Welcome to the very first episode of The Call To Create! I get to sit down with a man whose life and interests have taken him to fascinating places and on an interesting course. Todd Looby is the Executive Director of the Bend Film Festival in Bend, Oregon. Way back in the day, Todd studied environmental engineering in college and worked in Construction management for the largest construction firm in Chicago after receiving his degree. His life followed a predictable path for a while, but his creative urge and exposure to film and filmmaking caught up to him. His desire to make movies eventually led to his departure from the world of large scale commercial construction. Filmmaking, video production, wife, kids, and a move to Bend, Oregon all followed. Ride along as we talk about how it all came to be and how he got where he is today.
To help you find the parts of the interview that might have the greatest appeal, I've broken down many of the main topics by general time frame in the show where they occur. The time stamps are minutes.
8:00 Film School, video and media production, now vs. 1997
12:05 Todd's first Mini DV video camera and his first VCR editing
17:26 Meeting his wife, Monica and how George W. Bush brought them together
25:00 From Construction Management to Filmmaker
27:10 Bend Film
31:32 Todd's last narrative feature
35:20 Does running the Bend Film Festival satisfy the creative urge?
38:10 Growth of the Bend Film Festival
42:16 The benefits of filmmakers coming to the Festival
44:15 Economic impact of the Bend Film Festival
45:15 What's next for Todd and the Bend Film Festival
49:25 Room for Festival Growth and taking over the Tin Pan Theatre
51:30 Where does creativity take you and how it worked for Todd
54:15 Filmmaking as a means of self discovery -
Thomas Merton and James Martin on Becoming Who You Are
55:30 Caldera Arts
57:35 Thomas Merton
1:01:35 How creative people express themselves
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Watch my full interview with Todd Looby HERE
