Durango Film Institute

“The Board was provided with a copy of 990 before submitting to IRS.”

“Board members are required to disclose conflicts of interest which are monitored by the Executive Committee.”

“Governing documents are made available to the public upon request.”

“Durango Film has celebrated the art of film with the community for more than 11 years. During the festival 4,954 attended films, panels & workshops, and the Lindsay Wagner award presentation, an increase of 310 seats when compared to 2015 attendance figures. We screened a total of 108 films in the festival. In addition, 1,100 students and teachers attended the Reel Learning school program, totaling 6,054 attending festival programs. Filmmakers making the journey to Durango tell us how much they appreciate Durango audiences, who go out of the way to make them feel welcome. This year 63 filmmakers plus their guests were able to attend the festival, up from 49 visiting filmmakers the previous year. This resulted in having a filmmaker present for Q&A sessions for almost every film program. We showcased many first-time filmmakers from around the globe including one filmmaker making the journey from Korea to present his film.The 2016 festival continues to concentrate on ways to bring the community together in more ways than just film, industry panels and parties. This year our special guest was actress Lindsay Wagner, who was presented the first Durango Film Artist of Distinction award. Our destination marketing efforts are key in bringing out of town guests to Durango to experience the festival. Once again we partnered with Comcast Spotlight out of the ABQ-Santa Fe DM, which covers all of New Mexico and southern Colorado. Our professionally produced commercial spot aired 400+ times on cablevision stations. The 2nd Annual Craft Beer & Culinary Crawl was successful in getting pass holders out and about to discover downtown Durangos galleries, breweries and restaurants. This event is open to anyone with a festival pass so we do not track the number of participants but it appeared to be better attended then the previous year. We opened up our Meet the Filmmakers party to the general public, giving non-festival goers an opportunity to meet filmmakers and learn more about the festival. We worked with the Durango Area Tourism Office (DATO) on a prize package giveaway that was advertised in our promo spot on cablevision stations in all of New Mexico and southern Colorado. This professionally produced :30 sec commercial aired over 400 times in the month leading up to the festival. The winner of the package lives in Albuquerque and had previously attended the festival.This is what 2016 filmmakers had to say about their festival experience in Durango. I cannot overstate how wonderful a time we had in Durango. You all truly go above and beyond to make filmmakers feel amazing. From packed screenings to quirky hotels to delicious food and excellent parties, Durango had it all. Thank you. Edd Benda, Superior I am so grateful for your wonderful community, great food, welcoming audiences, [and] awesome films! The most rewarding part of this whole experience was participating in the film Q&A. Watching Lisa, the subject of the film, embraced by the audience was one of the highlights of this entire process. Thank you, Durango. I will always remember the great company and warm hospitality. Sean Bloch, Presenting Lisa”