Volunteers in the Spotlight:
Reel People

Juan Santana

Erik Russell

Have you noticed the new posters around town this winter for Film Society events: Cinema Cabaret, What Makes Us Tick?, Delmarva Roots, and Another Take? The credit for the colorful and professional look belongs to Juan Santana. He is the professional graphic designer who generously volunteered many hours to assist the Film Society in refreshing its look…..Okay, let’s be honest….he is responsible for helping us GET a look.

Juan is relatively new to Sussex County. He was looking for something to do while job searching and transitioning from upstate. How lucky is the Film Society? Juan is assisting the marketing team — and the design interns we are also lucky to have this semester — with refreshing the organization’s brand. This includes choosing a new color palate that complements the existing logo and choosing new fonts that will be used on posters and other advertising materials.

“Juan has been an extraordinary benefit to our design process”, says Cindy Hall, Film Society Marketing Coordinator. “We could not have come this far, this fast without him. And he is an excellent mentor for the design interns who are helping us update the look of the rest of our advertising material.”

Juan immediately fit right in with the Film Society marketing team. “He came to us at the craziest time of year, right before the Festival,” says Cindy “and jumped in to create our ‘We Cel Reel Merchandise’ sign with a tight turnaround schedule. I told him we work hard to not have fire drills like that…..then turned around a few weeks later and asked him to create the Cinema Cabaret poster… ‘now’, while I stood over his shoulder feeding him bits of info. Juan is a trooper. He works fast and produces a quality product seemingly without adversely affecting his blood pressure.”

“I enjoyed meeting the people who work at the Film Society,” says Juan. “Everyone seems to have a passion for the work and the great service it provides to this part of Delaware. I was able to catch a film at the Festival and got to see first-hand the kind of preparation that goes into putting together a great event. I was very much impressed with the turnout of film goers; everyone seemed to be having a great time, as did I.”

When Juan is not creating a fabulous design (or looking for a job in his new home town) he enjoys camping, hiking, running and traveling abroad and throughout the U.S.

When you see the Film Society’s new posters and other materials soon to follow, please let us know what you think about it. And thank Juan Santana for setting the organization on the road to good design.

Did you know the Film Society holds a summer Fun with Filmmaking series for children ages six to nine? You can ask volunteer, Erik William Russell, about it. While he lives in Hockessin, DE most of the year, he spends his summers at the beach. For the past several years, he has graciously given up three beach days a week to help out with this program.

Wendi Dennis, Film Society Outreach Coordinator, says “Children create the stories they wish to perform, design and build sets to correspond with their scripts, learn how to pull together the right costume for film roles, take part in exercises to hone their acting skills, and discover the tricks of the trade for performing and filming their final skit.” Erik says, “I get the biggest laugh watching those kids dress up and say the funniest things.”

When he is not volunteering with the children’s program, Erik helps out the Film Society by cataloguing films, researching and entering data and sorting through Festival DVDs.

“Erik has been a great volunteer who has contributed many hours doing anything the Film Society needs,” says Wendi. “His dedication to detail in researching and entering data has been a huge help with maintaining and updating records. Plus, he is willing to pitch in and help with the summer kids' program and whatever odd task that arises in a non-profit office."

“What I enjoyed most about this experience is meeting some nice people and working with the kids”, says Erik. “I get the most satisfaction from coming into work every day and leaving work knowing I did something to help the Film Society.”

When he is not volunteering with the Film Society, Erik enjoys playing on a Wii, and reading novels, short stories and graphic novels. He also travels quite a bit and has been to Paris, London, Ireland, Rome and Greece. Another favorite pastime is watching his two younger cousins grow up. Hey, does that mean more recruits for the summer Fun with Filmmaking series?

Thank you Erik for everything you do for the Film Society!