Next Thursday marks the opening of the 24th annual Virginia Film Festival, which Director Jody Kielbasa will oversee for the second time. Kielbasa filled tableau in on what it takes to coordinate and execute a large, successful festival while keeping in focus the importance of the local Charlottesville and Virginia communities.
As director, what is your role in the film festival?\nOne of my largest roles is to actually select the artistic program - that is, to determine the slate of films that we're going to screen. But another part of my job is to work as a community builder. I'm a firm believer that the arts have an important place in the community and as a result of that, I place a real premium on selecting films that I think are topical and will resonate in the community. I work hard to create partnerships in the community with other social service groups, and with cultural organizations to really take a look at films that might address issues important locally and racially.
What is the film-selection process like?\nThe film selection process starts in late January ... I start looking at films and I go to a number of film festivals across the country. We have an advisory board made up of a number of U.Va. alumni who have gone on to forge significant film careers, and they make suggestions as well. And finally, we have a call for entries process that we open up for filmmakers. About 15 percent of these films actually make it in the festival, so it's a pretty intense process.
You founded the incredibly successful Sarasota Film Festival before coming to Virginia. How do you factor your extensive festival experience into the VFF?\nWhat I've learned is that you're producing a very large community event in which you want to be able to reach virtually everybody in that community. So first, I try and pull together a festival that is affordable to the vast majority of people. The other thing I've learned is that it's a real roller coaster ride. You can't rely on anything. You can spend the better part of a year planning, but when it comes down to it you're really dependent on the guest artists that might attend, upon studios and distribution companies, and upon a number of other factors that are often out of your control. So the real fun and excitement of pulling together a film festival is that you have to be able to rock and roll with it and just do the very best that you can.
How does the VFF cater to Virginia and our local community?\nAt the heart of any good film festival should be a commitment to local and regional filmmaking. Hence, we started something called Virginia Filmmakers Showcase, in which we screen Virginia films by Virginia filmmakers. But there's also this commitment to community building. I think it's really important that within the festival you take a look at issues that are happening locally and regionally. For instance, this year we're going to be focused on locally sourced food and we have two films that really highlight that. One is called Cafeteria Man, and we're bringing in chef Tony Geraci, who is featured in the film. The other is a film called Farmageddon, which features Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm - a local farm. And both films focus on really interesting topics very near and dear to the hearts of many people that live in this area.
What do you hope attendants get out of the festival?\nThe word "festival" means "celebrate," and by holding the festival we're celebrating the art of film by not only having special events, but in engaging in a dialogue with the audience and getting to see the ideas behind the films that the filmmakers want to present. I hope [the audience] goes in and are exposed to something that they didn't know as much about before they went in ... that would be my wish; that people are entertained and they learn something.
As director of the film festival, what is your favorite part of the whole process?\nI really love full theaters; I love that energy and excitement you see when that happens. And I love to see that engagement between the audience and the people we bring in to discuss the films - it's a lot of fun.
Tickets to the Virginia Film Festival are free for students through the U.Va. Arts Box Office
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