We sat down with Patti North, the executive director of the Alexandria Film Festival, to discuss her role as a leading force in the Alexandria arts community.
The 2018 Alexandria Film Festival will be Nov. 9 - 11, showcasing more than 50 free and ticketed films at the AMC Hoffman 22 Theater and Beatley Central Library. For more information, go to alexfilmfest.com.
For more on the film in Alexandria, see Lights, Camera, Alexandria here.
North started the Alexandria Film Festival over 12 years ago as a way of showing off the incredible films being created by independent filmmakers from all over the world. The Film Festival itself started as a project of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. In 2012, the festival went independent and continues to receive Commission support through the competitive grant program.
Born in upstate New York, North moved to Vermont as a baby and grew up there. She attended The George Washington University and got her B.A. in American Studies.
In this Q&A, she opens up about her background, her role within the Alexandria Film Festival and what she enjoys doing in her off-hours. She even gave us a few tips about how to become a success in the film industry.
How long have you lived in the DC area?
Since graduating from college — a long time!
When did you realize you wanted to pursue film? What inspired you to start the Alexandria Film Festival?
I always loved movies as a kid. There was a theater we could walk to that had a matinée with kids’ films followed by an adult (G-rated) feature. My younger brother would usually start whining right after the kid’s movie and my older sister would take him home. I never left until the last credit rolled. Later, I got interested in screenwriting and spent a few years learning this very difficult task. Like a lot of people, I thought it was easy until I tried it. It’s very difficult to do well and lots of films get made that miss the mark.
What exactly is your role as executive director of the Alexandria Film Festival?
I keep the wheels churning on the administrative tasks. I pay the bills, invoicing, buy insurance coverage, file licenses and permits, fundraise and write grants, review and sign contracts, manage design and printing — pretty sexy stuff. But it’s rewarding to develop a non-profit organization and see it grow.
What have you learned since you’ve been involved?
So much! People are so generous — the business community, as well as individuals who support us, volunteers who work only for the love of our mission to put on a pretty complicated event with lots of moving parts, filmmakers who incur substantial expenses to share their work with our audience, and our audience who buys the tickets and spread the word to their friends.
There are so many stories out there just waiting to be told. The camera has been called an “empathy machine” for its ability to bring us an intimate look at another person’s situation and point of view and I think that’s pretty apt. It’s almost impossible to be narrow-minded when you have experienced so much of the world and the people in it on what feels like pretty intimate terms.
Film is a phenomenal art form! It really has no equal in its beauty, creativity, excitement, ability to engage your senses and expand your world. And to be able to connect with its creators in real time is an experience you will not have in any commercial theater, and certainly not with TV, cable, Netflix and Amazon.
Have there been any difficulties working on film projects in this area?
From the standpoint of the festival in particular, and the arts community in general, one of the biggest challenges is space! AMC has been very supportive and Beatley Library is also a great partner, but venues that can handle film projection without a lot of technical support and related expenses aren’t plentiful. We are monitoring the Old Town Theater closely and hoping the new owner will continue its use as a theater. If not, it will be an incalculable loss to Alexandria and its heritage.
Do you have any interesting film industry stories?
We had a filmmaker last year (Mike Fallavollita) who is a protégé of Steven Spielberg and had worked
on Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List, among others. We screened his short film as part of a “family showcase,” that included several young and student filmmakers. He told the audience that when he was 10 years old, he made a video sequel to E.T. and sent it to the great director. Spielberg told him to contact him when he had finished film school. Twelve or so years later, Mike did and Spielberg hired him. Very inspiring to the aspiring filmmakers who were there that day.
Our very first grand jury award (2007) went to a wonderful film War Dance. One of the directors came to the festival and spent a lot of time taking questions from the audience. It was so exciting when the film was nominated for an award the following year. Those same filmmakers won the Oscar a few years later. It’s a special memory for me and certainly for the audience who were lucky enough to be there that night — to have “discovered” Academy Award-caliber filmmakers before the Academy.
What kind of impact do you hope to leave on the organization?
I hope to leave the festival someday with a sense of excitement — there is so much going on worldwide in filmmaking. What used to be a prohibitively expensive venture, dominated by the affluent and powerful, has been democratized in a sense, as filmmaking becomes more affordable. It’s being taught and picked up by the youngest of kids all over the world. Countries nearly closed off to the rest of the world are spawning very talented filmmakers and great films. There is no government that can stop that and all the filmmakers ask is to be “heard.”
What do want to see happen in the Alexandria area film community?
There are some very talented filmmakers right in Alexandria. We hope to bring attention to their work and to promote Alexandria as a great place to work as a filmmaker. It must be working — Wonder Woman 1984 is here now!
What are some of your favorite films?
I like films that are more character-driven than action/adventure. And I usually like films that fool the audience into thinking it’s about one thing, when it’s actually another. One of my faves is Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (the original with Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy). It tells you that it is about racial and social mores of the time, but it’s really about love. I also love surprise endings, but they must be A) possible for the audience to foresee (not “it was all a dream”) and B) work so well that resolution seems inevitable, but only in retrospect. If I can predict it — it’s usually a fail.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
I have been organic gardening for decades. I get really excited about things like a caprese salad with tomatoes and basil at the peak of ripeness. I am also a glass artisan — everything from fused glass jewelry to mosaics. In fact, I make the awards that are presented to winning filmmakers at the festival. And as previously mentioned, I dabble in screenwriting.
What kind of advice can you give to upcoming filmmakers?
For a high tech industry, filmmaking can be incredibly low tech. You really have to network and put yourself and your work out there. Festivals are a great way to do that. I would also say to keep your ear to the ground. We are increasingly living in a world where people seek out and consume only content they think will comport with their worldview. Read at least one newspaper every day. You never know whose story will obsess you until you can share it!
