How does a film festival run? That depends on which festival you’re talking about. Sundance has a large staff of paid employees, supplemented by interns and volunteers, and makes its operating funds through ticket and merchandise sales, as well as other revenue sources. Other festivals have similar operating structures, mostly on a smaller scale than Sundance. And some, like the Lindsey Festival, are run purely by volunteers who stretch their small yearly budget to unbelievable limits. But that’s not such a bad thing.
Because the Lindsey Film Festival staff is an “all-volunteer army,” you can bet the final product is truly an act of love. Love is about the only thing that would motivate folks to put in hundreds (thousands) of hours of work beyond their normal work schedules all for something that pretty much disappears once it is finished, and then has to be built again from scratch the next year. What do we love? Well, there is George Lindsey, who spread his own love for this festival like a virus; in his absence, we continue to love his memory. Then there is Film. Each year we are introduced to new and exciting and innovative works from filmmakers young and not so young that deserve the best possible exhibition provided by folks who understand the idea of an “act of love.” And because we are putting on a film festival after all, there is fun. If you’ve ever wondered why we put such effort into planning our parties, it’s because we get to go to them, too, and by the time the festival actually gets here, we really need some good fun!
And if we didn’t do all this work, we wouldn’t get to see our festival friends, the ones who come back again and again regardless of the number of things we mess up. Actress Natalie Canerday is at the top of that list, and we’re happy to announce she will be joining us again after a one year Lindsey Fest hiatus. The laughter meter is already rising in anticipation of Natalie’s visit.
That’s how our festival runs: long hours; little money; lots of love. If this blog seems a little too mushy, it was inspired by tomorrow’s holiday of love. Just think of it as a Valentine’s message from the Lindsey Film Festival.
Because the Lindsey Film Festival staff is an “all-volunteer army,” you can bet the final product is truly an act of love. Love is about the only thing that would motivate folks to put in hundreds (thousands) of hours of work beyond their normal work schedules all for something that pretty much disappears once it is finished, and then has to be built again from scratch the next year. What do we love? Well, there is George Lindsey, who spread his own love for this festival like a virus; in his absence, we continue to love his memory. Then there is Film. Each year we are introduced to new and exciting and innovative works from filmmakers young and not so young that deserve the best possible exhibition provided by folks who understand the idea of an “act of love.” And because we are putting on a film festival after all, there is fun. If you’ve ever wondered why we put such effort into planning our parties, it’s because we get to go to them, too, and by the time the festival actually gets here, we really need some good fun!
And if we didn’t do all this work, we wouldn’t get to see our festival friends, the ones who come back again and again regardless of the number of things we mess up. Actress Natalie Canerday is at the top of that list, and we’re happy to announce she will be joining us again after a one year Lindsey Fest hiatus. The laughter meter is already rising in anticipation of Natalie’s visit.
That’s how our festival runs: long hours; little money; lots of love. If this blog seems a little too mushy, it was inspired by tomorrow’s holiday of love. Just think of it as a Valentine’s message from the Lindsey Film Festival.
RSS Feed
