In episode six of 48 Hour Heroes Origin Stories, host Kirk Nordenstrom interviews Brian Bowers, the former assistant director of operations for the 48 Hour Film Project worldwide. They discuss Brian’s journey from blogging to becoming a key figure in the 48HFP. The conversation delves into the challenges and rewards of organizing such events, the growth of Film of Palooza, and the impact of the pandemic on hybrid event models. Brian recounts his experiences with local film communities, the evolution of the 48HFP infrastructure, and the significance of the organization in fostering emerging filmmakers.
Brian Bowers: The Heartbeat of the 48 Hour Film Project In this episode of 48 Hour Heroes Origin Stories, Kirk Nordenstrom interviews Brian Bowers, the Assistant Director of Operations for the 48 Hour Film Project worldwide and a longtime city producer for Cleveland. Bowers shares his journey from starting as Cleveland’s city producer in 2008, running a photography studio, to joining the headquarters staff. The discussion covers the behind-the-scenes intricacies of organizing the global event, the evolution of Film of Palooza, and the community spirit that keeps the 48 Hour Film Project thriving. Tune in to hear about the impacts of the pandemic, the future of the 48 HFP, and how the experience enriches both filmmakers and city producers.
00:00 Introduction to Episode Six
00:12 Meet Brian Bowers
01:26 Brian's Journey with the 48 Hour Film Project
02:30 Joining the Headquarters Team
04:44 The Evolution of the 48 Hour Film Project
07:15 Impact on Local Film Communities
10:06 Film of Palooza Experiences
12:06 Challenges and Rewards of Organizing Film of Palooza
15:05 The Unique Nature of Film of Palooza
16:24 The Future of Film of Palooza
22:01 Pandemic's Silver Lining: Cinema 48
22:38 The Thrills and Risks of Film Drop-offs
25:20 Learning from the 48 Hour Film Project
28:33 Becoming a City Producer
30:22 The Collaborative Nature of Filmmaking
32:45 Personal Growth Through Producing 39:07 Adapting to Challenges: The Pandemic's Impact
41:10 The Magic of Filmappalooza
48HHOS_EP06-BrianBowers
[00:00:00] Welcome to episode six of 48 Hour Heroes Origin Stories. I'm your host, Kirk Nordenstrom, the co-producer of the Seattle 48 Hour film Project and the Montana 48 hour film project. This week's guest is Brian Bowers, the assistant director of operations for the 48 hour film project worldwide. He's also been the city producer for the Cleveland 48 hour film project, as well as their horror offshoot. Additionally, he has a lot of interests and a lot of irons in the fire outside of the 48, and we're gonna touch on a lot of that today and talk about film of palooza and how as an organization. The 48 hour film project, city producers and the very small headquarters staff pull off such an amazing event year after year with so very little in terms of [00:01:00] resources.
So please welcome Brian Bowers.
Welcome back to 48 Hour Heroes Origin Stories I have with me today, Brian Bowers, who works for 48 Hour film Project headquarters, and until recently, I believe you were a, a longtime city producer. Yeah. You are not city producing anymore, correct? Correct. So I actually started as the city producer for Cleveland in 2008.
That was my first sort of experience with the 48 hour film project. I did that for about a year. And then simultaneously, I had a blog at the time called the Brian Bowers project, and I was writing a lot about like entertainment and film, and the 48 hour film project was looking for a newsletter editor.
I submitted my info [00:02:00] for that, so they had known me. Through my work with doing the Cleveland 48 for at least a year, and then saw that I had the blog as well. So then I started to work with the 48 as the newsletter editor. I remember that 'cause I applied for it as well. Did you? Yeah. Sorry. Oh, it's okay. I mean, you had, you had more of a portfolio than I did, so you know, it only made sense.
Yeah. Then so the great thing was. That sort of led to me coming on board to the headquarters team when I was the newsletter editor. They also, at the same time, I was running a photography studio when Mark and Liz figured out that I could take pictures. They asked me to come to Film and Palooza in Las Vegas.
Which was the NAB show, which that was my very first film of Palooza. I went to [00:03:00] film as our newsletter editor and to take pictures, which was great because it got me to FMA for the first time to experience that and to. Meet everybody face to face. And then, uh, it just, that actually was a particularly fun film also because the NAB show and Jason Wrightman, he was such a great speaker.
