With
all the film festivals that come through town and all the content
that gets showcased, its really difficult to find anything in the mix
suited for kids. Now in hindsight, yes, this year we had the
documentary “Being Elmo” up at Sundance, but that was more of a "behind
the curtain" and retros,pect piece for adults than entertaining to a
younger crowd. In fact if you go over the past five years, less than
5% of films that hit the festival circuit carry a G rating. Which is
why kids festivals have started popping up all around the US as of
late.
--- One of those festivals gets its start tonight right here in Salt Lake
City as the SLC Film Center presents the Tumbleweeds Film Festival. A
three day event featuring indie movies from around the world,
strictly focused on younger audiences with the hope of giving them
the cinematic experience. (Something sorely needed in the
direct-to-DVD world we live in.) We got a chance to chat with Patrick
Hubley from the SLC Film Center about the festival and the movies
they've brought on board, plus his career and thoughts on film in
Utah.
Patrick
Hubley
http://kidsfilm.org/
Gavin: Hey Patrick, what first got you interested in film and entertainment, and what
influenced you growing up?
Patrick:
I was a voracious reader growing up. I read everything and anything
that I could get my hands on. I liked movies but I gravitated
towards film and entertainment when I was attending college.
Gavin:
Why did you choose to go to the University of Western Ontario, and
what was their program like?
Patrick:
UWO has a great blend of academics and extra-curricular activities –
which is what attracted me to the school. I started out as a history
major but found the traditional history courses a little dry. I
transferred to Western Literature and Civilization, which was a
relatively new program at the school. I loved this program because it
had a wide range of course offerings focusing primarily on literature
but also included other art forms. I think I was one of the first
people to graduate with a degree in that program.
Gavin:
After graduating you started working for the college's entertainment
division. How did you get the gig and what was it like producing
material for them?
Patrick:
I started working Entertainment Productions part-time in my second
year of university. Entertainment Productions was responsible for
booking and producing on all of the concerts and big special events
that happened on campus. My first job with them was to fulfill the
rider for the Village People. After that I was hooked. I loved
working production for concerts and helping to put on shows. After I
graduated I thought I wanted to work in the music business and they
offered me a gig that included managing event production and giving
input on some of the programming. The first event that I was able to
call my own from beginning to end was “The New Rock Explosion” –
a local battle of the bands that was a smashing success and lived on
for a few years after I left. It was great fun!
Gavin:
How did you get involved with the Toronto International Film
Festival and how was your time during your three years
there?
Patrick:
After I left Entertainment Productions I enrolled in a PR Program at
a community college that was geared for university graduates. Part of
that program was an internship component and I was fortunate enough
to get a three-month internship position in the Toronto International
Film Festival Group Press Office. That evolved into various seasonal
positions in the Press Office for the next three years. I worked on
PR for the Toronto International Film Festival, Sprockets
International Film Festival for Children, Cinemathque Ontario,
amongst other programs. One of the most rewarding experiences I had
in Toronto was working on Sprockets – their film festival for
children. That experience inspired me to pursue Tumbleweeds.
Gavin:
Eventually you came to work for the Sundance Film Festival for a
number of years. How was that transition between festivals, and how
was it for you being a part of the Sundance committee?
Patrick:
The transition was relatively easy. Though Toronto and Sundance are
very different film festivals, there are a lot of similarities
between the two. From the first year I attended the Sundance Film
Festival I knew I wanted to return and work for Sundance Institute.
Being a part one of a leading arts organization that does such an
amazing job at discovering and supporting new artists was an
irreplaceable experience. I really enjoyed my time at the
Institute.
Gavin:
What made you decide to leave in 2007, and how did you get involved
with the SLC Film Center?
Patrick:
I left Sundance 2007 to pursue the idea of creating a children’s
film festival in Salt Lake City. I spent a year working on it on my
own, as well as consulting on other film festivals including
Sundance, Dubai and CineVegas. During my pursuit of this idea I
started talking with Geralyn Dreyfous – at that time Executive and
Creative Director of the SLC Film Center – about the idea of a
children’s film festival. From those conversations lead to my
getting more involved with the Film Center and its regular
programming. It has been a great experience working with Geralyn and
the rest of the team here. Without them this festival wouldn’t be
happening.
Gavin: You touched on it a little earlier, but how did the idea come about for the Tumbleweeds Film
Festival?
Patrick:
I was inspired by my experience in Toronto – working at Sprockets.
