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July 27, 2005Interlochen reaps benefitsFilm festival comes along at right time for IAABY GARRET ELLISONRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - When Michael Moore sold the first Traverse City Film Festival ticket, it was no mere happenstance that he rang it up at Bravo!, a gift shop downtown owned by the Interlochen Arts Academy. Adjacent to the State Theatre, Bravo! is handling ticket sales for the festival, as is Interlochen's box office. The academy's prominent role represents a unique partnership between Interlochen and the Traverse City Film Festival - a partnership each sees as mutually beneficial. "A film festival fits perfectly into our plans," said Paul Heaton, IAA spokesman. The academy begins offering a film program this fall and has a multimillion-dollar renovation project outlined for the State Theatre complex. They plan to merge the venue with Bravo! and create a community performing arts center with offices and classrooms. "This is a wonderful mechanism to show people the potential the State Theatre has," Heaton said. According to Heaton, the arts academy also a sees a natural opportunity for film students. "There's a lot of potential synergy here that would be interesting to explore as the festival grows and matures over the years," he said. "It'd be silly for us not to collaborate." The motion picture program at Interlochen will be offering classes ranging from screenwriting to editing and everything in between. In August, Interlochen begins construction on a $4 million facility for the film program. The building will house film students in dorms and contain all film production classes. Film classes will be scattered throughout campus until the building is finished. Currently available only to academy students, the classes will be offered through an adult education program next summer. Director of Motion Picture Arts at Interlochen Michael Mittelstaedt even speculated the film festival might eventually have a student film category, but said there were no formal arrangements yet. "They're going to need a venue," Mittelstaedt said. "There's lots of potential." He was optimistic about the amount of networking to be had. "The professional contacts they might encounter are really valuable," Mittelstaedt said. Film festival co-founder Doug Stanton, a local author whose books include "In Harm's Way" and "The Horse Soldiers," is an Interlochen graduate and former instructor. "I really think this is about making opportunities for young people," Stanton said. He recalled being at the academy in 1976 for the first creative writing classes. "I got a break when I was a kid going to Interlochen," he said, likening the new film program to that time. The festival could become an integral part of the curriculum, he said. "We can put it front and center in people's minds as they watch these movies." When the press conference was held in front of the State Theatre on July 1, Aaron Jaffe was there with Stanton. Jaffe, 15, will be attending the film division at Interlochen. Jaffe has signed up to volunteer at the festival and said he's eager to start classes this fall. "Once the film festival came, I looked around to see how I could get involved," he said. Stanton acknowledged he might have gotten into film instead of writing if he was 14 and offered that choice. "This is not about red carpets and spotlights," he said. "It's about that kid whose looking for a place and some direction for all those things floating around in their head." See Related Stories: Inflatable screens becoming popular - July 27, 2005 Odds and ends from the Film Festival - July 27, 2005 Traverse Bay Freedom Filmfest: 'Mainstream' against 'extremist' - July 26, 2005 Hope for TC's State Theatre renewed as festival nears - July 24, 2005 Ticket sales, financial support keep growing for film festival - July 22, 2005 AFR Freedom FilmFest opens next Friday - July 22, 2005 Profile: Moore on Michael - July 22, 2005 Panel sessions range from politics to producing - July 22, 2005 Behind the scenes: the committee - July 22, 2005 Small town, world films: Buffs looking forward to indie films - July 22, 2005 Volunteers come from all parts of the state - July 22, 2005 At Issue: Letters to the Editor about the Film Festival - July 22, 2005 The films: descriptions & reviews (2-page PDF) - July 22, 2005 Extra screenings added for film festival's sold-out shows - July 20, 2005 No alcohol allowed at festival's Open Space films - July 20, 2005 Hollywood to visit Traverse City for Film Festival - July 17, 2005 Conservatives offer alternate film festival - July 7, 2005 Moviegoers rush to buy film festival tickets - July 2, 2005 Michael Moore announces TC Film Festival lineup - July 1, 2005 Moore deilivers for first Traverse City film extravaganza - July 1, 2005 Michael Moore hopes actors will visit Traverse City Film Fest - June 16, 2005 TC Film Festival: Residents share noise, crowd concerns - June 8, 2005 Coming soon: Classics; Michael Moore backs TC film festival - June 4, 2005 See Related Editorial: TC Film Festival plans a great fit for the area - June 12, 2005
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