into the old "The Twilight Zone" TV series to deliver a film about extraterrestrials. The Amazon Original film starts streaming on Friday, May 29.
Hillcrest Bakery Bread And Cie Uses Humor To Reopen, Enforce Social Distancing Rules
- May 26
- By Beth Accomando
Restaurants were allowed to reopen over the weekend but with certain guidelines in effect. Bread and Cie in Hillcrest is using humor to help customers abide by the social distancing rules.
Cinema Junkie Podcast 194: The Global Pandemic Film Primer
- May 22
- By Beth Accomando
Films from the silents to the present day, from Cambodia as well as the U.S., have been dealing with themes of pandemics for more than a century. Find out how these films deal with more than just disease but also how fear and panic can spread as readily as a virus, and how language can infect people as much as germs.
PacArts Hosts Online Discussion For 'The Paradise We Are Looking For'
- May 22
- By Beth Accomando
Pacific Arts Movement is closing out its May Madness celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Sunday, May 31 with a live Q&A event with the filmmakers from "The Paradise We Are Looking For."
UCSD Alum Has New Indie Film 'A Knight's Tour' Streaming
- May 15
- By Beth Accomando
"A Knight's Tour" is a Kickstarter-backed independent film from UCSD alum Marvin Choi and it just became available in digital release.
Santee Drive-In Is Second Outdoor Cinema In San Diego To Reopen
- May 15
- By Beth Accomando
Tonight the Santee Drive-In reopens for business on the heels of the South Bay Drive-In reopening last week.
WOW: Without Walls Festival Goes Digital Starting Thursday
- May 13
- By Beth Accomando
Theaters are struggling to create content online but La Jolla Playhouse's Without Walls Festival actually lends itself well to producing art from quarantine during a pandemic and the first show, "Ancient," debuts online Thursday.
Remembering Jerry Stiller In 'The Independent'
- May 11
- By Beth Accomando
Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller has died of natural causes at the age of 92. Here's a film that you need to see to remember his genius.
Cinema Junkie Podcast 193: Become A Digital Explorer During The Pandemic
- May 9
- By Beth Accomando
If you are sheltering at home and growing tired with what Netflix is offering, or need to cut back on expenses and are looking for something free, here are some options.
Keep up with all the latest news, arts and culture, and TV highlights from KPBS.
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GRANTCHESTER Season 4 On MASTERPIECE
Airs Sundays, May 31, 2020 from 8-11 p.m., June 7 from 9-11 p.m. & June 14 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + PBS Video App
