Bill Lindstrom will resign from his position as CEO of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) on Oct. 31. Lindstrom was hired eight years ago as the AFCI’s first chief executive.
AFCI board president Mary Nelson said a search for a new CEO is underway with plans to announce Lindstrom’s successor by the end of 2009.
Prior to becoming AFCI CEO, Lindstrom started and led the state film commissions for Iowa and Wyoming for 15 years. During his film commission years, Lindstrom also served four terms on the AFCI board of directors, including as AFCI board president from 1989-’90. He has been honored with the AFCI’s two service awards, the Dutch Horton and Crystal Vision Awards, for his work to improve AFCI’s professional development and marketing programs.
In a released statement, Lindstrom related, “What a remarkable experience. AFCI-member film commissions worldwide have grown dramatically in influence and value to their jurisdictions and to the creative industries. I feel fortunate to have been a part of that growth….and to have worked alongside the scores of visionary AFCI leaders committed to that purpose.”
Nelson described Lindstrom’s dedication to the AFCI and to the work of film commissioners worldwide as “exemplary.”
The AFCI has set up a website link for interested and prospective CEO applicants to access–www.afci.org/career–in order to learn about and apply for the position.
Directing and Editing “Conclave”; Insights From Edward Berger and Nick Emerson
It’s been a bruising election year but this time we’re referring to a ballot box struggle that’s more adult than the one you’d typically first think of in 2024. Rather, on the industry awards front, the election being cited is that of the Pope which takes front and center stage in director Edward Berger’s Conclave (Focus Features), based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Robert Harris. Adapted by screenwriter Peter Straugham, Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal leading the conclave that has convened to select the next Pope. While part political thriller, full of backstabbing and behind-closed-door machinations, Conclave also registers as a thoughtful adult drama dealing with themes such as a crisis of faith, weighing the greater good, and engaging in a struggle that’s as much about spirituality as the attainment of power.
Conclave is Berger’s first feature after his heralded All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of four Oscars in 2023, including for Best International Feature Film. And while Conclave would on the surface seem to be quite a departure from that World War I drama, there’s a shared bond of humanity which courses through both films.
For Berger, the heightened awareness of humanity hit home for him by virtue of where he was--in Rome, primarily at the famed Cinecittà studio--to shoot Conclave, sans any involvement from the Vatican. He recalled waking up in Rome to “soak up” the city. While having his morning espresso, Berger recollected looking out a window and seeing a priest walking about with a cigarette in his mouth, a nun having a cup of coffee, an archbishop carrying a briefcase. It dawned on Berger that these were just people going to... Read More