September 18, 2024 • 21 mins
Cincinnati has become more and more popular in recent years, as Hollywood descends onto the Tri-State to film their movies in one of the most versatile areas of the country. You're just about 15 minutes away from farmland to the city, nationally-recognized architecture that provides that New York City look at a fraction of the production cost. Today's show is about the local, independent film makers who write, produce and promote their own projects, hoping to get their work in front of the curious public.
The Cindependent Film Festival is September 19-21 at Memorial Hall in downtown Cincinnati. University of Cincinnati graduate and founder Allyson West tells us how she created the festival in 2018, which has been awarded a 'Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival,' and the 'Best Filmmaker-Focused Festival in Cincinnati' by Cincinnati CityBeat. In this show she also addresses the finalist designation for Cincinnati as a possible future location for the Sundance Film Festival, one of the most important Film Festivals in the world, (competing against current home Park City, UT and contestant Boulder, CO.)
Cindependent Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Cindependent Film Festival is September 19-21 at Memorial Hall in downtown Cincinnati. University of Cincinnati graduate and founder Allyson West tells us how she created the festival in 2018, which has been awarded a 'Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival,' and the 'Best Filmmaker-Focused Festival in Cincinnati' by Cincinnati CityBeat. In this show she also addresses the finalist designation for Cincinnati as a possible future location for the Sundance Film Festival, one of the most important Film Festivals in the world, (competing against current home Park City, UT and contestant Boulder, CO.)
Cindependent Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This week on iHeart Cincy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The ultimate goal is to support independent filmmaking in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
The Cincinnati region is the home of some of the
most talented individuals, and while Hollywood loves to film here,
independent filmmakers are getting their projects viewed, getting feedback to
grow as a filmmaker. And they're gathering at the Sindependent
Film Festival in Cincinnati beginning September nineteenth. That's just around
the corner. My guest today is Alison West. She's the
(00:28):
young UC graduate who started the festival six years ago
and like a gardener, is nourishing it and watching it
grow into the top one hundred best film festival and
the Sincy City Beat calls it the best filmmaker focused
festival fest of all.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
You can go and we'll tell you how now on
iHeart Sincy with Sandy Kopp, We're glad you're here today.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
If you've ever been to the movies, you need to
stick around for my first guest, Alison West. She founded
the Sindependent Film Festival right here in Cincinnati as a
place to give independent filmmakers and creative people the opportunity
and the tools to get their careers and their projects
in front of movie lovers. Alison west Sindependent Film Festival founder,
(01:13):
a very busy woman these days, getting ready for the
festival coming up.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Hello, how are you good?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I'm well, thanks for being on here, of course, Alison,
where'd you go to college?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I went to UC Actually, it's yeah. So I grew
up in Texas and my family wasn't really like a
college family. We were all kind of learning as we
were doing it, and I ended up getting accepted to
CCM in the acting department that they had, And so
I went to UC, which was basically my first time
(01:44):
being out of a small town and was kind of
blown away because the population of the campus is like
two hundred times the size of my small town.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yes, I know some city girls that are intimidated by
UC AND's Cincinnati, so I can understand that.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So you got your.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
BFA and act, yeah, and I'm sure you did a lot,
you know, in between. But in twenty eighteen you decided
to start this film festival, and the more I learned
about it, the more blown away I am at how
oh gosh it's grown. Because your board president is my boss,
Jack Crumley, and he is a film buff and we're
(02:19):
always talking about films in the newsroom, and so when
he's telling us about this independent film festival, I'm like, Okay,
well that sounds cool whatever. Now I'm really looking into it,
and it is truly amazing what you're doing. So I'm
going to stop talking and I want you to tell
me how you fell in love with films and why
you started this independent film festival.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yes, thank you so much for supporting this.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You know, I think that the journey to sindependent initially
was a very personal one where when I first started
kind of trying to develop whatever my career was going
to be, I started kind of writing scripts and I
don't really know what to do with them, and I
had some friends who kind of encouraged me to make
(03:04):
them myself, and I really ended up starting to figure
out that as somebody who makes independent film, you're given
the opportunity to creatively problem solve all of the time.
