A long-term vision
Film festival founder to bring more arts to Roswell
Donovan Fulkerson grew up in Roswell and wanted a way to celebrate his two loves — film and his hometown.
In 2016, he decided to take a giant leap and begin the Roswell Film Festival.
The festival is back for the 2018 edition and will screen 35 films over the course of five days.
“My goal for the festival is to celebrate the art of film,” he says. “I grew up here and my family has been here since the 1930s. I moved back to develop film back into the state. As a filmmaker myself, I know how valuable it is.”
The festival kicks off on Wednesday, April 25 and runs through April 29.
As one would expect, Fulkerson says the festival also celebrates the international brand related to the infamous UFO experiences in Roswell.
The festival has five categories of film — general entry, scifi/fantasy, independent, documentary and New Mexico based.
The festival also hosts live music acts during the festival.
One of the festival’s featured artists will be Sean Kenney, who starred in “Star Trek” as Christopher Pike.
“We’re excited to have Sean at the festival,” Fulkerson says. “There are plenty of opportunities to learn more about film.”
As the festival continues to gain traction, Fulkerson is impressed with the talent of filmmakers finding the festival.
“What’s been neat is we’ve seen everything from brand new film students,” he says. “The Roswell brand obviously carries some weight.”
Fulkerson says the submission process is open from July to November.
He then works with his team of judges, who score each film.
Submission usually falls between 60 and 100 each year.
“We guard the system pretty tightly,” he says. “We take the top score and, each year, we’ve had 20 to 30 films that don’t make it.”
Fulkerson looks forward to spending time with the filmmakers visiting Roswell for the festival.
“I have a long-term vision of bringing more to the arts community,” he says.
For a complete schedule, visit roswellfilmfestival.com.