So that's something that's always influenced me. As well. What happened was this led to an opportunity to come on board the headquarter staff. Before this point, the 48 hour film project, there was sort of a, you know, group of four people that were the headquarter staff and. They were getting to the point where they, the work was [00:04:00] too much and they needed to bring on some additional people.
They created positions called Assistant Director of Operations, and we worked under Christina Rupert, who is our director of Operations, and this sort of was the beginning of the infrastructure for how the city producers. Interact with headquarters and with the 40 eights and all of this stuff was figured out in around the time that they hired both myself and Laura Schlecht, who was our Houston producer and was also on the headquarter staff.
Yeah, I mean it was really interesting 'cause I started in 2005 and it was pretty much. You know, I think we were in maybe 25, 26 cities at that point, right. And all of us were just hammering [00:05:00] Mark and Liz with tons and tons of questions, and they must have prematurely aged by just volume of questions that were constantly coming in and having to invent on the fly this infrastructure.
We didn't have social media back then. We had MySpace, but that wasn't particularly helpful for the 48. Right. It really wasn't. And you know, as we were all using Craigslist and local bulletin boards and anything, we could get the word out. Yeah. I, I actually got hired through a Craigslist ad. That's how I met Ben Aldi.
Ben yeah. Who was the director of outreach at the time. So the backstory with that is. I was working as a talent agent at one of the SAG AFTRA franchise agencies in Cleveland called the Talent Group. It's basically one of the top two [00:06:00] agencies in our region, and so I came in working in the broadcast.
Division as an assistant, working with talents, putting people on for auditions, that sort of thing. I ended up becoming an actual agent and running the print division in our Cleveland office. One of the things that I noticed was all of our talents that we represented at the agency always wanted to work in film.
Mm-hmm. Everybody wants to work in film and so. I wanted to figure out if there was a way to create more opportunities for our actors to, and our talent to get involved in film projects. So when I saw the ad for the 48 hour film project. I thought this could be something that's a really good fit. [00:07:00] Mm-hmm.
Definitely. And it ended up creating something new and bridging a gap. And opening up all sorts of roads for all sorts of people in, at least in the Cleveland area for sure. Oh, definitely. I mean, I can see the same effect in Seattle over the last 17 years. I can't, in my job as an editor, as a digital loader, DITI can't go on to a set.
Where there aren't 48 hour past or present participants. Right. It, it's spread that wide and a lot of times it's, it's like a family reunion. It's like, oh, I haven't seen you since, you know, 2012 when you did the 48. Yeah. And it's great. And that's one of my favorite things is the mixed blessing of someone participating.
For a number of years, and then they're too busy with full-time work to do it anymore. Right. It's very gratifying and disappointing because I miss 'em, but it's almost like being a teacher. I think that sort of relationship, because I used to watch people, [00:08:00] watch filmmakers grow up. I've, I know it's probably the same for you.
I've watched a lot of filmmakers. Make their go from making their first film to, which was not so good, to making a much better film the next year, and then to starting to work with other filmmakers and then all of a sudden, like over the course of a decade. This person's like actually a filmmaker. Mm-hmm.
And they are making their own films, they're making their own money, and, uh, they've really created a career for themselves. And the 48 has been the pathway to do that for many people. Yeah. Uh, uh, 2021 City winners for Seattle, it's three brothers, the cis. They've been doing it pretty sure every year since 2012 or 2013, and they were in their late teens to [00:09:00] early twenties at that point.
And I remember their very early films. They weren't the most polished in the world, but there was something there. There was definitely right some heart, and to see them, you know, every year. Participating and I would always joke when I saw 'em, if the Cilantros don't show up, I don't know what I'm gonna do.
And, uh, you know, that always got a good laugh out of 'em. And, uh, they're really, really nice guys. And when they won this year, I was overjoyed. I thought it was very well deserved, their best work. And it was a drama, which is a rarity amongst American 40 eights, I think, for a drama to win. And they are so excited to go to Film of Palooza.
I, I was working on a set with all three of 'em. Just the other week. And so all three of 'em are going and they're bringing most of their family with them. It's great. They're so excited. And I was giving them all the, the inside tips. It's, you know, on the inside we [00:10:00] call it fma, not FMA Palooza. They're like, oh, cool.
We're getting the inside, inside scoop. You know, I'm so excited for them to show up at Film of Palooza, 'cause I think they're gonna make the most of it. They're really. Outgoing, gregarious. Yeah. Friendly guys. And I think they're, they're gonna walk away with friends all over the world. Exactly. And that's, that's what film of Palooza is.