It's just creative problem after create a problem after create
a problem after one after the other. And I feel
like it that's a metaphor that kind of gets applied
(03:26):
to life. And so for me, you know, how did
I first fall in love with independent filmmaking. It's because
there's a medium, there's an end result that people can
look at and kind of have discussions about how somebody
solved a problem. And those solutions and that discussion and
those answers are things that don't only apply to making movies.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
They apply to life.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
And so a lot of what we do with the
festival is open that metaphor up. So if someone says,
you know, I have this idea, or I really want
to talk about this one thing, or I've been waiting
my whole life to make this story. We want to
make a space where people are able to achieve those
goals and achieve those dreams and create action around the
ideas that just live in their head and inside their
(04:11):
hearts a lot of the time.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So your goal was to do what by founding and
building the Film Festival?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
What was the ultimate goal? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I think the ultimate goal is to support independent filmmaking
in Cincinnati. Truly, like on paper and the way we
say it, how do you couch the passion and the
big ideas of what we do into something small.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
It is to support independent filmmakers.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
And I think what a lot of people don't understand
is that indie filmmakers can be at any journey of
their career and at any space in their life, and
what they need is a home where they can go
talk to somebody and find the resources, no matter what
level they are at. So, you know, this year at
the festival, we have first time filmmakers, We have college storytellers,
people who are just starting to develop their career that
(04:57):
we want to provide a professional and encouraging envince for them.
But then we also have you know, Los Angeles, New
York names, people who are coming to the festival to
have that same experience but need different skills and resources.
What they want at that time is potentially a hungry
audience and a great city to hear their stories and
(05:18):
love and enjoy them.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And so that's what we offer to them as well.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So everywhere along the spectrum we want to support independent
filmmakers so people can get their stories out into the world.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
When I think of a film festival, I think of
seeing movies that I wouldn't normally get to see, or
seeing hot movies. First, you know, I'm thinking of you know,
in con Or, I'm thinking of the Sundance Film Festival.
But there's a part of the film festivals that many
don't really maybe see or realize. And that's the critiquing
and the coaching that comes with it and the networking.
Tell me about how this independent film festival approaches that aspect.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, so I.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Think it's a twofold thing, you know, for a community member,
for somebody who wants to go to a film festival. Yes,
you need to go see these movies that you're not
going to see anywhere else, but you get to have
an actual dialogue with the filmmaker, with the artists. The
ability to have a conversation that's one to one between
a viewer and the creator is right there.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So if you're going to.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
The festival, you get to ask people why they did this,
or what they meant or how they solved this one thing,
and take all that information into your life and go
about your world to see how that has changed you
if you are an.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Artist or a filmmaker.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And I really think too that creativity is just something
that needs to be pointed in the direction of the medium.
If you're any sort of artist, coming in and like
watching the screenplay reads, which are workshops of new films
that have not yet been produced, watching the movies, taking
educational master classes, and then then you know, participating in
the networking, the parties, the lunches, the dinners, the coffee chats.
(06:52):
Those things start to make new connections that you don't
just walk into in your.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Day to day life.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You get to come to this space and kind of
disappear and walk away, you know, processing the conversations that
are ultimately going to shape and change your work.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Creative people have their own energy and when you get
around a lot of people like you, where you might
be the only person in your world that is a
creative person and you feel like an outlier. Once you
get into a group of people that are just like you,
your creativity explodes. You start feeling better about the world.
And that's one of the fun parts too, is that
(07:29):
I wanted to reach out because we have listeners that
are anywhere from six to six hundred, and you know,
for young people who say, you know, I want to
be a writer someday, or you know, I would love
to uh, I would just love to be in the
background and just help carry lighting. This is a seems
like it'd be a great opportunity for them to start
meeting people that do the same thing they want to do.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Eventually, and everybody does it differently, which I think is
very important to point out. You know, you know that
the way someone's career takes shape is very dependent on
number of factors. And I think that filmmaking gets this
extra leg special.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Oh, you have to do it.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
A certain way in order to make it happen, and
that's just not true.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
There are groups of people who have.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Expectations around like communities or environments, but you do get
to decide what your life and your career is like.
And I want people to hear the solutions and the
choices that lots of different people with the same career
have made.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
And it's the people that think differently and challenge those
norms that fall into place because they tend to work.
