The two top positions of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute's board of directors will be vacant in May.
"My term is up and I'm not seeking re-election," Susan Altrui, board chairwoman, said during a phone interview Tuesday.
The vice chairman's position, held for three years by local Realtor Chris Rix, will also be open. He and Altrui announced their intentions to members present during a board meeting Monday. She will continue occupying a space on the board as a past chairwoman, but Rix will not claim a board member spot.
When the two took leadership positions in 2012, the nonprofit organization was in peril.
"It needed a lot," Altrui said.
"Since Susan and I took our seats, we have worked on eliminating debt," Rix said.
A chunk of that debt was relieved when HSDFI decided to let go of its home at the historic Malco Theatre in 2013.
"I sold the Malco myself at a zero percent commission just to get the institute back on its feet," Rix said.
There had also been long-standing debts with individuals and businesses who had helped the institute over the years. Rix said relationships have since been mended by paying back those moneys. He said the payments sent out a message to the community that something new was happening and "people started getting involved."
"People started understanding that while there had been dysfunction in the past through various individuals, they were no longer affiliated and we were going to move the festival in a positive direction," Rix said.
Many of the people Altrui and Rix spoke of have been donors to the annual festival. Altrui said there had been "misuse of funds" by previous leadership and some donors had "mistrust of the organization."
"We had to regain that trust," she said, adding, "That's not an easy thing to do and it takes several years. And, quite frankly, we're still doing that. It's something we'll continue to do."
A number of past donors are now back in the circle of giving, Rix said, and the institute is in a "healthy state again financially."
Altrui said while the institute definitely needed financial growth, it "also needed growth artistically."
HSDFI hired Courtney Pledger as festival director, who helped grow the organization in terms of its programming. And Altrui said the festival is now "world-renowned and an Oscar-qualifying film festival, one of only 32 in the world. We got that designation last year and that is a real feather in our cap for the state of Arkansas."
Altrui said another quality feature the institute is proud to have is the Emerging Filmmakers Program, an educational outreach held concurrently with the October festival. Many filmmakers who take part are Academy Award qualifying and winning.
"For those students to be exposed to that caliber of filmmaker is really something special" and not something they would necessarily get in a regular classroom environment, she said.
HSDFI was able to partner with AETN to provide the experience at no cost to participants. Last year, around 100 students took part and Altrui said the institute wants that number to grow.
Another feature brought to life by Rix during the 10-day festival has been the parties. "There's always been an air of elegance with the parties that surrounded the festival. That started with the Beninis and some of the founders," he said.
He wanted to restore parties to that level and said he offered to host in his home, paying out of pocket, and took care of organization for them over the past three years.
Second only to seeing the festival remain alive was Rix's goal of making sure the event continued for the specific financial impact that is has on service industry workers in Hot Springs. He mentioned both those who work for tips and clean hotel rooms, all who would be negatively impacted if the festival dissolved and left a hole in the October calendar.
Rix said he encourages local residents to get involved, and one opportunity would be for those interested to submit a resume to the board for consideration during its upcoming May elections. It is likely, but not definite, that positions of chairman and vice chairman would be chosen from current board members, but there are also vacancies for members. Resumes may be emailed to [email protected].
Rix said he expects positive growth for HSDFI and he's "thrilled to have been on the board," orchestrating the institute's stabilization.
Altrui said of her time in service, "It's definitely been a long road," but she thinks change is a good thing.
"From here on out, we're going to have a really wonderful film festival that's going to have a lot of exciting things happening," she said.
This year's festival is scheduled for Oct. 9-18, with screenings in the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa.
Entertainment on 04/01/2015