And it's a little hard to explain to people that haven't been there because Yeah, it's a festival, but it's not like another film festival that you would Exactly. Exactly. It's not. Yeah, it's much, much more and very much a, uh, community and a network and a family. You know of filmmakers just from all over, so it's a really cool thing to be a part of.
Yeah. I've been to a fair number of film [00:11:00] festivals in my time and film Appalooza is unique in that it is more like a family reunion than it is a film festival, and you're meeting a ton of family that you didn't know you had Exactly. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. That's like the perfect analogy for that. Yeah.
Everyone has, you know, a shared experience in common and there's immediately something to talk about. Right. With every single person you meet there. Yep. And I think that, you know, one of the, one of the, the biggest bummers is I barely get to see you at Film of Palooza. You're always so damn busy. That is a bummer for me too.
I was, I was really happy in Rotterdam when, you know, we got to hang out on the boat, out on the deck for a while, right? Yeah. You had a breakaway moment. We all get to, to hang out. It's like you, you have to take those small pockets of time. Being on the headquarter staff we're like a mighty force. [00:12:00] Um, trying to be in a million places at once and to make everything work.
And, uh, we're definitely growing and building the headquarter staff to help make that better so we can do a little more enjoying the film. Aliza and a little less of wear. A little less hats. Well, yeah, that's where Walter and Indra must be. Such a huge breath of fresh air. Oh, absolutely. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
To have them come in and to have you come in to do like the DCP and and things like that, to have some of the producers take more of a leadership role in film Palooza is a huge thing and it helps make the event much better [00:13:00] and it helps. The 48 hour film project, and it helps everybody personally, I think I've helped out with all the, the domestic 40 eights basically since 2013, with the exception of 2014 when I couldn't attend because of the.
Work reasons. Yes. We all have work outside of the 48. It's a common misconception, but I was working with Nicole Haddock who was running the screenings. Yeah, in LA both times and in Atlanta, and actually in Seattle as well. And I was in the theater most of the time, locked up in the, the projection booth watching just make, making sure that the screenings were going right, right.
And that cuts into your socializing time. But it's so worth it when you have that vantage from the, the projection booth to look down into the theater and see everyone having. A blast and cheering for each other and [00:14:00] just having a good time seeing their film and other films up on the screen. It's, yeah, it's one of the more rewarding parts of.
Film of Palooza for me, you know, as someone who off and on works on it. Luckily I didn't have to in Paris, 'cause Olivier runs a small 48 army there and Hans and Berg did a, you know, a fantastic job with Rotterdam. That was a really good film of palooza. Yes, exactly. It's nice to see how Film of Palooza has evolved too over the years.
Yeah. Oh. And become its own like living, breathing thing. Yeah, exactly. It's, there's definitely a, a format and a structure to it. But yeah, there is a, a nice organic quality to it. There's enough time, you know, that isn't, you know, taken up by fomo, where people can go out and do things independently. I remember in Rotterdam, you know, I went out with Chris and Jesse from Toronto and with Angela and Pierre from, mm-hmm.
And we just [00:15:00] wandered around and got coffee and. Downtown Rotterdam and had a blast. Right. And that's part of the thing too, like you have to be, you have to take the time to enjoy the city that film Appalooza is in. Exactly. We try to make it in a cool location every year. Yeah. And that's why, you know, when I.
Hosted in Seattle in 2017. I remember when the call went out for proposals for putting together, you know, locations. You know, mark asked me if I wanted to make a proposal for Seattle and I said, yeah, and seriously, within 90 minutes, my wife, Kasha and I, we had. The outline of a proposal together. 'cause we knew she'd been to FMA before.
Right. She knows the structure and then, okay, we gotta keep it all in one neighborhood, which is, uh, the lower Queen Anne area in Seattle, which is where a theater is. And there was a good hotel. And so you try to make everything so that people don't have to. [00:16:00] Commute too much. And luckily we have that all within five blocks in Seattle.
And granted, most of my experience of FMA in Seattle was running to, uh, cash and carry into Costco and back. Well, it's funny because I actually can't wait until we have Film Palooza Cleveland. Oh yeah. Because I don't think most people realize. Cleveland is as cool as it is and it's something, it's a place, it's a city that's been, we've been the butt of many jokes, Cleveland.
