No child has ever said, “Mommy, when I grow up, I want to run a film festival.” What does that even mean? Having worked for both the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) and the ShortFest since 2013, Artistic Director Liliana Rodriguez says her parents still don’t quite understand what she does.
Yes, she watches movies, but that’s only part of the enormous process. This year Covid safety poses more challenges: Vaccination proof is required, and screenings will be seated at 75% with more time between showings to sanitize.
Each year, the festival’s designated programmers scour film festivals around the globe for the best of the best. In addition, numerous submissions need to be watched and rated. Rodriguez says she has about 15 strong local people who help.
This year, the festival has around 1,000 entries from 60+ countries, with only 130 films making the cut. Not to say the rejected films aren’t good; there are just others the screeners think are better in that category.
“It’s tough for us, always really painful and hard,” Rodriguez says. “We have a competition for first- and second-time feature filmmakers called New Voices New Visions, another for films from Latin America or Spain and a documentary competition. We also have one for local jurors. These are locals who love movies... who want to participate,” she explains. “It’s a fantastic way to get the community involved.”
The youth category (films made by students) is judged by their peers. “The jury ranges between five to seven students. Zach Solomon, our education coordinator, first talks to them about the films, they watch, then have discussions...the same way any jury would. Then they decide on the winner.”
But what about Liliana (Lili) Rodriguez the person?
DM: Did you have a favorite film growing up?
LR: There was a section at the Hollywood Video called Classics. It wasn’t one particular film, but I basically lived in this section.
DM: How about a “guilty pleasure” film?
LR: Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. I stand by it. You know, I’ve watched more serious things now, but it is still a great movie.
DM: Did you have any favorite classes at Coachella Valley High?
LR: I loved my drama class and teacher, Jeni Eskridge. An excellent educator, but also a really good friend to all of us. When we graduated, her family gave scholarships to a few of us students to help out with college.
Eskridge weighs in:
JE: Lili had a wicked sense of humor and curious intellect. You could see her brain working as she was hearing what was being said.
Rodriguez mentions a production that Eskridge directed, Real Women Have Curves.
LR: I played the mom... and we had such a great time, it was probably my favorite role I’ve ever done.
JE: She joined the cast as Ama two weeks before we opened. To say she was amazing is an understatement. I had audience members ask me about the 50-year-old woman in my cast and I had to explain that Lili was a 16-year-old high school junior. She earned a Best Leading Actress nomination from the Desert Theater League.
DM: What did you think you were going to do for a living?
LR: I thought I would stay in academia and that I would write about film.
JE: In high school Lili’s love of film was already in play. I’m not sure anyone could or would stop Lili from being successful. I saw that in her 15 years ago and I told her she was capable of anything as often as I could. Some students come into your life and change it for the better. I not only watched Lili grow, but she challenged me to grow as a person as well. I can’t wait to see what she will do next!
The star-studded 33rd Annual Palm Springs Film Festival will be held January 3-17, 2022, with the awards red-carpet, black-tie gala on January 6. The event gives awards to individuals in the film industry for acting, directing, and lifetime achievement. For tickets and more info, go to www.psfilmfest.org.
