The announcement might not have been a complete shock, but it was nonetheless seismic. After 19 years with Atlanta-based Turner Classic Movies, Genevieve McGillicuddy — the station’s vice president of enterprises and strategic partnerships who also oversaw the annual TCM Classic Film Festival — was laid off last year by company owners. Following a groundswell of support from the public and the industry, however — including some legendary directors — Warner Bros. Discovery hired McGillicuddy back shortly after the layoff to direct the 2024 festival.
Taking place April 18 through April 21 in Hollywood, this year’s Classic Film Festival is, as always, a star-studded event. The 15th edition opens with a screening of Pulp Fiction with John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman present. Other notable offerings include a hand and footprint ceremony with two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster; Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins participating in a screening of The Shawshank Redemption; a world premiere 70 mm film restoration of The Searchers; and various awards and tributes.
After graduating from the Emory master’s program in film studies in 1996, McGillicuddy landed at IMAGE Film and Video Center, now known as Atlanta Film Society. Initially, she was responsible for education programming, but as she learned the inner workings of festivals, she segued into a festival director role for both the Atlanta Film and Video Festival and Out On Film, overseeing both for four years. Later, she served as the director of marketing and publicity at Madstone Theatres before starting work at Turner Classic Movies in 2004.
Her first job was marketing manager, though her titles and responsibilities shifted over time. And while a TCM film festival had been discussed before McGillicuddy arrived, the timing never seemed right — but that soon changed.
“In 2009, we were doing a lot of work around the brand and where it would go,” she said. “We knew TCM had this amazing fan community, but there really wasn’t a way for the community to come together. A film festival was probably the most natural way to build what we call the mecca for classic film lovers. The idea really developed steam from there.”
In 2010, TCM held the first festival at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and the Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood has staged it annually since.
That first year, as McGillicuddy recalled, was a complete blur for everyone involved. “It felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants. We were creating it as we went.” She found herself in an interesting position — no one else at TCM at the time had produced a film festival, so, from day one, she was able to be the leader of the project. A lot of early inspiration came from Bill and Stella Pence, co-founders of the Telluride Film Festival, an event with which TCM had a deep connection.
“It’s a destination event — Telluride brings in people from all over the world,” McGillicuddy said. “We stole a lot from their playbook. There was a lot we didn’t know going in.”
McGillicuddy could talk for hours about some of her favorite festival moments. One was that first year — having French superstar Jean-Paul Belmondo as a guest. “We did a screening of Breathless, and I will never forget two things. He spoke very limited English, but he had star power. The wattage coming off of him was remarkable. He was very gracious and nice. He also stayed to watch the movie. It was hard not to get a kick out of the fact that I’m standing at the back of the theater, and I know he is watching himself on screen along with the audience.”
Another highlight was the first handprint ceremony in 2011 with Peter O’Toole, which she called a “pinch me moment.”
Seeing the TCM festival blossom over time has been enormously fulfilling for McGillicuddy. Yet last summer, several TCM execs were laid off, herself included — plus programming head Charlie Tabesh. “As someone who has been through numerous changes at Turner, at TCM and with Warner Bros. Discovery over the years, you just never know when something like that is happening,” she said. “I am not going to say it blindsided me, but it was a sad day.”
Chief among those concerned with the layoffs were Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson, who met with Warner Brothers CEO David Zaslav to lend what support they could. Their mission was fruitful — a short time later, McGillicuddy was hired back as executive director for the 2024 edition, and Tabesh was brought back for programming.
“That whole conversation went in a completely different direction than any of us could guess, in the best possible way,” she said. “Lots of people depart their jobs all the time, and maybe that’s not by choice, but it is pretty rare that you get people calling out on your behalf. That week, it was really gratifying to know that there were a lot of people who were invested in the work done by the team at TCM.”
The subsequent restructuring hasn’t dramatically changed the festival, but McGillicuddy wants to incorporate available talent whenever possible. Spielberg, for instance, is a previous guest and this year will be hosting a screening of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
McGillicuddy is pleased to be back for her 20th anniversary year with her TCM family, all of whom have supported her professionally and personally over the years. When her husband of more than 20 years — Scott Henry, a contributing editor at Atlanta and news editor at Creative Loafing — passed away in 2022, McGillicuddy relied upon her community of friends and colleagues to help her get through a difficult time.
“It is a close-knit environment, and they had my back when I needed that,” she said. “Obviously, it’s not a situation anyone wants to go through, but a large part of how I got through [the grief] was because of the people I know through TCM and the greater Atlanta community — many of whom I have met through my work. I was very happy to be able to dive back into work when I could.”
Henry always knew more about film than she did, McGillicuddy said, and he also loved movies and attending film festivals. “We were well-matched in that way, and he was nothing but supportive of what I was doing for the festival.”
Producing the Classic Film Festival has proven to be another perfect fit, including the challenge of stitching numerous moving parts together. “I love standing in the back of a theater and seeing a full house and everyone enjoying what they are watching. I love being able to create a platform for that. My first love is classic film — that is why I got into studying film,” she mused. “To me, being able to do this job is being able to deliver on what I do best: connecting audiences to film. That is what I enjoy.”
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Jim Farmer is the recipient of the 2022 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Theatre Feature and a nominee for Online Journalist of the Year. A member of five national critics’ organizations, he covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, and lives in Avondale Estates with his husband, Craig, and dog, Douglas.