Then they turn into formulas and then suddenly, you know,
Hollywood or the movies or the plays are all stuck
in a rut. It takes those people to pull you
out of it and say, no, I see this film
looking this way.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Or but a different way of looking at something.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
And once you have, once you give yourself permission to
look at something differently, that just cracks open all of creativity.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Yes, and I think I really agree with you, and
I think that independent storytelling is so important because people
do it, they make it happen, they get the inspiration,
they make a new film, and they really communicate exactly what.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Is inside of them.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So you get to experience an authentic perspective that you
just don't see on Netflix or in movie theaters or
you know, streaming on you sometimes on YouTube. Yes, but
you know, we've curated basically the most exciting and impactful
films that came to us this year, and we offer
them as a gift to the community to come out
(09:33):
and see them.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Let's talk about the festival itself, because for those who've
never been to a film festival, they may not know
that there's going to be some viewings, there's going to
be some talks, there's going to be some seminars, and
it's all day long. You can pop in at certain
times and it seems a little intimidating, I'll tell you, Alison,
because you know, you know, like if you saw that
for a conference, you're solely dedicated to the conference. You've
(09:56):
got time off from work and you go somewhere and
you're there for two or three days and you get
to experience it all. But where does the average person
that wants to see what's going on today? How could
they just jump into one of the days or all
the days? Where do you suggest people go for like
the red Carpet.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Opening, which sounds very cool.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yes, ye, where you start, well, I would suggest that
somebody get a day pass. So a day pass is
a twenty nine dollars pass that allows people to come
and go at.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Their leisure on a particular day.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And we have a digital program that's available on our
website that is hugely comprehensive in terms of what events
are happening where and then goes a little bit deeper
into the actual programming that is happening. So if somebody
was like, oh, wow, I really do think this is
a cool thing. I don't know what to do. I
would say, take a day off from work, the best
one that works for you. Sleep in a little bit
(10:45):
because you took a day off from work and you
deserve it. And then when you're ready make your way
to the festival. Just come in, check in at the
check in desk and say hello. Because what we'll be
able to do is say, oh, are you going to
go to this masterclass that is happening now? Are you
interested in the screenplay reads where you can watch actors
live read scripts.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Was there a certain movie that you were trying to see?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
And then you can kind of you can kind of
flow through the venue at your own pace and time
to take in this content and start developing relationships and
conversations with people. I love that we're across from Washington
Park because if you do need a break, you can
just walk out and get some fresh air and then
come back when you're ready.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
So the place and time we're talking about for the
film festival is at Memorial Hall and the dates are
coming up quick September nineteenth through the twenty first. I
love the visuals on your website laying out each day's
agenda and how it's all intermingled and where you can
go to. It's very simple to understand, and there's like
a there's a certain sections for certain populations, the LGBTQ
(11:52):
section the first day on Thursday, and then there's others.
I have a friend from the Dayton area who has
a film last year in your or a film festival,
and then I found out this year that he has
another one, so he's gonna be a part of that riffle.
Oh Matt Matt Riffle. Okay, Matt Riffle. He's a screenwriter.
He's a brilliant screenwriter. He's brilliant, brilliant.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Well, I will be happy to pass that along because
I know how proud his family is of him and
how much he wants.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
To do this. So you get a day pass and
you decide what you're gonna do. Go to the website.
What's the website again?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
It's www dot Sendependentfilmfest dot org. It's the word independent
with the C in front of it, Sendependent Filmfest dot org.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Allison, that is such a brilliant marketing thing. How did
you come up with that?
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I mean it's so simple, it's like, oh my gosh,
that's brilliant. Creativity just strikes you know.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yeah, no doubt. So that's Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
There's there's a formal red carpet ceremony.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah yeah, let me talk about the red carpets. And
the festival is actually Thirdesday Friday, Saturday. On Sunday, we
have an awards brunch for the VIP pass holders and
we say goodbye to all the filmmakers. But there's really
no films or screenplays or education on Sunday. So basically
the festival is kind of all business in the daytime.
(13:17):
Come learn with us, Come have you know, very knowledgeable
discussions with us, Come.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Meet new people with us.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And then the night time you kind of get to
pop off and say, hey, let's play, let's have fun together.
And so we're still watching movies, we're still talking to
each other, but we change the environment a bit. And
so every single night, starting at six o'clock, there's a
red carpet reception. There's one on Thursdays opening night, which
is going to be very exciting because we have a
special guest, h John Benjamin attending, who's the voiceover actor
(13:47):
of Bob Belcher and Bob's Burgers.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Friday night we.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Have a Bridgerton themed, lightly themed red carpet, and then
Saturday we really start to pop it off with some
like music influence because Talk Low Music Festival has partnered
with us to really bring that to life that Saturday
night party.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
So people can come, they can hop on the.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Red carpet, they can take photos. I will be out there,
they can take photos with me. Then they get to
go into the venue and we're gonna have our mascots,
Crunchy and Bubs up greeting people. There's complimentary champagne, there's music,
and then you have, you know, from six to eight again,
this opportunity to see somebody and thank them for sharing
their stories, to ask them how they did it, to
(14:31):
kind of gather nuggets of inspiration before we all go
upstairs into the main theater to watch the eight PM showings.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
That is a nice easy primer to figure out how
to enjoy this independent film Festival starts on September nineteenth.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
The website is terrific.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I know if you reach out to anybody that's with
this independent Film Festival group, they will certainly help and
guide you and pull you under their wing and make
you part of their community as well, because you guys
are just such a fun group of filmmakers and film lovers.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Thank you so much so, Allison.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Just before I sat down to record this interview with you,
we got the word that Cincinnati is in the final
three Yay, the final three cities for the Sundance Film Festival.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
And I've been to it twice. Have you been able
to go out there before?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
No?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I haven't. Okay, so I went twice.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I lived in Salt Lake City and Parks City is
just the little mountain range next to it. So they
are totally prepared. I mean, you're doing this film festival
there in a blizzard. I mean there's you know, it's
so beautiful, but it's and they've just got it down.
