Q&A with Roger Durling (Santa Barbara Film Festival, 2011)

Reviewed by Stacie Manifold.  Interviewed at Hotel Santa Barbara 2011.

Our class was able to sit down with film festival director, Roger Durling, on February 2nd at Hotel Santa Barbara.  Here’s a little of what Mr. Durling had to say…

Q: What sets the Santa Barbara Film Festival apart from others?

A: Each successful film festival around the world has a destination and a purpose.  The location also has to have infrastructure to support the festival as well as venues to show the movies and house the guests.  It doesn’t hurt when everything is within easy walking distance to make things accessible to out-of town visitors without a car.  Our hook is that the festival opens 2 days after the Oscar Nominations are announced which is officially Phase 2 of Oscar marketing.  Studios are ready to get their movies and stars into the public eye and media in whatever way possible.  We benefit from that is a big way.

Q: You choose your actors who will receive tribute awards back in September.  How have you been so lucky in predicting the future and successfully year after year, choosing actors who are nominated and usually win the Academy Awards.

A: Well, I watch tons of movies and have a good idea of what will be good office box draws.  Ever since I was a young boy I was really accurate at picking who would win the Oscar out of the list of nominees.

Q: What is the process of choosing what films are shown at the festival?

A: There are a few routes.  We get about 3000 entries.  There is a team of about 12 reviewers who watch all the submitted films and assign them a grade.  Any film that gets an average score above seven gets passed onto the festival’s programming team.  Our programming team also attends other film festivals and finds movies that they think would make a great addition to our festival.  The final line-up is made up of about 50% submitted films and 50% asked to attend films.

Q: What makes a good movie?

A: The ability of the director to tell a story.  The quality of the screenplay doesn’t really matter.  Great films have been made from crappy screenplays and crappy films have been made from great screenplays.

Q: What kind of budget do you work with?

A: Our budget is about $3 million.  You wouldn’t believe the cost associated with putting on a festival.  “Third weekend” itself costs about $50,000.  Luckily the studios pay for most costs associated with the actors, directors, etc. that attend panels and tributes.

Q: How would your staff describe you?

A: Well, I hope they would say I’m a taskmaster.  My staff know it’s kind of my way or the highway.  But I’m a much different person that “Roger Durling” the director of the film festival.  I’m incredibly introverted.  I live kind of a hermit life way out in Winchester Canyon.  I get really nervous talking in public.  In fact can you see my palms sweating now?  I’ve created this kind of character as my film festival persona with the spiky hair and dressing all in black.  That way I can hide behind my character and feel more comfortable for the job I have to do.


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