An ambitious 10-day international film festival planned for Monterey this coming September has been scaled down and put off a year, as organizers re-organize and scramble for sponsors. John Farmanesh-Bocca, one of three locals at the helm of the proposed Monterey Bay International Film Festival, says he and his partners decided not to go ahead this year because "we don''t have enough money behind us, and we want to make sure it''s done right." He says the festival will be held sometime next fall, probably November, for five days instead of ten.

One big change is that CEO and chief money-finder Bill Liles is now out of the picture. Bocca, Gerry Schumacher and Vince Ricotta have reorganized as the non-profit executive producing entity Paradiso Enterprises, and they''re looking locally for a new CEO. "The ideal president would be retired or semi-retired, with a corporate background," Bocca says. "Someone who knows the local people very well and can get their support." He and his partners are looking for a "parent," or corporate sponsor who will sign on to a five-year commitment, and have given themselves until the end of the year to do so.

The film festival, as originally conceived, would involve screenings of up to 350 new films from around the world at half-a-dozen Monterey movie houses. Workshops, lectures and celebrity-studded parties were to round out the schedule. That''s all still on tap, Bocca says, if also scaled down a bit. And plans will go forward for an Arts Endowment Fund, to send budding young local kids to NYU film school and to build an arts magnet school in Monterey County. "Our dreams are the same," Bocca insists "Even if the festival doesn''t make a penny, we''re sending those kids to film school."

Performers Needed

The Carmel Performing Arts Festival invites artists in all the performing arts to submit proposals for their fourth annual fete, scheduled this year at a variety of Carmel venues from Oct. 6 through Oct. 22. If you haven''t been to the festival yet, it''s fast becoming a hot local ticket. Local and out-of-town performers are invited to present self-produced works. Classical, contemporary and avant-garde productions are all welcome. Call 624-7675 for a proposal application. Deadline is March 24.

Two Galleries Move

Carmel''s Bohemian House, which opened last year in a historic home in the village-by-the-sea, has moved to a new location on 6th Avenue, next to the Blue Dog Gallery. The Bohemian House specializes in contemporary art by Russian painters, including oil painter Alexander Zimin, who is visiting the gallery through February. He will be demonstrating the techniques he uses in his landscapes and still lifes. For information, call the gallery at 626-1100.

In another move, the Ansel Adams Gallery, long a fixture out at Spanish Bay, is relocating to 685 Cannery Row in Monterey. The gallery focuses on fine art photography by Adams, Morley Baer, and other, more recent artists. Call 375-7215 for opening date and hours.

Kids in Verse

Are you a Monterey County high-school student who scribbles down bits of poetry in a dog-eared journal late at night? Why not get some credit for your work and enter the Carl Cherry Center''s "2000 Monterey County High School Poetry Awards" contest? Submissions must be original poetry in English, Spanish, or both. There are no restrictions as to content or style. No more than three poems per author, no poem more than 40 lines long, and all authors must be presently enrolled in a county high school. Cash awards, poetry books and merit certificates will be presented at a ceremony April 8, and 25 winning entries will be published in an anthology. Poems must be submitted by Feb. 21, so sharpen that pencil, wax that mouse, or whatever. Call 624-7491 for more info.

--Sue Fishkoff