Really has grown tremendously. Really in the time that I've been with the 48 hour film project, I've seen the city grow as well and become this cool thing. You know, people are starting to look at Cleveland as more of a location now, and I'm excited to hopefully have [00:17:00] everybody come to Cleveland one day 'cause it will be a fantastic film of Za.
I have no doubt about that. I'd love to. Come visit your stomping grounds. Yeah. 'cause you got the inside track with you. Absolutely. I mean, yeah, running a film of palooza is very different from attending for sure. But you know, one of the most rewarding things for me personally was the opening night party that we had at KEXP.
In the lobby of KX exp in Seattle. And normally I don't have stage fright when I get up and, and talk to the audience. Yeah. At my screenings or, you know, any other, uh, public events I attend where I'm asked to speak, but I was really a bit overwhelmed, you know, seeing all these people from around the world in, in my hometown.
And just the weight of that. Yeah. Hit me a little. It's, I hope we did enough. I hope we did enough. This is, you know, just way too cool all these people here. And [00:18:00] I got, uh, the executive director of the Office of Film and Music for Seattle and the state film commissioner there. And it blew their minds to see the scope of the 48 hour film project.
'cause they knew, they knew about it locally, right? They, they'd been judges locally and they were really impressed by the fact that. There's this whole other echelon of filmmakers in town that they don't necessarily know. Yep. Because in their positions, they're dealing with the people that need to get permits and contracts and paperwork for the incentives.
So they're dealing with the upper echelon of filmmakers in Washington, in the Seattle area. Then they see the 48 and go, holy crap, who are all these people? I had no idea that there was this much talent just bubbling under the surface. Exactly, and that's the same thing. It's the same thing in Cleveland.
It's the same thing I imagine in probably a lot of [00:19:00] different cities that have a film community like this. We've helped to grow the independent film community around the world in general. I would like to think, yeah, the impact that this, I hate calling it a competition. Even though there are awards city by city and then there's awards at Film of Palooza.
Sure. I, I like to think of it as an event more than a competition, but just the sheer scope of it now is even in a pandemic, having 90 cities is. Pretty damn impressive. Oh yeah. The fact, right. When you, when you look at the fact that we are essentially a film events company, the fact that we're still here is impressive because Yeah.
Let's talk about doing more with less. Yeah, exactly. The fact that the 48 hour film project is still here is [00:20:00] only because of the tenacity of. The city producers and the headquarter staff. I don't know how much the filmmakers understand that, but the city producers do so much. I, I think I can safely speak for all of us city producers out here.
If it weren't for you and Mark and Christina and until recently, Laura. And Wilder and Indra, you're holding this giant ship together with a bunch of little strings and we're all doing our best to support it. And the 2021 Film of Palooza was weird. I. It was, yeah. Very weird. It's great that it happened. It happened at all.
And yeah, the, the, the panels that were organized were phenomenal. Right. Absolutely phenomenal. And the work that Indra [00:21:00] and my co-producer Chris Flink put into organizing all of that was, I mean, it was Herculean, it was massive. Yep. Absolutely. So it was really good to see that, you know, happen. But again, just it wasn't film of oo in the same way.
'cause there was no person to person contact. I mean, the, the trivia, the karaoke, they were all great attempts, but it's, yeah, it's, there's no never going to be anything to replicate the in-person experience of the 48 hour film project. And that's, in fact one of the reasons why the 48 has been successful is because we are based on in-person events.
Yes. And yeah, it's nothing like the, the, the personal interaction. You get meeting people you don't know as of yet. I've made so many great friends and professional contacts through this, right. As a city producer, [00:22:00] but there were. A handful of benefits that came out of the pandemic, like Cinema 48. I think that's gonna be a game changer absolutely for all of us city producers.
I envision a future in Seattle where we're doing in-person, uh. Kickoff with a, a hybrid option for people who are, say, all the way across the state in Spokane, where it's just unreasonable for them to drive five hours for a physical kickoff. You know, do a hybrid, virtual in-person kickoff, and then do the, the dropoff all virtually.
It makes my life so easier as the editor for my city. Yes. And as entertaining as some of the drop off stories are. Yeah. Uh, just the, the level of, uh, risk and danger that, that people have put themselves in to get their films in on time is. You know, pretty astounding. Yeah. I'm, I'm amazed that no one's died doing it.[00:23:00]
Yep. I've never, I've never heard of a serious injury either. No. I, I don't think we ever have. And, but I've heard some really close calls. I. And so, yeah, things, there's stories of people, filmmakers doing one 20 on the freeway and getting pulled over by cops and explaining their way out of getting a ticket.
