It has been an honor, a privilege, and a challenge to be President of the St. Louis Chapter of the MCA during 2009. Despite tough economic times, the local MCA chapter has maintained an exciting and informative schedule of programs, and we are grateful for all the media and production businesses who have assisted us in continuing to provide this service to the film, media, and business community. As part of the the thanks for that assistance, I will be doing profiles on first our regular advertisers, and then work my way through hosts, members, and others who contribute to what we hope is a useful service to the community. Please don't get bashful when I call or email you for an interview because I only want to write a glowing profile of your and/ or your business, and let the rest of the film and media community know what makes you special.

This year, I feel, we have had some really great programing. We have covered the digital transition and what it means in media and film production, the web as the newest tool in corporate communications and the delivery of films, and we tackled the challenging topic of grants and other forms of funding. We tried new things, like the web design meeting and learn plenty about the issues and work of web designers. We supported the efforts to increase film tax credit for Missouri, and we demonstrated make-up techniques for digital media. And we had one party and are planning the next. We also still have a bit of money in the treasury so that incoming President Gayle Gallagher does not have that problem. Unfortunately, I and the board regretfully announce that Ginger Routh is leaving the board and the position of Vice President of Programming. She has done an excellent job of bringing to together the programs each month for three years, and she will be sorely missed. (Any Volunteers?)

I want to congratulate Cinema St. Louis for another great Film Festival. According to the fest recap email (http://www.cinemastlouis.org/), the 18th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival was held Nov. 12-22, 2009 and featured the St. Louis premieres of more than 250 films from nearly 40 countries. Nearly 21,000 people attended - 20, 926 patrons came to fest-related events, a 10.5 percent increase from 2008 and a festival record. Box office increased by 8.7 percent over 2009. I especially enjoyed the closing night party at the Moonrise Hotel. The great space made it fun and easy to network, visit, and joke with so many friends and colleagues from the St. Louis Film Community. Thanks to Stella Artois for the free beer, too. Congratulations to the many winners and to Chris Grega, best known for the epic WWII film "Rhineland" of a few years ago, for winning the inaugural Midrash St. Louis Film Award (www.midrashstl.com), which seeks to celebrate St. Louis-related films of honesty and artistry that portray the need or the hope for reconciliation or redemption. Director Chris Grega's "Game of the Year" earned him the award and a cash prize of $1,000. (Good thing the beer was free, or Chris would have had to buy rounds!)

The First Annual St. Louis Film Conference was held this fall, and as one of the organizers, I felt that the event was success. It was great to get so many of the film educators in one room and have those teacherly chats about teaching film studies and film production. It was also interesting to see what all the students and educators are doing in terms of film research and film production. The array of interesting topics pursued by researchers and the talent displayed by the filmmakers really opened my eyes to the diversity of facilities, talent, and techniques available right here in the St. Louis region. Also, several of those involved in the Film Conference are working on getting Apple certicate training for Final Cut available in St. Louis; I will keep you posted! The St. Louis Film Conference (http://sites.google.com/site/stlouisfilmconference/) will return next fall, and remember, everyone is invited, and we hope to keep it free or inexpensive!

Finally, St. Louis has a new way to convince lawmakers to raise the Film Tax Credits. It is called "Up in the Air!"  By all accounts, I have heard the production had a positive experience in St. Louis, and now St. Louis can pop a few more buttons over the fact that the film is also very good. If you haven't seen "Up in the Air" (www.theupintheairmovie.com) yet, jump at the chance! It is scheduled to open in St. Louis on December 11!!

That's All Folks,
See ya' at the movies,
Sandra Olmsted

P.S. Mostly it has been an honor and a privilege!