Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

A forum for sharing views on the art of film, video and AV sequence making as well as on competitions, judging and festivals.
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Geoff Addis
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Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Geoff Addis »

Good news.

It looks as if the Guernsey Lilly will continue, but with a new name.

Well done to all in Guernsey for persuading the powers that be that the festival was held with great affection and value in our world.

Hope to be there.

Geoff
Wynter Tyson
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Wynter Tyson »

...well I was going to post something when things were a bit more complete and concrete but as it has already been mentioned I thought I would introduce myself.

My name is Wynter Tyson and I am trying to keep the Guernsey Lily alive. I attended this year's festival (my film was 'Into The Woods' i.e. the super 8 clicky one) and was disheartened to hear that the Lily was coming to an end. After speaking with Peter and Mary I have decided that I would try and continue the good work that they and their colleagues have done over the past nineteen years. Yes, there may well be some changes but, as well as trying to attract more 'student' and local interest, I will strive to keep the special friendly atmosphere that has been built up over the years.

Regarding money there are no funds secured at this point. I am currently in the process of putting together some ideas / costs etc and will be approaching the 'powers that be' and various commercial bodies in due course.

I will, of course, pop back to keep you updated with what's what etc and fingers crossed I'll get to meet many of you next October in Guernsey.

In the meantime I have built a temporary website with linked accounts on Youtube and Twitter that I hope will act as both an online home for the festival and a promotional tool...

...also any suggestions are very welcome and I would be grateful to hear what you want from an event such as this. If you would prefer to send suggestions via email then feel free to contact me at gisff@yahoo.co.uk .

One such idea, which actually came from reading posts on this forum, is to rearrange the awards to have a separate category and award for IAC / club entrants which would take into consideration the difference between club / hobbyist entrant, the 'semi-pro' and the student - all of whom have different traditions, aims and access to resources and funds etc.

regards

Wynter
Brian Saberton
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Brian Saberton »

This is encouraging news and I'm sure we all hope that the Guernsey Lily can survive. However on the basis that if it isn't broken don't fix it I think the persent judging system has stood the test of time and works well and i'm not keen on the suggestion that the competition should be split into categories. I fall into the "club/hobbyist" sector and am happy to compete against the other suggested groupings which I think is much more meaningful. After all, money and resources don't guarantee that a film will be good. Surely it is ideas and imagination that make a good movie?
Brian Saberton
Wynter Tyson
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Wynter Tyson »

hi thanks for the reply - this is exactly why I thought it would be a good idea to see what people did or didn't like etc

re the issue of categories, the idea is that all films will of course be separated into 'special commendation', 'very highly commended', 'highly commended' and 'commended'. This would stay as it is at present with all films being held to the same standard - to do anything else would be patronising.

the proposed award for best hobbyist / club entry (a better definition is needed) would be in addition to what is already there and would celebrate the film makers that make up a considerable part of any short film festival, the people who are making fantastic films around full time jobs without the help of university media centres, professional technicians, tutors, etc.

Yes, technology does not make a good film but that was just a rather blunt example of the differences between hobbyists, semi-pro and students.

visiting the festival in october I saw a clear difference in ethos rather than quality or technical proficiency and it was that difference that i would like to recognise
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Dave Watterson
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Dave Watterson »

The Festival of Nations in Austria introduced last year a category of "Personal Videos" which was used for the kind of films most of us amateur enthusiasts make. The top amateurs were mixed in with student and independent film makers. The festival organiser sorted films into those categories.

The idea was to make sure that those personal movies did not play directly alongside a something of professional standard.

There certainly has been a strong call for BIAFF to reintroduce the "open" category which accepted work from film students and the Cotswold had such a category too.

