Age | 32 Occupation | Producer/Organizer, Louisiana International Film Festival Hometown | Atlanta

Chesley Heymsfield is on a mission to find the most intriguing people in the state and bring them to one place. Why? She believes Louisiana is the perfect place for a film festival—one on a scale the state has never seen.

Slated for April 18-21 with events in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the Louisiana International Film Festival will be Heymsfield’s grand vision realized.

The veteran producer has worked in both Los Angeles and New York and wants the local festival to act as a year-long hub for film fans and industry professionals to congregate, share ideas, brainstorm and develop screenings and mentorship programs.

With one of Sundance Film Festival’s first consultants on board and high-profile screenings and appearances in the works, Heymsfield could bring more of Hollywood to the city for a single event than ever before.

“If you don’t know how to survive the business aspect of filming, you don’t have the chance to be creative,” she says. “I wouldn’t be launching this film festival with this focus unless I knew we were at a pivotal point and unless I knew for a fact that we’re on a threshold—the crest of a wave.” lifilmfest.org