The film festival is on a hill which is about
forty five degrees. Wow, all these up you know, straight
(15:46):
up the street and down, so it's difficult to walk
up and down. And yet this film festival has lasted
for so long and debuted so many incredible films and
exposed so many great actors and actresses and directors and
filmmakers to the public. Now thinking that they may be
leaving that location. Cincinnati, and what's is it?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Boston? It's Boulder. It's Boulder, Boulder, it's bolder, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Jack, is Bolder one of the other cities.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yes, we have the word.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
You're right, yes, yes it is, so it's it's park
City is still in the running. They may get to
keep it or not. And then Bolder and then Cincinnati.
And I was telling Jack that to have a film
festival here in the fall when the weather's beautiful, you
don't have the rain, you don't have the snow. You've
(16:42):
got all the venues, You've got all this food, all
the great entertainment.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
This is the perfect place.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
And I asked you, how would that feel to have
this other independent film festival come into your town when
you're trying to build your own. Does that feel like
a competition or does that feel like the team is
all gathering here?
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
You know, I'm I'm a Cincinnati I'm I'm obsessed with Cincinnati.
I'm not from here, and I think that that really
helps me appreciate the beauty of this city. I really
love Bengals season because of the way I watch the
community rally together. And I am a firm believer that
if we do have Sundance come to Cincinnati, that the
(17:26):
city and all of the professionals who live here will
have more opportunities to come together and celebrate this work.
And the things that we do are not that different
from the things that Sundance does.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Sundance has many resources.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That we likely would get to explore and have some
beneficiary from some work that we absolutely yes, the work
that we started seven years ago, I think will become
further entrenched in the city and that I really think
that we want that and that we need that. So
we're thrilled that Cincinnati is a top three finalist for
Sunday Film Festival, and we're really excited about the potential
(18:03):
opportunities that we could have for growth for the city
from then.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
I know a lot of people know why Cincinnati is
starting to become a hub, but really for the folks
that aren't paying attention and I don't care, the architecture
here is amazing. We have gorgeous every kind of building
style if they want in a film location. What other
amenities does Cincinnati have that draws filmmakers here?
Speaker 1 (18:25):
The architecture is definitely a big draw.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
There's a tax credit and Ohio tax credit for films
that the film commissioner Kristin Schlotman has that's quite wonderful
in terms of a budgetary standpoint. We I think have
ease of access in terms of being in the city, but.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Also outside of the city.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You can very easily get to a country scene, or
you can very easily get to a downtown scene. You
can go to the West side and it's a different
feel from the East side. You know, all of the
things that we laugh about as Cincinnatians are very playable
in terms of sets and backgrounds. And then I think
that we just inherently have an infrastructure that is used
to working at a at a major motion picture level,
(19:04):
and those resources then just continue to develop and educate
the community. The professionals here to do what they need
to do. So there's and I think, you know, at
the very end of it, Cincinnati is just full of
great people and people are excited hearing your ideas. You know,
you can still make your dreams come true in Cincinnati.
So I think that it's just a very, very very
(19:26):
accessible city for a lot of different reasons.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
We hear so many films have been here, and you
can find those lists online of the great shows that
have been here. I was driving through Eden Park recently
and picked out the little building where in the movie
Carol with Kate Blanchett.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, they bought Christmas trees and it was so.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Homey and it was snowy, and I went to find
out that it was just a restroom at Eton Park,
but it looked like this beautiful thing. So it's fun
to do that kind of stuff. But if you want
to actually get into the movies, how much closer could
you be? Then?
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Right here? They do hire local people.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
How do people who want to at least get started
in something like that?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Do you have any idea how?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
You know? There are resources in the city that people
can access to help them find the beginnings.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Of this breadcrumb.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You know, you can come to sindependent, you can email me,
you can go to the film Commission. If you have
a professional resume, you can sign up for castings, you
can get represented by an agent. You know, there's a
lot of different opportunities, but you need to just fiercely
and fervently go after what you think it is that
you want, and whatever it is, do it the best
(20:37):
you possibly can, because it will get you further each time.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
The one thing that's really important to remember too, is
that this is a nonprofit job.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
You're doing this as a volunteer.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Everybody volunteers, and it would be nice to be able
to draw a salary.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
But money is.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Always an issue, especially when you're making independent films. So
we've got a lot of money in this town. There's
a lot of people that make a lot of money,
and I bet there's people out there that love films
that would love to meet some of these filmmakers and say,
you know I can help you with the backing of
this film.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yes, yes, And you have to you know, you have
to put the time in too to be able to
have some credibility to your ideas too, to be able
to It's not even about the validation of my idea
is good or not. It's a communication tool so that
others can see and know what it is that you're
trying to do and then get easier on board with
where you're going.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Alison West she's the founder of the Sindependent Film Festival,
coming up September nineteenth through the twenty first at Memorial Hall.
