Beth Accomando[1][2] is a film and theatre critic for KPBS, who formerly worked as an arts reporter for NPR, XETV and The Star-News. She hosts the Cinema Junkie podcast and has curated several film events throughout San Diego County. Accomando edited the 1991 to 1992 sequels of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes franchise and is part of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Her work has been distributed through several publications, including RogerEbert.com.
Beth Accomando | |
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| Born | Beth Accomando |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Employers | |
| Known for | Cinema Junkie |
| Notable credits | |
| Awards | 2023 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award |
Early life
Upon graduating from Bonita Vista High School in 1978,[2] Accomando was the recipient of the Bank of America certificate for English and was Chula Vista Elks Most Valuable Scholar.[3] While in college, she was a special writer for The Star-News.[4] Accomando graduated from University of California, San Diego in 1982[5] with a degree in communications and visual arts.[6]
Career
Accomando is a theatre and film critic[7] for KPBS[8] who reviewed films such as Sucker Punch,[8] The Fall,[9] The Brave One,[10][11] and Knocked Up.[12] She runs a podcast called Cinema Junkie[9] and in 2014, Accomando organized the Film Geeks late-night screenings at Digital Gym Cinema.[13] She described just how much George Romero's Night of the Living Dead influenced Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead.[14]
In 1985, Accomando was one of 12 women featured in A San Diego Exhibition: Forty-two Emerging Artists at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.[15] In the early 1990s, she was the film editor for Killer Tomatoes Strike Back and Killer Tomatoes Eat France.[16] Accomando worked for XETV-TDT in 1992[17] and in 1998, introduced the film Rashomon at Landmark's Ken Cinema.[18]
In 2000, Accomando curated an event in San Diego that held premieres for Butterfly and Sword, Eastern Condors, Holy Weapon, The Magic Crystal, Pedicab Driver and Shanghai Blues.[19] She wrote for National Public Radio[20] and helped put together an Asian festival at University of California, San Diego.[21] In a 2007 interview, Lee Ann Kim described Accomando as the one "who really plugged me into international Asian film".[22] Accomando has interviewed Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Stanley Tong and John Woo.[23] She was a panelist at UCSD's Up & Coming Film Festival with Ham Tran in 2008,[24] Ligiah Villalobos in 2009,[25] and with Arthur Ollman in 2011.[26] In 2016, Accomando judged a play called Killing Buddha at San Diego International Fringe Festival.[7]
In 2021, Accomando was part of a Storytelling in Film panel with Neal Hallford and Jonathan Hammond at San Diego Comic Con.[27] She hosted Flicks on the Bricks in 2018,[28] 2022 and 2023 at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library.[29][30][31]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Killer Tomatoes Strike Back | Editor[16] |
| 1992 | Killer Tomatoes Eat France |
Awards
| Award | Year | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chula Vista Elks Most Valuable Scholar | 1978 | Won | [3] |
| Bank of America English certificate | Won | [3] | |
| Promotional Announcement Emmy | 1992 | Won | [17] |
| Light Feature Story/Series | 2006 | Runner-up | [32] |
| Inkpot Award | 2022 | Won | [33] |
| Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award | 2023 | Won | [34][35] |
