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Sun Valley Film Festival

Idaho's Peak Film Experience

Article by Pamela Kleibrink Thompson

Photography by Lance Thompson, Chelsea Lauren, Gina Poole

Originally published in Boise Lifestyle

“If you build it they will come,” from 1989's Field of Dreams, could have been railroad magnate W. Averell Harriman's motto for developing the country’s first destination winter resort in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Stars like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and Errol Flynn enjoyed visiting Sun Valley, and the appeal to film makers remains strong, thanks to the annual Sun Valley Film Festival.

Teddy Grennan created the Sun Valley Film Festival in 2012 with his wife Emily Granville, funding the first year's event with the family’s Amex card. “Emily and I thought it was money well spent,” stated co-founder and executive director Grennan. Others would agree as the festival’s economic impact to the Wood River Valley has grown ever since. Ketchum has a population of less than 3,500, but more than 5,000 people attend the festival. SVFF has several year round employees. “It brings jobs to Idaho through storytelling,” noted Grennan. “It’s also a lot of fun.”

A banner draped across Ketchum’s Main Street welcomes you to the SVFF. Ketchum is a small town imbued with a sense of sophistication and character, which lends to the casual and accessible atmosphere maintained by the staff of the SVFF.  The intimacy of the film festival is evident with Grennan’s favorite event --the Awards Bash at Whiskey’s.

After receiving the inaugural Lifetime Vision Award in 2015, Clint Eastwood stated, “So much of this business is hard work and a lot of good luck. I can only wish you the best of luck to keep this great film festival going for many years to come.”

The SVFF has thrived from its beginnings when it set up a pop up ticket office, rented a little theater, and hosted Coffee Talks, which featured Jim Burke, who won an Oscar for producing Green Book; Howard Owens, founder and Co-CEO of Propagate; Jack Sullivan, CEO of Broadway Video; and producer/director Heather Rae. Still mainstays of the festival, the Coffee Talks are held in the Argyros Performing Arts Center, which opened November 2018, and can seat around 500 people. Last year’s coffee talkers included Woody Harrelson and Amy Poehler. In previous years, the Coffee Talks were held in tiny spaces with festival goers seated on the ground, and around the room, which lent a collegiate air to the event.

In 2023, Coffee Talkers included Pioneer Award Honoree Emilio Estevez and Vision Award honoree Josh Brolin who wowed the crowds with stories of their careers in cinema.

Estevez screened his 2011 feature The Way, which he directed, produced, wrote and also acted in with his father Martin Sheen. Re-released in May, The Way depicts a father traveling the El Camino de Santiago, retracing the path his deceased son took. During the Coffee Talk, Estevez revealed that his girlfriend Jacqueline Henretta suggested adding bonus content to the release and reaching out to travel writer Rick Steves. The added value “ended up being a conversation about faith, family, the Spanish culture and why we travel and food and wine. It’s a conversation I don’t think people will expect,” stated Estevez. "Ever since... Repo Man Emilio has shown a dedication to telling emotional and important stories, making him a true trailblazer,” observed Grennan.

Josh Brolin offered advice to aspiring actors. “Be yourself. Say no to what might be a massive success because that’s not necessarily the goal, to be in the most successful thing.” He reflected on his career, “I’ve learned that when you have great directors, that’s everything. It’s really fun to experiment. I’m an old school guy, and I come prepared, I do my work, and then we get to do what we really enjoy doing and that’s telling stories about the human condition.”

Brolin and his wife Kathryn were entertained at the Vision Dinner where he was recognized as an industry game changer. The  Oscar-nominated actor received the Vision Award, given to those whose contributions to cinema have changed the industry for the better. Brolin earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in 2009 for portraying American politician Dan White in Milk. He's played other politicians too--his  performance as the U.S. president George W. Bush in the film W earned him kudos. 

The SVFF emphasizes independent filmmaking and encourages newcomers to the medium. Variety, the trade publication for the entertainment industry, partnered with the SVFF for the first time on a panel of Ten Producers to Watch which recognizes rising filmmakers making an impact. Panelist Karl Hartman, who runs Big Indie Pictures, stated, “My interest is in trying to make independent movies...that’s where really amazing storytelling exists, and most affects and impacts people.” Panelist Rishi Rajani, CEO of Hillman Grad (founded by Lena Waithe), noted, “Storytelling was an incredibly important aspect of my upbringing.” Jamie Goncalves, who formed Sin Sitio Cine, a production company focused on socially conscious projects, observed: “Making art is vulnerable and challenging, and one thing that I’ve learned to prioritize is setting expectations and managing conflict. Relationships are easy when things are going great, but how do we function when it’s not? Proactively addressing ...conflict...has led to a consistent thread of repeat collaborators.”

Grennan has had a team of repeat collaborators in mounting the SVFF over the years and is looking forward to expanding its offerings and involvement with the community, such as the Future Filmmakers Forum, the high school short film competition, as well as other events.  Sharing his experience as a producer, writer and director with attending filmmkers, Grennan advised,  “Get a day job. Do something you’re excited about and that provides for yourself so you can make decisions when you are not desperate. If you want to work in film you have to love it.”

“Hosting this event is a ton of fun,” Grennan said.  He advised festival attendees, “Read the program. Try to get an idea of what to see in advance. We don’t screen the same movie twice.  There are so many fun free things we do. Pace yourself. Filmmakers get to meet each other and make connections while there. One of our filmmakers,  Daniel Roher, a Canadian documentary film director, met his bride at the film festival.”

Grennan does not guarantee that you will meet your soul mate, but he does encourage all who have an interest in film to attend. “We as a team have worked to make this an all inclusive film festival with amazing accessibility. What we provide is terribly unique to most film festivals. We work hard making the price points work. We try to be accommodating and Sun Valley is reasonably priced at this time of year. The coffee talks are free to the public. There’s nothing like it.”

Save the dates. February 28 - March 3, 2024 SunvalleyFilmFestival.org

Bruce Dern, Clint Eastwood, Bill Paxton PC: Mark Davis/Getty Images North American Valley Film Festival

 “So much of this business is...a lot of ...luck. I ...wish you the best of luck to keep this great film festival going for many years to come.” --Clint Eastwood

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