Three (short) years ago, I arrived in Wilmington, North Carolina, for the first time. I knew next to nothing about the town, what it could offer me or what my future held within it. As a young filmmaker, I was thrust into a world of opportunity without much preparation, which made it impossible to grasp all at once. At the perfect time, I met Robert Redhead, the Head of Screenings for Wilmington’s famous Cucalorus Film Festival. I was eager to volunteer and involve myself in one of the most significant events in town, yet I was intimidated by the spectacle of what a festival can be. When I talked with Robert for the first time, I was met with a person who not only was compassionate and accommodating, but also was passionate, driven, and enthusiastic about the festival and the art of film as a whole. That is why when I considered potential people to interview, Robert’s was the first name to appear.
Robert Redhead started with the festival in 2009 (Cucalorus’ fifteenth year) when he reached out to his stepbrother Dan Brawley (Executive Director for Cucalorus) about helping, even if it was just tearing tickets or selling a t-shirt. He had no prior experience with film festivals at all, but he was named a Screening Coordinator, a position that acts as a liaison between visiting filmmakers and festival personnel. Since then, he has retained the Head of Screenings position and has further developed and evolved the Screening Coordinator position into what it has become today. He states that “over time, you could say just by osmosis, I have become an operational ‘phone a friend’ for seasonal staff, visiting vendors and partners, and at times, the full-time crew, for perspective on how things worked in the past, and if there is anything to draw from to improve a current situation.” Knowing his main profession—he works for the data integration software provider, Talend—I was curious to know how it has influenced his role at Cucalorus; he states that “from this world, it’s only natural I have gravitated to the operational side of Cucalorus, where it’s very satisfying to successfully do more with less, and still yield nice dividends! Especially when you consider we operate on a nonprofit budget trying to throw one of the largest arts-based events in the state of North Carolina. To borrow from House of Cards, our team in Operations takes pride in creatively ‘moving the sludge through the pipes.’”
In addition to this, he also acts as a documentary programmer for the Cucalorus Festival; he is charged with watching the film submissions and completing scorecards that make the selection process as fair and democratic as possible. After many years of screening countless documentary films, I knew his enthusiasm would lean to a particular type of film; when I asked what films he was most excited to watch, he, of course, said he was partial to the documentary genre. He responded: “Especially the [docs] that I have scored really high, fought for in the Programming conference calls, and then re-watch in a packed theater…I find this incredibly satisfying. Other films I look forward to are those that I anticipate will generate heat. By that I mean: abortion, suicide, racism, poverty, immigration, you get the idea. Social justice in many forms makes us uncomfortable, and films that further the conversations, get the ‘elephants in the room’ out in front of an audience, can make for some lively Q and A sessions! Even if people run screaming from the theater ready to pull their eyeballs out, at least it wasn’t a dull moment, and I consider any combustion of emotion a success!” Diving deeper, I asked if there was a particular film that resonated with him, and with conviction, he says the 2013 screening of The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer moved him the most. He describes how the documentary covered the issue of genocide and that it was the first time he witnessed filmmakers influencing real change. However, the film was so heavy that he stated it was “the only time in all of my years of working the fest that I had to take a few hours off.”
Building on his experience at Cucalorus, Robert met Chris Holland (head of Marketing and Ops at AtlFF) which consequently got him working for the Atlanta Film Festival; I was also curious about how these two festivals could compare. Atlanta is more of a traditional festival, whereas Cucalorus maintains a noncompetitive attitude in efforts to relax filmmakers, allowing them to enjoy the festival and network with peers without the looming pressure of placements. However, the most noticeable difference he mentions is Cucalorus’ use of emcees. He describes that at “Cucalorus we make a specific push for artists, poets, songwriters, comedians, etc., to step up and create brief performances to introduce films. We believe attendees deserve a handheld transition from the cruel outside world into the cozy confines of a movie theater, and our emcees provide it in bucketfuls.”
My next question was significant to me, not just because it applies to myself, but also because I value Robert’s insight more than he knows. When asked about what advice he would give to aspiring filmmakers attempting to submit their work to festivals, he replied, “As for submitting a film to Cucalorus: One, as a programmer, other factors we consider are that we are committed to fairness and diversity: half of our films year after year are by directors of color or are female. Two, if your film has been at one thousand festivals, chances are we might not want to be like them and will pass on it. If your film is weird, with many different ways to interpret its meaning, we want to see it! Also, I have gotten to know some of our repeat filmmaker alums over the years. I will NOT score their film, as my own personal rule. I give good scores to my friends, and to be honest I am doing them a grave disservice. Three, my advice is to have as many total strangers view and rate your film. Only then will you get your honest feedback.”
From my own experience and observations, film festivals take much effort, dedication, and teamwork to accomplish such an event. I often wondered why people put themselves under the stress every single year, knowing they won’t receive a dime out of it. When I asked why, after thirteen years, Robert keeps coming back, he responded with, “Cucalorus has become my family away from family. It’s part of my DNA. I like that I am expected to be there, and deliver the goods (i.e., have a team of SCs committed and ready to go). I enjoy feeding off the energy from those on staff who truly love and own their work because, with so few staffers, it takes an ‘all hands on deck’ mentality to pull everything off. And then when the seasonal staff and volunteers start jumping in, I love seeing all the coordination, cooperation, and will that’s driven by the love of bringing that year’s Cucalorus to life!” These are the type of people that run film festivals: people like Robert Redhead, who from sheer passion and enthusiasm willingly create a space for people like me to express themselves. As I look into the future of film and my career in it, I can look to people like Robert and feel confident in knowing that there are folks in my corner who not only want me to succeed, but also share the same passion that drives us forward.
Author Biography
Lillianne Hogsten is an undergraduate studying film and photography at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She currently works as a freelance photographer and videographer, specializing in portraiture and documenting live music events in the city of Wilmington.
