Before you grab the popcorn and sit down for a show at the Traverse City Film Festival this week, take a minute to appreciate the countless hours that interns put into making this festival a reality!

Justin Lyle is one of the several interns from Central Michigan University making last minute rounds for the festival.

“I help with setting up different promos for videos or acting in different promos, which it’s helped me be more well-rounded,” Lyle says.

It’s not a paid gig, but for intern Anthony Anger it’s an invaluable opportunity.

“It’ll look good on a resume,” he says. “Networking, meeting people, just getting out in there in the world.”

Anger put his tools to work for the past month taking care of things you normally might not think about when you go see a show.

“I’ve done everything from shooting videos to editing, to doing after effects projects, video effects projects” Anger says. “Something you wouldn’t pay attention to, but really a lot of hard work and dedication was poured into it.”

So as the credits roll, don’t forget to give credit to these hard-working interns busy behind the scenes working to make this festival happen.

“It’s certainly inspired me,” Lyle says. “I realize that if you put your mind to it, you can make great things, no matter who you are, you just put your work into it.”

Click the link below for a list of shows this week featured at the film festival.

Summer Interns Work Behind the Scenes at TCFF