Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Festivals and Fun Dan Krovich returns to Baltimore for "Possession"
Posted by Gabe Wardell on Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 1:00 PM
- Joeff Davis
- Another Fine Mess! Dan performing baptism by popcorn
On a personal note...
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with my history in Atlanta, that I consider Dan Krovich, the former festival director of Atlanta Film Festival, a personal friend and a gifted film programmer.
We first began working together in 1999 at the inaugural Maryland Film Festival. I was tasked with helping launch the fledgling event, overseeing programming and a number of key tasks, and Dan—then a PhD candidate at Hopkins specializing in Pharmacology, but with a passion for film—was an intern. His tireless dedication helped make that event a success.
After he received his degree, Dan assumed a full-time roll at Maryland, and contributed meaningfully to building the festival into one of the true gems on the circuit today.
The first major policy decision I made when I took over as Executive Director here in Atlanta was to hire Dan. His experience, coupled with his wide-ranging, eclectic. quirky, acquired, and eccentric tastes made him an ideal candidate for the programming challenges of a multi-day, multi-strand festival such as Atlanta's. He is as apt to hold forth the merits of the cinematography of "Step Up 3-D," which he believes deserves serious Academy Award consideration, and he insists is the best use of the technology to date, "Avatar" included), as he is to revel in the subtle realism of "Hamilton."
Dan's contributions to the Atlanta Film Festival (and Out on Film) over the course of four years were significant. While he retained a low profile, and rarely spoke in public, he oversaw a process that sorted though thousands of submissions to deliver a smorgasbord of cinematic treats—with a program that included something for everyone—suitable for all palates.
- Wide Sphere Pictures
- "Battle of Pussy Willow Creek", one of Krovich's discoveries
Among his programming highlights include the mumblecore minimalism of Lynn Shelton's "My Effortless Brilliance," the quirky action/comedy "Slap Down" (a kick-ass kung-fu Christian fundamentalist allegory), the spot-on Ken Burns mockumentary spoofery of "The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek," the melancholy queer tragedy of "The Houseboy," the seething drama of Lanre Olibisi's "August the First," the visionary southern-gothic fever dream "General Orders No. 9" and the off-beat teen angsty zombie realism of "Make-Out With Violence."
While I am sad to see him go, I am glad to announce that Dan secured an opportunity to return to Baltimore to pursue his passion for film production. He will be the Production Manager on "The Possession," the new film from Eduardo Sanchez, who co-created "Blair Witch Project."
Atlanta's loss is Baltimore's gain.
- Paula Martinez
- Carlos Cuaron, Dan and me at the Atlanta Premiere of Rudo y Cursi.
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