Eric Raddatz Founder of the Fort Myers Film Festival Interview by: Brooke Herron . Design & layout by: Lilia Castillo PHOTOGRAPHY BY GARTH FRANCIS As the executive director and driving force behind the Fort My-
ers Film Festival, it’s safe to say that Eric Raddatz is at the center of Southwest Florida’s burgeoning fi lm industry. In addition to suc- cessfully planning and executing the weeklong event, he personally hosts the popular “Intellectualization Mondays,” fi lm review panels that screen fi lm fest submissions weekly with a rotating cast of local “celebrity” guest judges.
“I started the Fort Myers Film Festival because we need more cultural events around here where you get a chance to use your brain. And it’s also why I started the Naples International Film Festival four years ago.” ~Eric Raddatz
If this isn’t enough to keep fi ve average men busy full-time, Raddatz is also curator at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center and the pre- sentation editor at Florida Weekly.
“I do a lot of things. I direct the Fort Myers Film Festival, I make fi lms, I work as the presentation editor at Florida Weekly, and I try my damndest to be an awesome dad and a decent fi ancé.”
THE STATS: Age: 40 Current City: Cape Coral Birthplace: Joliet, Illinois Employer: Founder/Executive Director of the Fort Myers Film Festival Education: Studied Visual Journalism at UCLA
Hobbies: My favorite hobby is trying to understand the human psyche. Humans can be so brilliant, so greedy, so loving, so won- derful, so disgusting. What makes us who we are, and our ability to constantly be in charge of where we are going, forever amazes me. People fascinate me. Not always in good ways but, yeah… there’s al- ways biking and tennis and all that.
Personal Life: Two wonderful kids that I could go on and on about. Fiancé has us getting married “soon.”
What’s your favorite food and favorite place to get it? My favorite food is the sweet plantain. It is delicious, somewhat nu- tritious, substantive, and sweet, but not too sweet. I like to get it with breakfast at home. If I must eat out, my favorite is Pollo Tropical. Take a plate of that food, plantains included, to the most expensive restaurants (like the Ritz), put it on a fancy plate, serve with a $400 bottle of Beaujolais and they’d rave about the culinary genius.
They’re making a movie about your life. What celebrity would play you? Robert Sean Leonard. Everyone says I look like Wilson from House, and I used to hear that I resembled the “guy from Swing Kids” (both by Robert Sean Leonard). Wait, can I change that to Har- rison Ford? Jim Carey could handle the role too, actually… I don’t think Brad Pitt would get me.
You have the opportunity to travel one place anywhere in the world free of charge. Where would you go? I think Paris. I get lost every time I go there and start thinking, what it would be like to just stay here forever?
When you’re not working, what’s your favorite thing to do in SW Florida? Work. I’m a workaholic. Oh, wait, I take that back. Think. It’s my favorite thing to do here. “Intellectualization Mondays” are the most fun I’ve ever had.
What’s the one technology gadget that you can’t live without? Probably my Mac – I create too much not to have access to so many tools.
What’s your favorite thing about living in SWFL? The weather I suppose.
Least favorite? Stupid people. There seems to be a greater percent- age living here than in other places – but that is changing.
ERIC RADDATZ… Website:
www.ericraddatz.com E-mail: eric@fortmyersfi
lmfestival.com Twitter:
twitter.com/ericraddatz
Pulse Magazine SWFL | 15
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