Interview with Sheila Johnson, Founder of the Middleburg Film Festival

The 2017 Middleburg Film Festival is a who’s who of female trailblazers. Dee Rees was holding court in the Salamander Library and being presented with the 2017 Visionary Award. The NYU alumni also honored her film, Mudbound. In the ballroom, co-director of Battle of the Sexes, Valerie Feris would be introducing composer Nicholas Britell’s afternoon symphony concert, and Greta Gerwig will sit down for a Q&A following the screening of her film, Lady Bird.

While I was waiting in line earlier that day, a man who has been coming here since the beginning concurs that he has seen the festival grow exponentially in stature. He used to go to the Virgina Film Festival, but now prefers coming to Middleburg to get an early look at the year’s best films. He’s excited this week to see Darkest Hour, Call Me by Your Name, Novitate, and I, Tonya.

Another couple I meet later in the elevator recommend that I go see Music Got Me Here. It’s about Forrest Allen, local resident right here in Middleburg, and his recovery after suffering a traumatic brain injury. They tell me it’s an inspiring documentary made by the festival’s own Susan Koch.  It’s about hope and healing and how the power of music can help to inspire all our lives. I’ve heard the same enthusiasm that this couple expressed ring out across the resort from other people who echo the same sentiment for Koch’s film, inspiring me to seek it out.

In the private dining room of the Harriman’s restaurant, Sheila Johnson is meeting the press. This is her resort, this is her festival. She is the woman behind it all, having founded the festival five years ago. Her passion for film began when she was a young child, and now each autumn she brings together over 4000 movie-lovers at the four-day Middleburg Film Festival. Locals, residents from the Washington D.C. tri-state area, New Yorkers, and Los Angelenos are all here. Prominent filmmakers themselves are here to support the festival and their films. Johnson tells me the festival strives for excellence and that’s what’s important to her.

Johnson is a trailblazer, her biography reads of many firsts. She is part owner of the NBA team, Washington Wizards. She was co-founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television), and she is one of the first African-American female billionaires. I sat down with Johnson to learn more about her passion and the festival which she has carefully curated to become one of the go-to festivals along with Telluride, Toronto, and NYFF.

I just want to go back and ask about your first memory of film?

My father was a director and both of my parents were musicians also and they always took us to the theater, so my first introduction was really musicals and theater. I grew up in Chicago which I think has a great art scene. I was also a concert violinist and was always involved in the arts.

The movies I have loved and grew up on, I could name all the old films and I still love watching them. I had the ability to start telling my own stories and documentaries which is how Susan Koch and I met and started working together. I worked on Kicking It with her.

In between, I worked on She Is The Matador about the only female matador in Spain and in the world. I did A Powerful Noise for CARE which went to the Tribeca Film Festival and other festivals and through that I connected with Laura Ziskin. She could not get anyone to accept the script for The Butler. She handed me the script and she told me, “Sheila, you’re the only one who can make this.” At the time, she was dying and I read the script and said it had to be made. So I put some of my own money to finance it. I had Lee Daniels as my director and we then put together the cast. Then of course — I don’t want to bring up his name — but Harvey Weinstein picked it up for distribution. I’ve been hooked ever since, but I was also on the Sundance board for years.

What’s it’s been like for you to see the festival grow in the way it has done?

It’s been amazing. I have to give credit to the Hollywood Film Advisory Board. They’re the ones who really help bring these people in. Susan and I and Connie White go to the festivals and see the best of the best of films. They give us a list of films that we should see so that we don’t waste our time. Once we see them and know we want them, we go after them. That’s when we meet with studio heads to convince them that the festival is taking off and that they’re taken care of.

The best thing is we have this venue here, this resort which is the anchor of the town. A lot is pumped out of here. This is like another stage for the film festival.

I love that it’s the perfect location and that the other venues such as the Hill School, Community Center are all in walking distance.

I wanted it to be the walking film festival. One of our venues was in Upperville which we brought back to the Community Center and so it’s worked out quite perfectly.

Talk about the theme this year that seems to look at strong women.

It’s been really interesting because I know we’re in the period of women. If you believe in the spiritual circle. It’s the rise of the woman and you’re starting to see it everywhere. Now, you see it in the arts, you see it in politics, you see it in their voices. They’re starting to own themselves. They’re starting to understand that they really have nothing to lose but everything to gain, and to speak the truth about things that have been happening and depressing them. They’ve been empowered in some way, I don’t know what’s going on in the cycle of life right now, but they are being empowered and so I think it’s wonderful that we have great female filmmakers.

We didn’t go through looking for female filmmakers. We just found the best films and they happened to be done by women.

Which is amazing.

We don’t want to be accused of bringing in a film because it’s made by a woman or it’s African-American. We strive for excellency and that’s what’s important.

We’re off shortly to see the symphony orchestra tribute to Nicholas Britell. How did you come up with that idea because I believe you’re the only film festival to hold a concert performance?

It’s my music background. All my life, when I look at films, I listen to the music. Some people don’t listen to the music and they don’t understand that music is what can make or break a film. It creates the mood. It helps to tell the story. The composer has to understand what the director is trying to do on screen and the music draws you in even deeper.

I’ve always loved listening to the soundtracks of film and the composers have always been the unsung hero, and I thought it was really important to start raising awareness and really honor them.

You’re a trailblazer yourself. What are some of the challenges you faced?

More than anything, it’s been finding my own voice and power and not feeling intimidated or afraid and not living in fear. Not saying, “I can’t do this.”

I find now that I really have nothing to lose. When you live your life that way good things start happening and you become bold.