This post was written by Kate Burns, Sophia Hallisey, Grace Mortensen, Sofia Grubor, Meg Maguire, and Lauren Zisson of Mr. Connor Ryan’s AP Language and Composition class. We thank Ms. Bobbie Bush for coming to Marblehead High School to speak to us about her experience volunteering at the Salem Film Fest. The below interview is edited for length and clarity.
MHS: Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Bobbie Bush: I have lived in Salem for 33 years. I grew up outside of Hartford, but I've been in Massachusetts since college. I love Salem; it's my home by the ocean.
MHS: How did you get into photography?
BB: From a young age, my parents knew I had a talent, even when I had my first [Kodak] Brownie camera. When I went to high school, there was a photography program with a dark room and training. I took to it very quickly. I was the Photography Editor for the yearbook, and then in college, I [was] the photo editor of the St. Lawrence newspaper.
MHS: Do you like photography better than business?
BB: Running your own photography business requires business skills; it just so happens my product is photography. I was fortunate that I had business corporate world experience.
MHS: Do you have other people helping you with the photography and the business, or do you do it all yourself?
BB: Currently, I build my own websites and do my own marketing. I do [photography work], client emails, and email campaigns. In the past, [I] had employees, but it is hard to find workers that work as hard as you and care as much.
MHS: What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
BB: I enjoy going out to dinner with friends, going up to a family house on the coast of Maine, and going on long walks in Lynn Woods. I also love kayaking off the Coast of Maine and Marblehead and Salem harbors.
MHS: How did you begin working for the Film Fest?
BB: At first, I was a big fan of the Film Fest; then, I became a business sponsor and an organizer. I learned about the logos that had to be on the website and asked who was in charge of them. Before you knew it, I was in charge of the website because I had graphic design skills. Then this past summer, I was approached to step up into the role of Assistant Director.
MHS: As Assistant Director, what are your responsibilities?
BB: My primary responsibility is to assist the Fest and Programming Director. I already knew I would be doing the website and sponsorship, but when you know somebody might not be able to do a role, people ask if you can fill in. There's a lot of filling in the cracks.
MHS: What are the challenges your role faces?
BB: The biggest challenge is how compressed the timing is. We can’t make everything official with the design until we choose the films and confirm which filmmakers are attending. This means that most of the final decisions have to be made in a short period of time.
MHS: What do you enjoy most about the Film Fest?
BB: I love it. It's eye-opening, thought-provoking, and engaging; I learn so much and see different parts of the world. The tagline Come to Salem to see the world is so true. I also love going in and watching the films.
MHS: Do you have an all-time favorite Film Fest film?
BB: One of my favorite films is THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL. It's about aging women in Russia who survived the meltdown and refused to leave despite the radiation. It is heartwarming, sad, eye-opening, charming, and cryable!
THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL, featured in Salem Film Fest 2016.