Get a day pass, go meet Alison, meet these wonderful people.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Please. Yeah, you won't regret it for sure. Thanks Sandy.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Let me give you that website one more time. Sindependentfilmfestival
dot org. This Independent Film Festival starts Thursday, September nineteenth
at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati. This is Iheartsinsey
This week on iHeart Cincy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The ultimate goal is to support independent filmmaking in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
The Cincinnati region is the home of some of the
most talented individuals, and while Hollywood loves to film here,
independent filmmakers are getting their projects viewed, getting feedback to
grow as a filmmaker. And they're gathering at the Sindependent
Film Festival in Cincinnati beginning September nineteenth. That's just around
the corner. My guest today is Alison West. She's the
(00:28):
young UC graduate who started the festival six years ago
and like a gardener, is nourishing it and watching it
grow into the top one hundred best film festival and
the Sincy City Beat calls it the best filmmaker focused
festival fest of all.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
You can go and we'll tell you how now on
iHeart Sincy with Sandy Kopp, We're glad you're here today.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
If you've ever been to the movies, you need to
stick around for my first guest, Alison West. She founded
the Sindependent Film Festival right here in Cincinnati as a
place to give independent filmmakers and creative people the opportunity
and the tools to get their careers and their projects
in front of movie lovers. Alison west Sindependent Film Festival founder,
(01:13):
a very busy woman these days, getting ready for the
festival coming up.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Hello, how are you good?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I'm well, thanks for being on here, of course, Alison,
where'd you go to college?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I went to UC Actually, it's yeah. So I grew
up in Texas and my family wasn't really like a
college family. We were all kind of learning as we
were doing it, and I ended up getting accepted to
CCM in the acting department that they had, And so
I went to UC, which was basically my first time
(01:44):
being out of a small town and was kind of
blown away because the population of the campus is like
two hundred times the size of my small town.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yes, I know some city girls that are intimidated by
UC AND's Cincinnati, so I can understand that.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So you got your.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
BFA and act, yeah, and I'm sure you did a lot,
you know, in between. But in twenty eighteen you decided
to start this film festival, and the more I learned
about it, the more blown away I am at how
oh gosh it's grown. Because your board president is my boss,
Jack Crumley, and he is a film buff and we're
(02:19):
always talking about films in the newsroom, and so when
he's telling us about this independent film festival, I'm like, Okay,
well that sounds cool whatever. Now I'm really looking into it,
and it is truly amazing what you're doing. So I'm
going to stop talking and I want you to tell
me how you fell in love with films and why
you started this independent film festival.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yes, thank you so much for supporting this.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You know, I think that the journey to sindependent initially
was a very personal one where when I first started
kind of trying to develop whatever my career was going
to be, I started kind of writing scripts and I
don't really know what to do with them, and I
had some friends who kind of encouraged me to make
(03:04):
them myself, and I really ended up starting to figure
out that as somebody who makes independent film, you're given
the opportunity to creatively problem solve all of the time.
It's just creative problem after create a problem after create
a problem after one after the other. And I feel
like it that's a metaphor that kind of gets applied
(03:26):
to life. And so for me, you know, how did
I first fall in love with independent filmmaking. It's because
there's a medium, there's an end result that people can
look at and kind of have discussions about how somebody
solved a problem. And those solutions and that discussion and
those answers are things that don't only apply to making movies.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
They apply to life.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
And so a lot of what we do with the
festival is open that metaphor up. So if someone says,
you know, I have this idea, or I really want
to talk about this one thing, or I've been waiting
my whole life to make this story. We want to
make a space where people are able to achieve those
goals and achieve those dreams and create action around the
ideas that just live in their head and inside their
(04:11):
hearts a lot of the time.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So your goal was to do what by founding and
building the Film Festival?
Speaker 1 (04:19):
What was the ultimate goal? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I think the ultimate goal is to support independent filmmaking
in Cincinnati. Truly, like on paper and the way we
say it, how do you couch the passion and the
big ideas of what we do into something small.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
It is to support independent filmmakers.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
And I think what a lot of people don't understand
is that indie filmmakers can be at any journey of
their career and at any space in their life, and
what they need is a home where they can go
talk to somebody and find the resources, no matter what
level they are at. So, you know, this year at
the festival, we have first time filmmakers, We have college storytellers,
people who are just starting to develop their career that
(04:57):
we want to provide a professional and encouraging envince for them.
