Amy Ettinger – Executive Director & Founder
In 2001, I fulfilled a dream to share my personal passion for foreign film with the Valley by launching the Scottsdale International Film Festival. In the 19 years hence, I have cultivated, sustained, and expanded the annual Festival from a three-day event to a 10-day event. Along the way, and with the help of many, the Festival has withstood ongoing adversity in a state where the arts mortally vie with other arts organizations, professional sports, politics, and the heat for time and for money.
In an era when most people seem to consume images and information in a weird sort of group isolation, the Festival provides the opportunity to have a collective encounter with the moving image on the big screen. Art can be challenging as well as fun, and the Festival’s Board of Directors and I bring the community together to experience films which will rarely be seen locally. I scour the globe to find works of art and our attendees frequently participate together in post-film discussions to process what they have viewed.
Over the seasons, the Festival has showcased many hundreds of films to over 100,000 attendees. Along the way we have shouted from the rooftops about our OSCAR® and GOLDEN GLOBE® winning films and famous guests. But at the end of the day, the reason I serve with this organization is because it makes an invaluable contribution to our collective quality of life and to the cultural well-being of the place where I live. Please reach out to me to learn more about joining our Board and other opportunities.