Claudette Godfrey is the Director of Film Festival Programming for the South by Southwest Film Festival & Conference in Austin, Texas, where she serves as a curator for the feature film program, oversees the short film curation team, and manages all aspects of festival staff and event logistics. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Claudette began her career at SXSW in 2006 as an enthusiastic volunteer, and soon was promoted to Short Film Programmer & Operations Manager for SXSW, where she then curated the festival’s 10 short film programs, oversaw all film submissions and the overall organization of the event. A University of Texas Film graduate, Claudette previously worked as a Corporate Relations Coordinator at the CineVegas Film Festival and served as a Shorts Programmer for the Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest from 2010-2012.
Joseph T. Garrity (Production Designer) holds a B.A. degree from Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater and an M.F.A. in Production Design from The AFI Conservatory. He has designed feature films including MY GIRL, DROP DEAD FRED, SON-IN-LAW, SUNSHINE CLEANING, CAKE, MR. CHURCH and I CAN ONLY IMAGINE.
Garrity met Christopher Guest in 1988 and was chosen to design Guest’s directorial debut feature THE BIG PICTURE. Garrity has designed all of Guest’s films since, including WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, BEST IN SHOW, A MIGHTY WIND. Garrity now serves as the Senior Filmmaker-in-Residence: Production Design at The American Film Institute Conservatory.
Herb Stratford is a resident of Tucson and the Director of Film Fest Tucson, which will take place October 20th – 23rd, 2016. He’s also a film critic in Tucson, Arizona, with a weekly presence in print, on the radio and on television. Herb is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, a Critiwire critic on IndieWire and a freelance writer and artist.
Prior to all this, he restored and ran the The Fox Tucson Theatre, a 1,200-seat, 1929 art deco movie palace.