Local Films, Local Theater

For videographer Ronald Short, attending the Indy Film Fest was a homecoming of sorts. Now living in Texas, he returned to his home state of Indiana to attend the event. The Indy Film Fest brings people of different walks of life together to enjoy the art of film, drawing in filmmakers and movie buffs alike. Take the executive director, Dan Moore, for example. While not a filmmaker himself, he’s passionate about the film festival and what it offers the community.

“I like being able to contribute to the art scene here in Indianapolis.” Dan continues, “Not being a particular creative person myself. I’m a software engineer. I’m not creating art, I’m helping other people curate and attend and see it.”

Video Transcript

Ronald Short: Hi. I’m freelance Grotto producer Ronald Short. I’ve been living in Austin, Texas for about 12 years now. But I’ll never forget where it all started — in my hometown of Indianapolis. And a big part of that was the Indy Film Fest.

(Attendant scans ticket at entrance of Indy Film Fest)

Ronald: Thank you.

Attendant: Thank you.

Dan Moore: Hello, hello. Welcome, everybody to the 2022 Indy Film Fest, in person.

Since I was a kid, I would invite people over to watch movies. It wasn’t even, really, just a couple months ago, I thought, “Oh, yeah. Of course, I fell into doing this kind of thing.”

I like being able to contribute to the art scene here in Indianapolis — not being a particularly creative person myself. I’m a software engineer. I’m not creating art. I’m helping other people curate and attend and see it.

Ronald: Indy Film Fest, when they accepted my first feature, that was huge for me. Not only did we have a sweet premiere in my hometown where we shot it, we also had an audience of 200 who came because of the festival.

Film fest presenter: Sure. So as you saw at the end, it was a grant project filmed by…

Dan: We are, I think, very personal on things. That’s feedback that we get from filmmakers. Literally, the mission statement for our organization is “to create a shared experience around film in Indianapolis.”

Ronald: We met people there who knew people, liked our film, helped us get it released, and now it’s out in the world. Best film fest in the Midwest? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Apologies to everyone else.

Dan: Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight to the opening night of the 2022 Indy Film Fest. Thank you for coming. Thank you.

I’ve not gotten to say that in person — well, okay, the line I used in the other theater is, “I’ve not gotten to say that in person for two years.” I haven’t gotten to say it for two years, except for five minutes ago in the other theater. So thanks, everyone, for coming.

We’re a 100% volunteer organization. None of us get paid. This is none of our jobs. We do this for the love of film in Indianapolis…

Ron: Thanks.

Dan: More B-roll?

Ronald: You know it!