Influences What shapes the minds that make the news

Name:

Sharon Pinkenson.

Profession:

Executive director, Greater Philadelphia Film Office.

What I do:

I'm the rainmaker at the Film Office and (I hope) the inspiration for my staff. Our goals include attracting the production of moving pictures of every kind to the Philadelphia region to create production jobs for local residents, filling hotel rooms and restaurants and stimulating the regional economy through the magic of film. Our Filmmakers program serves the needs of the local film community.

How I came to this job:

I was a fashion designer who became a costume designer who became film commissioner in 1992, thanks to Gov. Rendell's appointment of me at the beginning of his first mayoral term.

Philly connections:

Born and raised in Philadelphia.

Degrees:

Registered dental hygienist degree and bachelor's in education from Temple; Doctor of Humane Letters, causa honoris, from Drexel.

Family:

Married to Joseph Weiss. Three daughters (Zoe, Dawn, Lauri).

Teams I root for:

All Philadelphia sports teams, especially the Eagles and the Phillies.

I just came back from the Cannes Film Festival, and the famous persons I met, whom I always wanted to meet, were:

Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford.

The most exciting film I saw at Cannes this year:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

My favorite film(s) shot or based in Philadelphia:

Philadelphia

;

The Sixth Sense

;

Twelve Monkeys

;

Invincible

;

Rocky Balboa

;

National Treasure

, and

The Woodsman

, for starters.

Films in which I have a bit role:

Philadelphia

and

Kimberly

, but don't blink.

Great film soundtracks:

Fantasia

(Philadelphia Orchestra with Leopold Stokowski) and

Do the Right Thing

.

People should go see movies in a theater because:

It's the only way to see a movie the way the filmmakers intended it to be seen.

Recent books read:

Shantaram

, by Gregory David Roberts (soon to become a movie starring Johnny Depp);

In the Face of Jinn

, by Cheryl Howard Crew (Ron Howard's wife).

Heroes from history:

Queen Esther from the Bible; Mohandas Gandhi.

Proudest professional accomplishment:

Passage of Creativity in Focus: The Pennsylvania Film Production Tax Credit Initiative, July 2007.

I'll know I'm doing a good job if in five years:

Philadelphia is considered to be one of the top film industry capitals of the world.