Yeah. I've personally seen, you know, when we do the, the countdown from 10 to seven 30 and just people hauling ass down a sidewalk. Yeah. More than one occasion I've seen someone, you know, just bite it. Yep. And their paperwork went flying everywhere, and if they hadn't tripped, they'd have bed on time. You know, it's just heartbreaking.
Things like that. The, the, yeah. The saddest thing is the person that runs in, it used to be, that would run in [00:24:00] just after the deadline. It's heartbreaking to. Yep. Oh, a couple of years ago we had a first time participant. It was in the horror and they took a wrong turn and they were three minutes late and oh, I had to spend a lot of time comforting this woman.
Yeah. And it just explaining you're late. I'm sorry. And I am so grateful that Chris is is part of the team because this woman was having. Some issues that I can't relate to. Sure. And Chris could, they're roughly the same age and having very similar experiences. So Chris was able to really talk her down and yeah, get her to accept that it's late, it's screens, it's eligible for audience favorite, and she's come back twice since then and was an award winner this year.
She was in the top four for horror. It's, there are benefits to turning [00:25:00] it in regardless, and if you're late, if you miss the line of dialogue, there are benefits to accepting that you're not gonna win best in city if you tripped up on one of the requirements time or story elements that just go at it again.
Absolutely. You've, you've learned from that experience. The best thing I think for filmmakers is to look at the 48 hour film project, not as a contest, but as a personal challenge. Mm-hmm. Themselves. Can you get this done? Make the film that I want to in this short timeframe. Yeah, yeah. It's film school in a weekend, I like to say.
Absolutely. And it's, and it teaches you things that you're just not going to learn in film school. I, I think I Oh, absolutely. Time pressure, some curve balls that you're never gonna see. [00:26:00] And yeah, you're immediately dealing with every single piece of the filmmaking experience. Everything from pre-production.
What can you do in advance, Uhhuh to a very tight production schedule to. Actors not showing up. What's your B plan to, you know, managing egos? Managing egos. That's a big one. Yep. Locations falling out at the last minute. That's a big one. Yeah. And it really teaches you a lot of things about the filmmaking process in general and just how you have to roll with the punches in order to.
Get these films done sometimes. Yeah. It's an incredible learning experience and I always say that I tip my hat to everyone who completes one. Absolutely. It's part of our jobs as city producers is consoling the people who got disqualified on a rules technicality. Yeah. Or [00:27:00] they're late. And I've learned, I'm, I think, fundamentally a different person than I was 17 years ago because of.
My interacting with filmmakers, I find that I am in general as a person, I think I'm more diplomatic, empathetic, sympathetic, because I know the heartbreak and the frustration of what they're going through. I'm thankful for that. I, I just think that I'm a better person. Because of my experience as a city producer and just working with people who are dealing with frustration, and I think the me before the 48 would probably be like, tough shit, dude.
Sorry. Yeah. That's the really important point too in the, for anybody that's working in the entertainment industry, because it's everyone. For themselves. Very cutthroat and, but it doesn't [00:28:00] have to be. No. So the culture of Hollywood, that's like a whole, that's a whole podcast in itself, but it does not, you can create, the 48 hour film project proves that you can create a Hollywood.
Level of film production without all of the Hollywood bullshit that goes with it. Yeah, yeah. Definitely. Spinning out of that. So if someone wants to be a city producer for the 48 Yeah. You're the person to talk to. Yep. So what goes into that and what are you specifically looking for? Okay, so the first thing that anybody.
Needs to understand is that being a city producer is running your own small business in the filmmaking industry. Indeed, I have a business license for [00:29:00] it. Yep. And a lot of our city producers do that. They run it like through their production company. Or, or like another organization or something like that.
You have to understand that it's a business. That's the the key thing. Once you understand that, then the relationship between the city producers. Headquarters makes a little more sense. Yeah, definitely. So then in terms of what we're looking for, definitely an interest in film, but you don't necessarily have to be a filmmaker.
Our city producers come from all different sorts of backgrounds. Some of them are event producers. Some are, a lot of them are filmmakers, a lot of them are 48 hour filmmakers, and that is one thing that we look at is this person, have they competed before? Have they been through the [00:30:00] process as a filmmaker?
