City College will offer a new film studies internship class in the fall that allows students to gain experience working with professionals at the Santa Barbara Film Festival offices.

Roger Durling, executive director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and Steve Blain, managing director of the SBIFF will oversee the internships. Durling also teaches Film Studies at City College. 

“Film Studies is academic. This is more the hands-on of how a film festival is put together,” Durling said.

The interns will work a minimum of eight hours per week.

Responsibilities during the off-season include duties that span from marketing to dealing with press, working behind the scenes, and helping to get sponsorships to run the festival. They also show movies before they come out in theaters. A season usually starts in October/November and lasts until February. 

Amanda Keehmer, a 21-year-old former City College student, has been an intern at the SBIFF since May 2010. She’s a Communication major currently studying at UCSB. Durling was her professor for Film Studies 101, “Introduction to Film,” at City College when he notified her about the internship.

“It’s a really fun experience even though it’s not paid,” Keehmer said. “You get to learn a lot and be in a very fun environment where everyone’s really fun to work with.”

Mentors guide the interns in the beginning of the semester. There are weekly meetings, or seminars, that provide overall education about the festival, Blain said.

Durling said with a large part of a film festival being business related, this is a great opportunity for business students.

“You definitely learn a lot here; anything from marketing to dealing with press, behind the scenes work, sponsorships and so on,” Keehmer said. “Basically there’s a little bit of everything within the film festival.”

Keehmer works about 10 hours per week during the off-season and more than 20 hours per week during the season.

“The students who want to do this have to be self-motivated,” Blain said. “It’s not a place to come and wait. SBIFF needs someone who is highly motivated and knows what they want to accomplish.”

In the beginning of the internship, interns are able to ascertain what their interests are and what area they want to work in most. If a person is drawn to, for example, special events, they will be directed in that way so they can get the most out of the experience.

“It’s basically a once in a lifetime experience to see how a huge, extravagant event is made from nothing,” Keehmer said.