Ever gone to a film where a coming attraction blows the feature presentation right out of the water? Before Richard Herskowitz, director of the Virginia Film Festival since 1994, could dig into the meat of this year’s festival lineup, he announced his resignation from the festival that he has cultivated for more than a decade.
"As you know," began the festival’s executive director, Andrea Press, "Richard Herskowitz recently announced his resignation as creative director of the Virginia Film Festival." And while this was the first formal word for some, the move comes as no shock; Herskowitz’s wife, former UVA Art Museum director Jill Hartz, left Charlottesville for a position as executive director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon.
Herskowitz’s remarks about his resignation were kept short in the interest of moving on to the film lineup, but the festival curator mentioned that he’d accepted a position in the media studies department at the University of Oregon and will also help to plan multimedia events at the university. Additionally, there are more festivals on the horizon for Herskowitz, who mentioned that he would also act as the "new curator of a program launched by the Cinema Arts Society of Houston."
"I leave with some sadness," Herskowitz remarked, "but want to thank everyone…." And then it was onto the festival lineup; read Curtain Calls next week for details.
A life in pictures: Richard Herskowitz joins his wife, former UVA Art Museum director Jill Hartz, at the University of Oregon.