But then we also have you know, Los Angeles, New
York names, people who are coming to the festival to
have that same experience but need different skills and resources.
What they want at that time is potentially a hungry
audience and a great city to hear their stories and
(05:18):
love and enjoy them.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And so that's what we offer to them as well.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So everywhere along the spectrum we want to support independent
filmmakers so people can get their stories out into the world.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
When I think of a film festival, I think of
seeing movies that I wouldn't normally get to see, or
seeing hot movies. First, you know, I'm thinking of you know,
in con Or, I'm thinking of the Sundance Film Festival.
But there's a part of the film festivals that many
don't really maybe see or realize. And that's the critiquing
and the coaching that comes with it and the networking.
Tell me about how this independent film festival approaches that aspect.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, so I.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Think it's a twofold thing, you know, for a community member,
for somebody who wants to go to a film festival. Yes,
you need to go see these movies that you're not
going to see anywhere else, but you get to have
an actual dialogue with the filmmaker, with the artists. The
ability to have a conversation that's one to one between
a viewer and the creator is right there.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So if you're going to.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
The festival, you get to ask people why they did this,
or what they meant or how they solved this one thing,
and take all that information into your life and go
about your world to see how that has changed you
if you are an.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Artist or a filmmaker.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And I really think too that creativity is just something
that needs to be pointed in the direction of the medium.
If you're any sort of artist, coming in and like
watching the screenplay reads, which are workshops of new films
that have not yet been produced, watching the movies, taking
educational master classes, and then then you know, participating in
the networking, the parties, the lunches, the dinners, the coffee chats.
(06:52):
Those things start to make new connections that you don't
just walk into in your.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Day to day life.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You get to come to this space and kind of
disappear and walk away, you know, processing the conversations that
are ultimately going to shape and change your work.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Creative people have their own energy and when you get
around a lot of people like you, where you might
be the only person in your world that is a
creative person and you feel like an outlier. Once you
get into a group of people that are just like you,
your creativity explodes. You start feeling better about the world.
And that's one of the fun parts too, is that
(07:29):
I wanted to reach out because we have listeners that
are anywhere from six to six hundred, and you know,
for young people who say, you know, I want to
be a writer someday, or you know, I would love
to uh, I would just love to be in the
background and just help carry lighting. This is a seems
like it'd be a great opportunity for them to start
meeting people that do the same thing they want to do.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Eventually, and everybody does it differently, which I think is
very important to point out. You know, you know that
the way someone's career takes shape is very dependent on
number of factors. And I think that filmmaking gets this
extra leg special.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Oh, you have to do it.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
A certain way in order to make it happen, and
that's just not true.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
There are groups of people who have.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Expectations around like communities or environments, but you do get
to decide what your life and your career is like.
And I want people to hear the solutions and the
choices that lots of different people with the same career
have made.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
And it's the people that think differently and challenge those
norms that fall into place because they tend to work.
Then they turn into formulas and then suddenly, you know,
Hollywood or the movies or the plays are all stuck
in a rut. It takes those people to pull you
out of it and say, no, I see this film
looking this way.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Or but a different way of looking at something.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
And once you have, once you give yourself permission to
look at something differently, that just cracks open all of creativity.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Yes, and I think I really agree with you, and
I think that independent storytelling is so important because people
do it, they make it happen, they get the inspiration,
they make a new film, and they really communicate exactly what.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Is inside of them.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So you get to experience an authentic perspective that you
just don't see on Netflix or in movie theaters or
you know, streaming on you sometimes on YouTube. Yes, but
you know, we've curated basically the most exciting and impactful
films that came to us this year, and we offer
them as a gift to the community to come out
(09:33):
and see them.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Let's talk about the festival itself, because for those who've
never been to a film festival, they may not know
that there's going to be some viewings, there's going to
be some talks, there's going to be some seminars, and
it's all day long. You can pop in at certain
times and it seems a little intimidating, I'll tell you, Alison,
because you know, you know, like if you saw that
for a conference, you're solely dedicated to the conference. You've
(09:56):
got time off from work and you go somewhere and
you're there for two or three days and you get
to experience it all. But where does the average person
that wants to see what's going on today? How could
they just jump into one of the days or all
the days? Where do you suggest people go for like
the red Carpet.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Opening, which sounds very cool.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yes, ye, where you start, well, I would suggest that
somebody get a day pass. So a day pass is
a twenty nine dollars pass that allows people to come
and go at.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Their leisure on a particular day.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And we have a digital program that's available on our
website that is hugely comprehensive in terms of what events
are happening where and then goes a little bit deeper
into the actual programming that is happening. So if somebody
was like, oh, wow, I really do think this is
a cool thing. I don't know what to do. I
would say, take a day off from work, the best
one that works for you. Sleep in a little bit
(10:45):
because you took a day off from work and you
deserve it. And then when you're ready make your way
to the festival. Just come in, check in at the
check in desk and say hello. Because what we'll be
able to do is say, oh, are you going to
go to this masterclass that is happening now? Are you
interested in the screenplay reads where you can watch actors
live read scripts.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Was there a certain movie that you were trying to see?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
And then you can kind of you can kind of
flow through the venue at your own pace and time
to take in this content and start developing relationships and
conversations with people. I love that we're across from Washington
Park because if you do need a break, you can
just walk out and get some fresh air and then
come back when you're ready.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
So the place and time we're talking about for the
film festival is at Memorial Hall and the dates are
coming up quick September nineteenth through the twenty first. I
love the visuals on your website laying out each day's
agenda and how it's all intermingled and where you can
go to. It's very simple to understand, and there's like
a there's a certain sections for certain populations, the LGBTQ
(11:52):
section the first day on Thursday, and then there's others.
