When I was a kid, I wrote movie reviews of everything from “The Wizard of Oz” to “The Exorcist.” While I had a few sports heroes as did my friends, I think I was the only one my age with film critic role models like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert. 40 years ago, I wrote a screenplay, but soon after I finished my year-long screenwriting class, I started my boutique hotel company Joie de Vivre and I’ve been an entrepreneur ever since emulating Walt Disney as a businessman, not a filmmaker (I was born 5 minutes from Disneyland).
As an adult, I’ve just been a closet movie fan, the kind who occasionally steals off to a theater by myself to see an obscure film that I think none of my friends will enjoy. I’ve been to more than a dozen film festivals (my favorite is Telluride) and even went to the Academy Awards and snuck into the Governor’s ball after the ceremony. But, one disappointment I’ve always felt from film festivals is the lack of any kind of guided process (beyond a brief Q&A with the director or actors) or workshop to make sense of the films and how they relate to each other.
But, as is true for many of us, I didn’t think this passionate hobby could somehow merge with my career until last year when I produced my first film festival to rave reviews. So, we’re proud to announce that MEA’s 2nd annual Film Fest has expanded from 5 to 7 days and now expands to both of our Santa Fe retreat centers December 15-22. We’ve doubled the number of films to 60 (split between two screening rooms) and we’ll have 50+ filmmakers/actors joining us plus about 50 workshop attendees who will not only watch films with the creatives, but also hike, do yoga, hot tub, eat, horseback ride, and, of course, dive deep in a workshop format with not just other workshop attendees, but with the filmmakers and actors as well. It was so popular last year that over half of those who attended have already signed up for this year.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll profile some of the films we’ll be screening (as more than half have never been in a theater nor have been streamed), all of which focus on topics that are relevant to us midlifers. Just know that Seth and Lauren Rogan will be participating with their film Taking Care about Lauren’s mom who experienced advanced Alzheimer’s disease in her mid-50s, Naomi Watts will be talking about her film about midlife loneliness The Friend. And, we’ll offer a collection of films that feature New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment including the filmmakers talking about their films Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light (including a trip to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum), First We Bombed New Mexico, and Meow Wolf: The Origin Story.
I think and dream about this festival all the time and deeply believe I’ve stumbled upon a new calling, curating a film festival, at an age when many people have unfortunately given up on trying something new. I’ve been fortunate enough to produce some epic events in my life from the 20,000-person Airbnb Open in L.A. in 2016, the Celebrity Pool Tosses, the Hotel Hero Awards, and an every-five-year birthday extravaganza, but none of them feel as meaningful as this new passion project. Hope you’ll join me in Santa Fe or check out some of the films I’ll be recommending.
-Chip