In 2007 I started thinking about what kind of film programming was
being offered here in Salt Lake City and what was missing. It dawned
on me that there wasn’t anything being offered to children and
youth – on a regular basis – other than mainstream Hollywood
films. It seemed like there was an opportunity to create a program or
film festival that focused on international and independent films for
children and youth.
Gavin:
What was the process like in putting it together and choosing the
film selection?
Patrick:
Watching these films was a lot of fun! Not to say watching films for
the rest of the programming for the Film Center isn’t fun – but
this was a completely different experience. From the outset of our
festival planning we realized that we were going to need some support
in making this program happen. We’ve been working with Allen
Braude, a programming consultant who has deep experience with
children’s films and is a former co-Director of Sprockets. He
helped narrow down the program and has been our main liaison with the
international films. He and I made the final program selections
together.
Gavin:
Was it difficult finding material that fit the criteria or more the
opposite trying to whittle it down?
Patrick:
It was a little of both. There are a lot of children’s films out
there made for 6-8 years-old and up so it was hard to narrow those
down. It was challenging, however, to find appropriate films for
younger audiences that still fit with our programming
philosophy.
Gavin:
A lot of the films were made between 2007-2009 and haven't seen an
American audience. Was there a conscious effort to have international
representation or was that just how it worked out?
Patrick:
It was a conscious effort. Having international representation is
what we were striving for. We wanted to produce a unique event and
present films that would otherwise not be seen on the big screen here
in Salt Lake City or Utah for that matter. Our basic programming
philosophy was to look for great international and independent films
for children. Within that philosophy we were looking for animated,
live-action and documentary films.
Gavin:
What are some of the films you're looking forward to most coming out
of this festival?
Patrick:
They are all great films. I hope our audiences enjoy them as much as
we enjoyed finding them and watching them.
Gavin:
Considering the aim at younger film audiences, is the Center looking
to branch out and do more youth-oriented events, or is this more of a
one-time event to see if there's an audience for it?
Patrick:
We’ve been hosting regular screenings of children’s films at the
Sorenson Unity Center for the past year and half. We’ve been
presenting them for free on the first Saturday of the month. The
evolution of that series has been the Festival. We hope to continue
to present the regular series as well as the Festival.
Gavin:
Besides the films, are there any other events happening during the
festival, or info that kids and parents should check out before
hand?
Patrick:
Besides the films we’re working with Spy Hop Productions to
produce four three-hour workshops during the Festival – two animation
workshops with LEGO minfigs, a special FX workshop, and one called
the Filmmaker Experience. The workshops are intended to give
participants a little introduction into the world of filmmaking and
to introduce kids to the creative side of the media world.
Gavin:
Going local for a bit, what’s your opinion of the Utah film scene,
both good and bad?
Patrick:
I’m not that involved in the production scene so I can’t really
comment on that side of things. From a film exhibition side of things
– I think that between the Sundance Film Festival, the SLC Film
Center and the Salt Lake Film Society we have access to a tremendous
amount of film that other communities our size don’t have.
Gavin:
Anything you think could be done to make it bigger or
better?
Patrick:
We’ve been working with the Salt Lake Film Society, Spy Hop
Productions and Salt Lake County to explore the idea of creating a
film and media arts center in Downtown Salt Lake City. I think that
having a focal point for film and media arts would be a great boon to
the city, county and state. By having all three organizations under
one roof we could create more opportunities for collaboration,
develop new programming, and serve as a statewide resource for film
and media.
Gavin:
What's your take on localized fests like the Salt Lake City Film
Festival, Salty Horror or Fear No Film, and the work they're doing to
promote filmmaking and the artform itself?
Patrick:
I think they’re great. There are a lot of films out there. I think
the festivals that have a particular focus like Fear No Film focusing
on short films or Salty Horror’s focus on horror films present
films that audiences might not otherwise have an opportunity to
see.
Gavin:
What can we expect from both yourself and the Center over the rest
of the year?
Patrick:
You can expect the same level and quality of programming you have
seen from the Film Center for the past nine years – including our
annual LGBT film festival Damn These Heels! in June. We’ve got a
couple of initiatives that we’ll be rolling out in the coming
months – we’re working with groups in Ogden, Logan, Moab and St.
George to bring our programming to their communities, and we’ll be
presenting a film festival in September inspired by the work of
Mahatma Gandhi that will feature films about peace and
non-violence.
Gavin:
Aside the obvious, is there anything you'd like to promote or
plug?
Patrick:
Support independent film in Utah!
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