I have a friend from the Dayton area who has
a film last year in your or a film festival,
and then I found out this year that he has
another one, so he's gonna be a part of that riffle.
Oh Matt Matt Riffle. Okay, Matt Riffle. He's a screenwriter.
He's a brilliant screenwriter. He's brilliant, brilliant.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Well, I will be happy to pass that along because
I know how proud his family is of him and
how much he wants.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
To do this. So you get a day pass and
you decide what you're gonna do. Go to the website.
What's the website again?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
It's www dot Sendependentfilmfest dot org. It's the word independent
with the C in front of it, Sendependent Filmfest dot org.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Allison, that is such a brilliant marketing thing. How did
you come up with that?
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I mean it's so simple, it's like, oh my gosh,
that's brilliant. Creativity just strikes you know.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yeah, no doubt. So that's Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
There's there's a formal red carpet ceremony.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah yeah, let me talk about the red carpets. And
the festival is actually Thirdesday Friday, Saturday. On Sunday, we
have an awards brunch for the VIP pass holders and
we say goodbye to all the filmmakers. But there's really
no films or screenplays or education on Sunday. So basically
the festival is kind of all business in the daytime.
(13:17):
Come learn with us, Come have you know, very knowledgeable
discussions with us, Come.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Meet new people with us.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And then the night time you kind of get to
pop off and say, hey, let's play, let's have fun together.
And so we're still watching movies, we're still talking to
each other, but we change the environment a bit. And
so every single night, starting at six o'clock, there's a
red carpet reception. There's one on Thursdays opening night, which
is going to be very exciting because we have a
special guest, h John Benjamin attending, who's the voiceover actor
(13:47):
of Bob Belcher and Bob's Burgers.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Friday night we.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Have a Bridgerton themed, lightly themed red carpet, and then
Saturday we really start to pop it off with some
like music influence because Talk Low Music Festival has partnered
with us to really bring that to life that Saturday
night party.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
So people can come, they can hop on the.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Red carpet, they can take photos. I will be out there,
they can take photos with me. Then they get to
go into the venue and we're gonna have our mascots,
Crunchy and Bubs up greeting people. There's complimentary champagne, there's music,
and then you have, you know, from six to eight again,
this opportunity to see somebody and thank them for sharing
their stories, to ask them how they did it, to
(14:31):
kind of gather nuggets of inspiration before we all go
upstairs into the main theater to watch the eight PM showings.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
That is a nice easy primer to figure out how
to enjoy this independent film Festival starts on September nineteenth.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
The website is terrific.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I know if you reach out to anybody that's with
this independent Film Festival group, they will certainly help and
guide you and pull you under their wing and make
you part of their community as well, because you guys
are just such a fun group of filmmakers and film lovers.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Thank you so much so, Allison.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Just before I sat down to record this interview with you,
we got the word that Cincinnati is in the final
three Yay, the final three cities for the Sundance Film Festival.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
And I've been to it twice. Have you been able
to go out there before?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
No?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I haven't. Okay, so I went twice.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I lived in Salt Lake City and Parks City is
just the little mountain range next to it. So they
are totally prepared. I mean, you're doing this film festival
there in a blizzard. I mean there's you know, it's
so beautiful, but it's and they've just got it down.
The film festival is on a hill which is about
forty five degrees. Wow, all these up you know, straight
(15:46):
up the street and down, so it's difficult to walk
up and down. And yet this film festival has lasted
for so long and debuted so many incredible films and
exposed so many great actors and actresses and directors and
filmmakers to the public. Now thinking that they may be
leaving that location. Cincinnati, and what's is it?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Boston? It's Boulder. It's Boulder, Boulder, it's bolder, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Jack, is Bolder one of the other cities.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yes, we have the word.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
You're right, yes, yes it is, so it's it's park
City is still in the running. They may get to
keep it or not. And then Bolder and then Cincinnati.
