What does it take to present the 18th edition of the Topanga Film Festival? Much. Behind those curtains that will rise are countless hours of toil—in producing, programming, outreach, fundraising, and all the other minute details that need to fall in place.

"There's a common misconception that conservation is anti-development," says Catherine Azimi, Communications Manager for the Santa Monica Conservancy. Azimi and Executive Director Kaitlin Drisko are seated around a small desk in the iconic Shotgun House, the Conservancy's headquarters.

Before he was a baker, Jyan Isaac was passionate about music. He was a jazz drummer. He draws clear parallels between baking and playing. “There is so much creativity with jazz because it’s all improvised,” he says while shaping dough at his now-famous Jyan Isaac Bread in Santa Monica.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of renowned California artist Sam Francis, it’s worth exploring how the environment and cultural scene of the City of Santa Monica influenced the artist’s work and vice versa.