When I found out the Spencer Fornaciari, due to his work schedule, would not be able to commit to the role of Programming Director I immediately thought of Will Chase as a replacement. Will and I have worked together on several projects over the last four years and just this summer spent 20 days over in Eastern Washington working on Kris & Lindy Boustedt’s ‘This is Ours’. It was a bonding session for everyone involved but Will & I spent quite a bit of time together back set and we took on the role of Camp Counselors for the rest of the cast & crew setting up river tubing excursions and a camping trip for the entire cast & crew on our one day off.
Will is even more involved in the Film Community than I am and he recently made a full time commitment to the lifestyle leaving his day job and creating his production company MemeBlast Media. Will has been involved with STIFF as a filmmaker on a steady basis with multiple films in the festival for the last 3 years as an Actor and Producer so I am confident he understands our mission and will do everything possible to push it forward.
The Role of Programming Director sounds very glamorous but really requires a lot of coordination and hard work to make the process run smooth. We have put together a team of 30 programmers and screeners for him to manage and so far have received almost 250 submissions. We still have some time to submit and expect at least 250 more films. If you are still thinking about submitting now is the time. Don’t forget local films submit free (Use waiver code INDIEWASH for films shot in Washington State).
Spencer will continue to serve on the STIFF Board of Directors and help out as much as he is able with this year’s festival and hopefully into the future.
Also we are running a Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign to raise funds to get the festival up and running this year. We have opportunities for Sponsors Big and Small. Please take a look and help out if you can.
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