And I was telling Jack that to have a film
festival here in the fall when the weather's beautiful, you
don't have the rain, you don't have the snow. You've
(16:42):
got all the venues, You've got all this food, all
the great entertainment.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
This is the perfect place.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
And I asked you, how would that feel to have
this other independent film festival come into your town when
you're trying to build your own. Does that feel like
a competition or does that feel like the team is
all gathering here?
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
You know, I'm I'm a Cincinnati I'm I'm obsessed with Cincinnati.
I'm not from here, and I think that that really
helps me appreciate the beauty of this city. I really
love Bengals season because of the way I watch the
community rally together. And I am a firm believer that
if we do have Sundance come to Cincinnati, that the
(17:26):
city and all of the professionals who live here will
have more opportunities to come together and celebrate this work.
And the things that we do are not that different
from the things that Sundance does.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Sundance has many resources.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That we likely would get to explore and have some
beneficiary from some work that we absolutely yes, the work
that we started seven years ago, I think will become
further entrenched in the city and that I really think
that we want that and that we need that. So
we're thrilled that Cincinnati is a top three finalist for
Sunday Film Festival, and we're really excited about the potential
(18:03):
opportunities that we could have for growth for the city
from then.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
I know a lot of people know why Cincinnati is
starting to become a hub, but really for the folks
that aren't paying attention and I don't care, the architecture
here is amazing. We have gorgeous every kind of building
style if they want in a film location. What other
amenities does Cincinnati have that draws filmmakers here?
Speaker 1 (18:25):
The architecture is definitely a big draw.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
There's a tax credit and Ohio tax credit for films
that the film commissioner Kristin Schlotman has that's quite wonderful
in terms of a budgetary standpoint. We I think have
ease of access in terms of being in the city, but.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Also outside of the city.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You can very easily get to a country scene, or
you can very easily get to a downtown scene. You
can go to the West side and it's a different
feel from the East side. You know, all of the
things that we laugh about as Cincinnatians are very playable
in terms of sets and backgrounds. And then I think
that we just inherently have an infrastructure that is used
to working at a at a major motion picture level,
(19:04):
and those resources then just continue to develop and educate
the community. The professionals here to do what they need
to do. So there's and I think, you know, at
the very end of it, Cincinnati is just full of
great people and people are excited hearing your ideas. You know,
you can still make your dreams come true in Cincinnati.
So I think that it's just a very, very very
(19:26):
accessible city for a lot of different reasons.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
We hear so many films have been here, and you
can find those lists online of the great shows that
have been here. I was driving through Eden Park recently
and picked out the little building where in the movie
Carol with Kate Blanchett.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, they bought Christmas trees and it was so.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Homey and it was snowy, and I went to find
out that it was just a restroom at Eton Park,
but it looked like this beautiful thing. So it's fun
to do that kind of stuff. But if you want
to actually get into the movies, how much closer could
you be? Then?
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Right here? They do hire local people.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
How do people who want to at least get started
in something like that?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Do you have any idea how?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
You know? There are resources in the city that people
can access to help them find the beginnings.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Of this breadcrumb.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You know, you can come to sindependent, you can email me,
you can go to the film Commission. If you have
a professional resume, you can sign up for castings, you
can get represented by an agent. You know, there's a
lot of different opportunities, but you need to just fiercely
and fervently go after what you think it is that
you want, and whatever it is, do it the best
(20:37):
you possibly can, because it will get you further each time.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
The one thing that's really important to remember too, is
that this is a nonprofit job.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
You're doing this as a volunteer.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Everybody volunteers, and it would be nice to be able
to draw a salary.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
But money is.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Always an issue, especially when you're making independent films. So
we've got a lot of money in this town. There's
a lot of people that make a lot of money,
and I bet there's people out there that love films
that would love to meet some of these filmmakers and say,
you know I can help you with the backing of
this film.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yes, yes, And you have to you know, you have
to put the time in too to be able to
have some credibility to your ideas too, to be able
to It's not even about the validation of my idea
is good or not. It's a communication tool so that
others can see and know what it is that you're
trying to do and then get easier on board with
where you're going.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Alison West she's the founder of the Sindependent Film Festival,
coming up September nineteenth through the twenty first at Memorial Hall.
Get a day pass, go meet Alison, meet these wonderful people.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Please. Yeah, you won't regret it for sure. Thanks Sandy.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Let me give you that website one more time. Sindependentfilmfestival
dot org. This Independent Film Festival starts Thursday, September nineteenth
at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati. This is Iheartsinsey
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