Movie-Making Police Chief Part of Film Festival

Friday was opening day of the Vermont International Film Festival in Burlington, an event showcasing close to 60 films of all styles from around the world.

One of the directors taking part in a spotlight on Vermont filmmakers is better known for his day job: Burlington’s police chief, Brandon del Pozo.

Before del Pozo came to Vermont's largest city, he was a precinct commander in the Bronx for the NYPD.

There, in late 2014, he wrote and directed a short film titled "Sunday 1287." It was inspired by a real 911 call, he said.

The film is about a young mom’s emotional attempt to leave an abusive boyfriend.

Del Pozo told necn affiliate NBC 5 that he hopes sharing the project at the film festival can be an eye-opener about domestic violence. He hinted that he may one day make another movie based on other challenges facing the community.

"Listen, policing is about human drama," del Pozo said in response to a question about the real-life inspiration for the movie. "Police find themselves interacting with people, they're called to situations where there's pain and crisis and distress, where hopefully they can be problem solvers and help folks. But that's where drama comes from. It comes from conflict and it comes from despair, sometimes."

Del Pozo said he found some other similarities between policing and the craft of filmmaking, including the need to remain well-organized and to demonstrate good leadership over a team of people working together toward a common goal.

The Vermont International Film Festival runs through October 30 at several locations around downtown Burlington.

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