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July 30, 2005Volunteers share a sense of prideMany give their time to Film FestivalByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Charlie Wilson was supposed to be vacationing with his dad in Sweden this week but the Traverse City Film Festival sounded more appealing. So the New York City and Northport summer resident traded his passport for a volunteer badge. "I wanted to say I was at the first Traverse City Film Festival and I'm proud to say in my small way I've helped it out," said Wilson, 24, who makes sure the festival's daily panel discussions at the City Opera House run smoothly. Wilson is among a small army of volunteers of all ages and political stripes who've worked behind the scenes during festival week and the nine weeks leading up to it. Unlike the higher-profile festival founders, who also are volunteers, they toil largely unnoticed but for their bright red T-shirts. Westwoods Elementary teacher Nancy Conn stands in the hot sun for more than five hours a day to sell festival merchandise to downtown visitors. Her station next to the State Theatre has given her the opportunity to talk with film directors and screenwriters and to see the opening night film without standing in line. But she said her favorite part of the job is meeting everyday festival-goers. "I know it sounds trite," said Conn, 55, "but people have been so nice. Everyone is so positive about this it's unbelievable. I've been so proud to say I live in Traverse City." Wilson got a taste of film festivals while working at Manhattan's Tribeca last spring. An actor and sometime casting specialist who also operates an off-off-Broadway theater company, he said he loves festival founder Michael Moore's idea of placing an event in the Midwest. "Most film festival are in places that are inaccessible to most Americans. They're on the coast or ski resorts like Sundance and Telluride," Wilson said. "It's great to have something here because movies are supposed to be for everyone." Isaac Wineman has volunteered since early July, when he handed out film festival pamphlets at the National Cherry Festival. This week the Traverse City West sophomore is running spotlights at the Old Town Playhouse, where other members of his Interlochen family - mom Sindi, brothers Levi, 19, and Aaron, 17 - work concessions. Before that they helped ready the State Theatre for opening night. "They were scrubbing floors, they were cleaning bathrooms, they were calling up and asking if they could have more work," said Susan Brown, who handles the more than 400 festival volunteers. "By the end of the day we were exhausted," said Wineman, 16, "but it was a really good feeling that we did something for our community - an overwhelming sense of pride."
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