When Tony Sheppard started the Anchorage International Film Festival 13 years ago, he couldn't imagine where the festival would be today. The opening gala took place around a burn barrel. Organizers later had a snowball fight.
In 2013, the 10-day film festival's opening gala is much more polished. It will be at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub in Anchorage on Friday, after the screening of "Icebound" -- a film about an historic moment in Alaska, the 1925 dogsled relay to carry diphtheria serum to Nome during an epidemic, the inspiration for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The documentary was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominee Daniel Anker, who directed "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy," nominated for an Academy Award and took home several other awards at film festivals across the nation.
"It has made significant changes about three times in the last 13 years," said festival director Sheppard. "But we are kind of at a plateau right now."
Sheppard said the once-completely-volunteer staff now has two part-time employees -- himself and the technical director. And he hopes to soon be paying one of the hardest-working volunteers on his staff -- the program director -- who knows all of the nitty-gritty details about the films on this year's schedule.
"Right now, we are at capacity with what we can do with our limited finances," said Sheppard. "If we were to try and do much more, we would find ourselves too stressed, at the peak of our capabilities." In this year's festival, 98 movies will screen. Thirteen years ago, the festival lasted four days. Within two years, it grew to 10 days. Organizers quickly learned they couldn't screen all the films they liked.
The much-ballyhooed Hollywood flick "The Frozen Ground," is in this year's lineup. The movie, starring John Cusack and Nicolas Cage, tells the tale of serial killer Robert Hansen. It was shot in the Anchorage area, and many locals took part in the production, but it never screened in Anchorage.
"Frozen Ground" will screen twice at the festival this year -- at the Alaska Experience Theater and the Anchorage Museum.
But what Sheppard expects to be a sellout show isn't a Hollywood flick -- it's "McConkey" -- which looks at exteme skiier Shane McConkey's life before his death in 2009.
None of the showings are sold out yet, but Sheppard said that is expected to change quickly.
Click here for the full schedule.
Contact Megan Edge at megan(at)alaskadispatch.com or contact her on Twitter @megtedge.