A Talk With Roger Durling (2013)

Out of all of the films and events at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, the event that was one of the most insightful and a great learning experience was a discussion Roger During had with my class. He walked it with his usual dark shades and all black outfit that he’s known to walk around in. He was ready to talk about himself and how he broke into the industry. He talked about how he moved to Los Angeles to become a playwright but didn’t like it there, so he decided to move to the beautiful sunny beachside town of Santa Barbara. Even before that he had always loved watching films (He always watches two films a day) and had been going to as many film festivals as he could, including the Telluride Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film festival. Through his connections he got a a job at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and eventually become the executive director of the entire festival. Just hearing Roger talk was inspiring, because he had come from out of nowhere to become the head of one of the biggest film festivals in the world and Roger has improved it immensely ever since.

One of the great pieces of advice that Roger gave me was that he looked for quality offer qualifications in a person when hiring them. I really thought about it and it made me understand that not everyone has the same access to get certain qualifications, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t just as equally brilliant and talented.

Another inspiring thing that he told us that morning was that creativeness and dedication are the keys to success in Hollywood. What made it even more powerful of a statement by him was that he was living proof of what he had just told he. He led by example and worked his way through talent and dedication to the position of executive director of the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

I am honestly very glad to have met Roger, because he taught me a lot that morning. Some people are in your life for a very short amount of time but have a  profound and lasting impact over it.