Written by Nina SeaveyIn 2002, I became the Founding Director of SILVERDOCS: The AFI-Discovery Documentary Film Festival. Up until that time, I had never run a film festival. Indeed, my only dealings with festivals was as an applicant—I was a documentary filmmaker for quite some time by then and had many films screen on the festival circuit. But I had some additional experience that brought AFI knocking at my door. I was also a professor of film and the Founding Director of The Documentary Center at George Washington University. So, I had solid experience in launching a film organization and growing it. I had strong ties to AFI, which has had beautiful theaters in the DC area—first at the Kennedy Center and then at the art deco Silver Theater in Silver Spring, just over the DC and Maryland line.AFI offered me the job of Founding Director of SILVERDOCS, and I took a leave of absence from GW for one academic year. That first year led to nine more during which I continued to serve as Executive Producer of the festival, having returned to my duties at GW and making my own films. During that decade, SILVERDOCS became the largest documentary festival in the US, screening 100 films in four theaters, accompanied by an industry conference, all of which unspooled over five days in June. It became a “must-attend” event on the festival calendar. I learned a lot launching and growing that festival. At our peak, we had over 100 people...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - 5 days ago