We had the good fortune of connecting with Jodi Cilley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jodi, are you pursuing your passion?
I like to keep one foot in the dream world, and one foot in reality. In some way or another, I’ve always pursued my passions. Even when I would go off track for a while, something would always put me back in pursuit of my passions. When I started the Film Consortium, I felt as though I had found the ultimate opportunity to pursue my passions in a way that combined many of my passions together: community development, storytelling, videography, business and education.

What should our readers know about your business?
I run the Film Consortium San Diego and produce the annual San Diego Film Week. The idea for the business came to me while getting my MBA from San Diego State University. I was looking for what to do next after graduating and suddenly had an epiphany. Why not combine all of my skills, experience, education and passion to create a business that helped create the city I want to live. Through tons of hard work, many sleepless nights, extreme stress and strong belief, I was able to build what we have today. No matter how hard the path got, I believed in my vision so strongly that I just knew to keep going. The Film Consortium is local business with a global vision, a goal of organizing film communities in cities and regions to produce content that can find funding and international distribution. Right now this vision is coming to life in San Diego and each year gets us closer to where I ultimately envision for the company and for our community.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Many people from home have visited over the years and I have a lot of stops on the tour that I like to bring people. In San Diego I would do a coastal drive, hike in Torrey Pines or down to Black’s Beach, cruise over the Coronado Bridge to check out the ‘island’, stop in Barrio Logan to show Chicano Park, spend a few hours in Balboa Park. San Diego’s outdoor world is its crowning jewel and this is a city meant to be outside. Once the San Diego tour concluded, I would bring them down to Baja and show them the unique culture, food and night life of Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada, Mexico. Where else do you get to be in another completely different culture in under 20 minutes? The food stops are, of course, a highlight of anyone’s trips to Mexico and after the requisite taco and seafood stops, we’d go to Caesar’s Restaurant and Bar for spectacular dinner and drinks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When I was in my early 20’s, I moved to San Diego and after struggling for a while to get settled here, I got a job at Father Joe’s Villages’ Toussaint Teen Center- a 30 bed long term homeless shelter for teens. I spent almost 10 years working there and in a lot of ways, I grew up there. The residents were incredibly dynamic and incredibly challenging, but the experience as a mentor and ‘parent’ for at-risk teens was invaluable for my growth as a human. Through those years I learned high levels of patience, compassion and empathy. My two bosses, Cortni Philips and Rick Newmyer, were my mentors and for years they challenged me and encouraged me as a staff, and as a person. Between them and the hundreds of teens that went through that program, I learned so many life lessons and developed so much as a human that I credit that experience with forming a lot of who I am today. Another shoutout is deserved for Ethan Van Thillo from the Media Arts Center San Diego. It’s because of his trust in me and his guidance that I learned to teach, learned how to make film, and learned how to guide others in the making of films. For over 15 years I taught classes for Ethan through the Teen Producer’s Project and without that invaluable experience, I would not be in film today.

Website: filmconsortiumsd.com
Instagram: @filmconsd
Linkedin: Jodi Cilley
Twitter: @filmconsd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JodiLCilley
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SDIFC

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