If applause is any indication, those who attended Friday’s opening night of the Sacramento Music and Film festival at the Crest Theatre were far from disappointed.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and directors Nate Schmel, Tony Sheppard and Laurie Peterson gave introductory speeches before the showing of the feature film, Sensored, to the delight of the near-sell-out crowd. Rousing ovations came between pauses of each speaker, who all repeatedly thanked the audience and everyone who was involved in all the preparation for the 10-day festival.

Then came Sensored, which starred Robert Picardo and lived up to every bit of the hype surrounding it and the groundbreaking Red One ultra-high definition camera used to film it. Said to contain four times the resolution of a standard high definition lens, the picture was as sharp and clean as any that’s graced Hollywood’s bright lights, despite the film’s limited budget.

Directed by amateur filmmaker and local product, Ryan Todd, the film told the story of a disturbed children’s book author, Wade Mixon (Picardo), whose solitary life caused dark thoughts and a miserable existence.

Throughout the movie, Mixon struggles to find answers in a troubled world, one that’s scarred his inner-self since his childhood, where his father left him and other traumatic experiences followed suit.

The director and main cast stayed for a question-and-answer period, followed by an after party at the Cosmo Café across the street.

There are still eight days left of events, which are detailed in a previous article here. Tickets for each event can be purchased on-site at the Crest Theatre. More information on ticket prices and further festival information is posted on the event's website, sacfilm.com.