film resume

I’ve been pursuing film work in Seattle recently, so I’m hoping putting this here could be useful. I’ve come at working in film on the side of my music-biz career from an unconventional set of angles, but I know my way around a screenplay and a set, and would like to spend more time on that. (I even have an anemic-but-real IMDb page.) Here’s some evidence of what I mean:

production assistant: served for a few days as PA on the set of Manic Pixie Dream Wife, a summer 2014 Seattle shoot. Worked as a PA in February 2015 for a shoot for a commercial for Expedia in Bellevue, WA.

location assistant/manager: wherein I really worked for the location (not the production), although was paid by the production and spent all day with the crew on set. Each of these were single day one-offs, mostly in New York but some in Seattle as well, including productions of: an Engadget web series, Nurse Jackie (1 episode), MTV’s Guy Code (2 or 3 episodes), a TV Guide special about Roseanne, several independent films, and many stand-up comedy tapings (John Hodgman, Nick Thune, etc). Also had one NYU student film and one music video for a major-label artist shot in my apartment. In Seattle, also served in this function one time for a short film shot in 2019 at one of my music venue jobs, a production on which I also helped procure some set dressings and contribute general fixer-type input.

extra: in the 2022 Steven Soderbergh film KIMI. I’m in the background of one scene, shot in Seattle. And in two music videos – Ted Leo’s “Bottled In Cork” (I haven’t found myself in the final product so maybe I was cut out, but I swear I was there in the crowd) and Aimee Mann’s “Charmer” (I’m in line starting at 2:30). Both were directed by Tom Scharpling and produced by Rob Hatch-Miller & Puloma Basu.

film critic: currently a contributing writer at The SunBreak (a PNW-based moviegoing lifestyle magazine); have had pieces published in PopMatters and Cinecliq. All links to everything I’ve published since college can be found here (although unfortunately Cinecliq has ceased operations and now those reviews can only be found if we’re lucky on the Wayback Machine).

film festivals: worked in the box office for the 2014, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, and ’19 (40th-45th annual) Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF: the largest, most highly-attended film festival in the US), and then as a house manager for the 2022 festival. Worked as a box office supervisor (second from the top in a management chain of 4 box office roles) at the ’19 and ’20 Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), and then as a venue manager at the 2020 fest. And as a venue manager at the ’19 North Bend Film Festival (NBFF), in a customer service capacity for NBFF’s 2020 digital iteration, NIGHTSTREAM, and as ticketing coordinator for their final, 2022 edition. Also attended many other film fests over the years: SXSW, Tribeca, NYFF, BAM Cinemafest, etc.

music festivals: worked in various roles as box office, info booths, and assistant/stage/house manager for Bumbershoot, Capitol Hill Block Party, Timber!, and Northwest Folklife. Though not film work, this related production experience has fostered a film-production-friendly set of skills, like radio familiarity, competent and appropriate treatment of many levels of talent, building a special live event out of nothing, keeping to schedules, long-day-on-feet endurance, and looking after the safety & well-being of a crew and their designated physical spaces.

film studies minor: in college at Wake Forest University, where I did a lot of thinking/writing about film theory & analysis, and wrote one feature-length screenplay.

Skills I’ve cultivated throughout these experiences: ability to maintain a positive attitude under pressure; quick learning; on-the-fly creative problem solving; patience and endurance; ability to deal with whatever’s thrown at me; relationship building; kind assertiveness; critical thinking; getting things done while treating people nice.