38th Telluride Film Festival

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SHOWCorps

Sure, there's the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with the film elite. But plenty of elbow grease goes into producing the four-day Telluride Film Festival. Our hard-working, problem-solving, movie-loving, people-pleasing, get-your-hands-dirty group of dedicated volunteers and staff are known as SHOWCorps. Corps is defined as: an organized body of people acting together - and that is exactly what we are! SHOWCorps is the nuts and bolts of the Festival. What kind of talents can we use? Ushers to finesse the theater crowds. Food servers to nourish hungry souls. Muscles to haul gear. Your first step is to apply - we'll figure out where to harness your talents.

There are a couple of ways to get on board:

STAFF: We require our staff to work 30+/- hours over the course of the 4 days of the Festival as well as the few days before and after. In exchange, you will receive a staff pass, access to our staff clubhouse with 3 meals a day, admission to some of the Festival special events, great Festival schwag, and of course the fun that comes with working with great people.

Although positions are offered first to returning staff members, we welcome applications from new candidates. The decision to accept and assign staff depends on dates of availability, specific skills and overall enthusiasm for working long hours with a smile.

VOLUNTEER:

In addition to the 30+/- hour full staff option, it is also possible to volunteer for the Festival, working less than the full staff option (usually about 15 hours). Volunteering in this category ranges from helping out answering the phones to catering our events to serving food in our staff clubhouse and more. For each 3-hour shift, volunteers receive one staff ticket for showings at our 3 big venues: the Chuck Jones Cinema, the Galaxy and the Palm Theater.

Past volunteers get first crack at positions for the next Festival. Be warned: that leaves few spots for newcomers. First-time workers are primarily chosen by matching your skills to our needs. Help your cause by applying early. Witness the charm of a unique film event while contributing the sweat that pulls it off. Volunteer!

How it works:

• Decide on the type and level of commitment you'd like to make: full-time 30+ hours for a staff pass or 15+ hours for tickets. Please note that in most cases you will need to be in Telluride by Thursday, August 30 and stay THROUGH Monday, September 3.
• Apply Online: fill out the application (below) and include a resume and a few paragraphs about yourself and why you want to be a part of the Telluride Film Festival team. Application deadline is August 15. You must be 21 to apply.
• Receive an email from us confirming receipt of application.
• Discuss your application: When we hear back from our return volunteers in late June, we’ll re-review your application and email you to set up a call and discuss possibilities.
• Receive a Specific Assignment: When a volunteer's interests and the Festival's needs fit, volunteers are offered a volunteer assignment within a Festival Department, usually by mid-July.
• Check-In: All volunteers come to check-in just before their first meeting/training to get their Festival pass/tickets and pick up their Vespucci, the go-to guide to how-to. All staff and volunteers are required to attend a new staff/all staff meeting on Thursday, August 30 beginning at 3 pm. Please note: depending on the department you are assigned to, you may have to attend additional required trainings. You will be notified of these meetings/trainings in plenty of time.
• Get Your Schedule: You will pick up your festival schedule the Thursday before the festival, August 31, at our staff/volunteer meeting where you will also meet your department manager.
• Festivate!

The Volunteer Application Form may be downloaded here. (PDF)

PRODUCTION APPRENTICE: For those who want the fullest ‘behind-the-scenes’ adventure, we select 8-10 eager applicants as Production Apprentices for an intensive month of preparation in Telluride. Remember the Elementary School gym that transforms into a galactic movie palace? That takes many hands and long hours. Carpentry, rigging, painting and other production skills — apprentices acquire a real hands-on view of assembling a world-class event from the ground up. More information and the Production Apprentice Application Form are available below.

The P.A.’s must arrive ready to work on Monday, July 30th by 8AM and work through Friday, September 7th, 2012 until 5PM. Like other volunteers, the Production Apprentices will not be compensated monetarily during the 4-day festival itself, but receive a Festival pass and privileges in exchange for time working during the Festival weekend. The Production Apprentice Application Form may be downloaded here. (PDF)

The Telluride Film Festival is also looking for a Computer Science Intern (Production Apprentice) to commit to a period of 7 weeks starting Monday, July 30 through Friday, September 14th. The I.T. intern will help set up, maintain and break down computer networks in multiple locations as well as help with a variety of staff computer needs. The applicant will be working under the direction of the Festival’s I.T. Manager and the Production Department. When not needed to do work for the I.T. Manager, the intern will work with other P.A.’s on a variety of tasks. The Telluride Film Festival operates on mostly Macintosh systems and familiarity with troubleshooting Mac systems is an important qualifier. The applicant should also be prepared to train and educate others. Applicants should be able to trouble shoot network problems and a variety of system issues.

To apply, please use the Production Apprentice application form above.