La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival

Passion to Power for Creatives Hollywood iNSIDER Michelle Zeitlin, MORE ZAP Productions & Management

http://passion-power.com/ Michelle Zeitlin: I am so excited to be podcasting LIVE amongst people on a real red carpet! This is the first “real life” event I’ve experienced since the lockdowns started with Covid-19 in March of 2020, and it feels good! This two day event is the La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival, presented by Fred Sweet. Fred Sweet, the organizer and founder of this festival shares his mission and ideas for a world class event where filmmakers, fashion designers and artists can share their purpose driven collaborations in a supportive atmosphere. In preparing for this weekend event July 23, 24, 2021, I had zooms with a few of the jurists including the Iconic Heinz Holba who founded La Models, New York Model Management and several offspring initiatives. Thirty years strong in the agency business, he’s worked with the biggest brands, the top designers, buyers and sellers and super models. Beyond running his mini empire for talent and models, he flies his own plane and has three daughters. We also had the pleasure of meeting his teen daughter, a tiny powerhouse herself, Charly, who I know cherished the time with some of my agency clients, Ashli Auguillard, Emily Alabi, Sophina DeJesus, and the lovely Julia Stier who also works with More Zap as a beta reader of scripts and book manuscripts, helps to edit, and I like to say she’s my “Emily Blunt” referencing the best assistant ever in Devil Wears Prada! One of the VIPs, Larry Namer- and I enjoyed some face time and though it was very noisy, it was also exciting to be in the midst of the many screening rooms and walk-by traffic with other media reps, artists and film makers walking THE LOT in La Jolla. Larry and I had met years before at his offices for METAN Media in the Valley, and then we got into how he’s been involved with this event and why he’s inspired. He is the founder of E Entertainment Television, which launched as a cable channel with 2.5 million dollars and is now worth billions and owned by NBC Universal. Gail Garrison, in dark sunglasses and white blond hair bob is a true presence of power- she is the Creative Director of the Global Fashion Channel, and I must say we even had Paparazzi wherever she went! A former Elite model in her youth, she now works with clients and partners in South East Asia and Africa to procure, produce and distribute her original content all about fashion and design. Gail has a resonant voice and resonates creative strength. Finally, Rebecca Bustamante, past president of Women in Film, Washington DC and an actor and creative herself, returned to La Jolla to be a judge and presenter for Best Cinematography. These short films were 6-12 minutes and were developed and produced by artists all over the globe. I got to interview one particular creative team - they call themselves Architects and their film, Savage Facades. Loved all their accents and stories!