Do they understand like what the experience. It's because that's one level of understanding that you have to have in order to be a good city producer. Yeah. Some of our producers are marketing people, some are educators, some are artists. And the thing, the cool kind of thing is film in general is like the ultimate.
Like the most collaborative form of arts and work that you can imagine. Yes. Because you, it not only allows you to work with people from a. All these different worlds and skill sets, uh, it requires it. Yes. When I first started out in the industry, uh, I worked as a gaffer a lot 'cause I had background in photography.
That's what I went to college [00:31:00] for the first time around. Sure. And. But I also got deep into editing. Editing was my first love coming out of film school. Yeah. But I just wanted to do anything to, you know, get myself on set and get editing work. And when Liz recruited me, I've told this story several times already, but you know, I was really drunk at Quest in San Jose, and when she asked me if I wanted to run Seattle, I was like, yeah.
I woke up the next morning like, whoa, what did I just sign up for? Right? I'm an editor, what the hell am I doing? But with the help of Mark and Liz, I. Then Christina later on, and Ben and Rob Hatch from Baltimore and Portland, he was my mentor for a couple of years, helping me get figure things out. What I've learned over the years is incredible stuff that I didn't think that I would be learning professionally.
Like, you know, in during COD, Chris and I, we've had to write grant applications. [00:32:00] I've had no luck with that in the past. The cynic in me always comes out. I'd start writing this really smarmy copy thinking that was going to appease the granters, but working collaborative collaboratively with Chris and just learned to tamp down.
I think some of my, you know, more cynical attributes. Yeah, sure. By dealing with people, you know, a lot of people and people I don't know, and angry people and overjoyed people, I learned a lot of skills that have helped temper my cynicism, you know, innate cynicism over the years, and I, I attribute that to being a city producer and the people.
Around me, you know, fellow city producers and headquarter staff like yourself. So yeah, the thing to remember is if you want to be successful in the film world, no matter what you do, [00:33:00] I. You have to understand people. Yeah. And you have to be a people person. And that doesn't mean you don't have to be a, we're not talking about introvert, extrovert sort of thing here, because I don't particularly, I.
Enjoy talking to people on a day-to-day basis. Mm-hmm. But I love collaborating with people and I understand people really well, which is part of the reason why it is easy for me to make decisions, because you can immediately be empathetic to everybody's viewpoints. Yeah, I think, uh, the biggest lesson I've learned is I've never liked being the center of attention.
I was six foot four when I was 14. I stood out everywhere I went, and I never liked being the center of attention. So I've lived a life where I have a small [00:34:00] cloister of very close friends and where I could. Get the level of attention that suits me. If you do run a city for long enough, you do gain this, you know, weird little bit of celebrity.
Yes. And especially at after parties, you know, there's always someone who wants to. Monopolize your time and me, I wanna hop around table to table and congratulate everyone. And so, you know, I learned ultimately through this, you know, I don't want to be the center of attention. I like being the conductor of this train, but I also like being in the, the engine kind of by myself, you know, with Chris helping me out.
And ultimately I think career-wise, I just, I like helping other people. And I don't know that I'd have come to that realization had I not done this. I would prefer to not be personally recognized for a project I'm on. You know, I wanna help out so that whoever is leading the charge gets the recognition they deserve.
[00:35:00] That's much more where I like to operate. And you know, I don't know if I'd have come to that outside of the 48, you know, being a city producer. Yeah. I think that's like the most gratifying thing for me is being a connector and that's what the 48 Hour film Project does in every way possible. Every aspect of it.
Yeah. And I like that the connections that we make as city producers are gonna outlive us in a way. I love seeing. Two people come to a meet and greet that have never known each other before they do the 48. They, they have a blast, and next thing you know, they have their own production company and their own careers as creative collaborators.
Yep. It's amazing to see that. I would much rather facilitate that than do that myself. Yeah. Honestly, it's the best job in the world and I will be a hundred percent, you know, honest, I miss being a city producer already. [00:36:00] I retired in 2019 and uh, that was. For a lot of different reasons. Some were personal because of things that were happening in my personal life, and some were, because I thought Cleveland, that it might be time.
For Cleveland to have a breath of fresh air and uh, get new blood into the 48. And just because of my own personal goals and things, like I wanted to start a horror festival, which I did as you know, and you know, I want to open a film center in Cleveland. So I am in the process of opening up nonprofits and it was very.
