WORKING WOMEN OF WESTCHESTER: SUSAN TODD

Westchester County Business Journal, Mar 31, 2008

SUSAN TODD

Director of international understanding through film

Jacob Burns Film Center

Works in: Pleasantville

Lives in: Croton-on-Hudson

Who inspired you to get into your profession?

"When I was in elementary school, I remember assemblies with a filmmaker named Ted Bumiller. He would show 16mm films of exotic places he had traveled, along with hilarious live commentary. I was enchanted. In high school and college I got involved with acting and directing theater. After watching a screening of student films at Harvard, I was inspired to try a filmmaking course and I've been passionate about making movies ever since."

When did you know you "made it?"

"When our film 'Children of Fate' was nominated for an Academy Award, my family certainly thought I had made it. For me, it was a tremendous honor. But for each film, the process of understanding your subject and finding the best way to visualize it is a new challenge. You're constantly learning and that's what's fun."

Most rewarding moment of your career?

"I really enjoy interacting with audiences after they've seen one of my films. We've had four documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival over the years and those screenings have probably been the most memorable. You get to hear directly how all those months of work have affected somebody else's view of the world.

"In my current role at the Jacob Burns Film Center, I'm directing a college-level course called World Crew where students traveled to Uganda to make a film about peace. This winter, one of my students got so inspired by a story he read about North Dakota that he immediately flew out there to see if he could turn it into a film. For me, his enthusiasm was about as rewarding as it gets."