After the Oscar

Utah resident, Geralyn White Dreyfous, is perhaps best known as the Executive Producer of 2004's Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, Born Into Brothels. She continues her work as an Executive Producer and also works as Executive/Artistic Director (not to mention Founder) of the Salt Lake City Film Center. Dreyfous is also the co-founder and Director of Impact Partners, an organization that brings together investors and filmmakers to create films addressing pressing social issues. To say the least, she is an incredibly busy lady who is highly involved in her community and the local film industry.
After attending last night's celebrity and press premier of the documentary, The Cove, hosted by Ben Stiller and Bobby Kennedy, in New York City, Dreyfous took an early morning flight back to Salt Lake. She squeezed in a scheduled (and rescheduled) phone interview with me today between speaking at a luncheon and her other responsibilities. Dreyfous not only has her fingers on the pulse of Utah's independent film scene, she's creating it.
With the SLC Film Center, Dreyfous provides free community screenings and discussions of independent films, documentaries, and dramas emphasising social content and artistic excellent. They bring filmmakers and the general public together to create a dialogue about issues and the craft of film making. The Film Center takes the momentum of January's Sundance mindset and keeps it running in Utah throughout the entire year.
Their upcoming film series include themes such as: Stranger than Fiction (bizarre documentaries), Constitutional Issues (hopefully featuring Article VI), Local Filmmakers (yeah!), and a series for children/families. Each series usually features four films which are shown once a month for four months or once a week for a month. July 31st the center begins their Made in Utah series. Five films filmed in Utah shown at Pioneer Park following a Made in Utah food and craft fair supporting local entrepreneurs.
Of her many current projects, Dreyfous seemed most excited (or maybe I was most interested) about a film called Connected. It delves into the interconnectedness of everything from botox to bees. It is currently in post-production and will hopefully be finished in time to be submitted for Sundance consideration. Impact Partners have at least four other films readying for Sundance submission deadlines.
Just because this woman's got an Academy Award under her belt certainly doesn't mean she's now sitting idle. Geralyn Dreyfous is an activist. Thanks to my introduction to the SLC Film Center, I've now got a few more film events on my calendar. And thanks to my conversation with Ms. Dreyfous, I've got a few more movies on my "to-see" list. A final thanks to the Film Center's library that will be providing me with dvds of these yet undiscovered film gems, that you, my dear readers, will be seeing reviews of in the near future:)