Sad for me, it's very sad for me to not be a city producer. Um, it's [00:37:00] something that I let go, but because I had to let it go in order to do some other things with my life mm-hmm. That I need to, but it's something that I will sorely miss and. If I can ever find the opportunity to get back to there, I probably will be a city producer again.
You know, people ask me how long I'm gonna do it, and honestly, I don't know, but I, where my head is right now, I don't envision a future where I'm not doing this. I'm sure that day will come. I turned 50 this year and it's. A bit of a turning point where you start thinking about different things in life.
Sure. It was 2015 or 2016 where Seattle had its biggest year ever, where we had 84 teams, and I did my screenings two days after the drop off and that. Wow. I edit. Yeah. I'd always done [00:38:00] it two days after, but that year we had a huge surge and. It almost killed me. I, I was so out of it at the screenings. It was just, I was the walking dead.
Sure. And I'd had some people come on help me in the past and good friends and, you know, for very valid reasons. Their heart was never into it, to the level I required out of a partner. Yeah. And then, you know, I met Chris Flink in 2014 and she came through for me at a time when I was desperate, uh, for help.
And you know, after she ran the 2017 Seattle Horror Awards for me, I. I said, okay, do you want to be my partner in this? And she said, yeah. And it was exactly what I needed to keep personally afloat running the 48 in Seattle. And, you know, it fit in [00:39:00] with Chris's professional goals. You know, she, she runs events, that's her primary source of income is running events, right.
And so she's bringing a level of expertise that I don't have to the table, and that really renewed my vigor for the possibility of growing it in Seattle and then boom, a pandemic hit. Right? You know, Chris has been there. We've been just struggling through the grants to keep us going. And yeah, working really hard to find connections that'll help us get the next in-person screening, and I think we will be back to.
Some semblance of normal this year. You know, we had to Missoula on hold for two years because of the pandemic. You know, we had a, a small start in 2019 and you know, we both, Chris grew up in Missoula and my brother's family lives south of Missoula, so I could go there a lot. And out of the pandemic and the tools that are being developed for us as city producers and for the, the participants, we [00:40:00] figured out an idea that.
Because of the pandemic. Uh, you know, without the pandemic, I don't think we'd have thought of. And that's that we're now running the Montana 48 hour film project. Mm-hmm. Because Montana is a big state. It is huge. And why don't we do virtual kickoff and drop off, invite everyone from the state and then we do a IIDA screenings billings.
We do a IIDA screenings in Bozeman and we do a IIDA screenings in Missoula. And that way we can get everyone in the state involved. No one is too far a drive from one of the screening hubs. And that came about because of the pandemic. And that's, that's brilliant. And that's just something that, you know, we've all figured out how to adapt because of the pandemic, and that's humanity in general.
But for sure, like the 48 hour film project as well. I mean, it's kind of our motto. [00:41:00] Adapt. Yeah. Yep. Adapt, adopt, and improve. I want to get, uh, one last, one last notion from you. Gimme your best pitch for why you should come to film Appalooza. Film Appalooza is a life-changing experience for many people. It is not only the best way to get connected to.
The film world, it's an introduction into a film. Again, you said it, the film family that you didn't know that you had, and when you come to film Appalooza, you are going to find people from all over the world that you. Didn't realize that you just have to be friends with this person because they're the [00:42:00] coolest people in the world and you see their film and it's incredible and you realize that you all have done.
I. That same thing. You've all taken part in that experience. You've all gone through the process, you've all made a film. Mm-hmm. And you're all, you all did it in your cities, and now you're all coming together from all over the world and doing it. Together in one place at Film of Palooza. It is definitely, it can be a life changing event.
I mean, I'm, I'm literally marked for life because of a film of palooza. Three of us are, and Dino from Atlanta is gonna join the ranks this year. I. Nice. Uh, that's what he said. So
like Dino, the city producer from Atlanta, I had never met him until we started having our city producer weekend chats on Zoom. Yeah. And again, you know, I've never, you know, met [00:43:00] him in person or if I had, you know, it was briefly at Atlanta in 2016, but again. A family member I didn't know, you know, that I had, you know, just instantly just love this guy and I can't wait to, you know, see him in person, go get a tattoo with him, you know?
Well, thank you Brian. This is very, uh, informative and enlightening. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Yeah. And I'll see you in about a month. Yeah, I am. Look, very much looking forward to it. Alright, until next time.