03.11.14
Over the past two decades, the film competition has grown to be a centerpiece in the industry, featuring some of the top examples of indie filmmaking and championing the writer’s role in the process. Along with the increase in Festival attendance, submission entries continue to surpass our goals each year. In order to best cultivate this progress, the creative programming from both the Conference and Film departments will be combined in hopes to produce an even stronger platform for great storytelling.
We have realigned our team in response to the evolution of the Festival and in order to maintain the quality of our filmmakers’ experiences. Former Conference Director and Competition Programmer, Erin Hallagan, will now serve as the Festival’s Creative Director, overseeing both the Film and Conference planning. Erin will continue to program the annual Screenwriters Conference, including guest speakers, honorees, panels and workshops, as well as coordinating the year-round On Story®: Conversations in Film series. She looks forward to further integrating the Film Festival and Screenwriters Conference and advancing the resources available to writers and filmmakers at the Festival.
We hope you’ll join us in welcoming our film team, Elizabeth Mims and Harrison Glaser. Both advocates for our mission, they have worked within the Festival in a variety of capacities. Along with the Creative Director, they will work in tandem to plan, promote and implement the film program.
Senior Film Programmer, Elizabeth Mims, originally joined Austin Film Festival as the Director of the Young Filmmakers Program. She grew up in Austin, Texas and graduated with a BFA from CalArts. Her 2012 film Only The Young was theatrically released by Oscilloscope and won numerous awards including the Silverdoc’s Sterling Silver Award for best US documentary and the American Film Institute Audience Award, as well as being nominated for a Spirit Award.
Harrison Glaser joins the film department as the Film Program Coordinator. After graduating from Southwestern University, he began working for Austin Film Festival as an intern in the Conference department. He went on to serve as the Festival’s Conference Assistant, and is now thrilled to apply his passion for the Festival’s mission to the film program.
For over 20 years, we have valued the talented artists that have brought their work to Austin, as well as the importance of maintaining relationships beyond their time at the Festival. This restructuring reflects Austin Film Festival’s progression as an emerging voice in the industry – one that has remained dedicated to its mission to support narrative storytelling.