- Dave
Michael Slowe
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Michael Slowe »

Couldn't agree more about the 'semi pros', students etc being allowed to compete with us pure, unsullied 'amateurs'. How else are we to judge our skills? Dumbing down is never a good idea and anyway, as has been said a thousand times, kit and facilities do not necessarily equate with quality. Even the help of tutors does not help all that much, unless perhaps you were lucky enough to be learning from Steven Spielberg or Alan Parker.

Great news about the survival of the festival, well done that man!!
ned c
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by ned c »

Expect my continued support; good news. You may want to think about categorising by genre; it is always difficult to compare a documentary with a narrative film with a travel film etc. I am not sure that I accept there is a gulf between amateurs and professionals. Spare Michael's blushes but he is a true amateur and his films will stand comparison with the best professional documentaries. I think that part of the problem is the kindness expected from judges who raise false hopes among the incompetent.

ned c
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Willy
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Willy »

ned c wrote:Expect my continued support; good news. You may want to think about categorising by genre; it is always difficult to compare a documentary with a narrative film with a travel film etc. I am not sure that I accept there is a gulf between amateurs and professionals. Spare Michael's blushes but he is a true amateur and his films will stand comparison with the best professional documentaries. I think that part of the problem is the kindness expected from judges who raise false hopes among the incompetent.

ned c
The Lily also in 2011 ! That's very good news. We already talked about categorising by genre on this forum. I agree with Ned and I think that an open category in BIAFF is also a good idea, Dave. That's good news. Competing with filmschool-students and even "Spielbergs" is a challenge, but I think that pure hobbyists deserve special respect. We must do our utmost not to destroy their enthusiasm and passion.

Last night the chairman of my Antwerp club, Andre Janssens, showed me the three reports that he received for his animation film "Grey". He also received a diploma "Highly Commended" at the Lily Festival. I had encouraged him to take part in the Guernsey Festival for the first time. Andre was very proud and said that he had never received such very positivily formulated reports. Norman, Peter and ... (I have forgotten the first name of the third judge) Congratulations ! My linguistic knowledge is not too bad, but I can't write things in such an enthusiasing way as you can. Andre showed me these reports and I had to translate them in his club. Long live the Guernsey Lily International Film Festival and of course also the IAC and BIAFF ! Now it's time to stop this message and to continue the editing of my next films : a travel film, a documentary and a fiction film. I don't think I have a specific style. But "so what ? " one of my English friends always says.
Willy Van der Linden
Wynter Tyson
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Wynter Tyson »

Hello - long time no post...

Re GISFF - this is still an ongoing project but taking longer than I wanted due to our move to Guernsey at the end of the month taking up most of our time.

On the good news front La Villette Hotel have agreed to stage the festival and kindly supply rooms at last years discounted rates.

keep watching this thread and I hope to be back with some concrete news / dates etc very soon

regards

Wynter
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Dave Watterson
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Dave Watterson »

That is good news, Wynter.

Do remember that if there is anything we can do to help, the folks on this forum are a great bunch who support our hobby any way they can.

Dave
Wynter Tyson
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Re: Guernsey International Short Film Festival 2011

Post by Wynter Tyson »

Hello everyone – long time no speak!

Well, the last couple of months have been a bit of blur… following Christmas and all that my better half and I have just completed a move back to Guernsey. When we attended last October’s Guernsey Lily it was only a possibility and a maybe but now we are here, all the boxes are cleared away and we are back online. Add to this a change of jobs (two weeks in a going good) and there has been little time for anything else…

…and now it’s time to get down to work.

I’ve come to the conclusion that mounting a festival this year would not be a possibility. I am, however, aiming to continue (or rather ‘restart’) the festival in 2012. I believe that this will give me time to properly bring about the changes that I have envisaged and one year away is not a great deal of time but will be long enough to attract new sponsorship and build awareness - which will be much easier to do now that I am 'in situ'.

I am somewhat disappointed by the delay but Oct 2011 was probably on the optimistic side given our recent upheaval and the amount of work that needs to be done. (Dave did warn me!)

I look forward to meeting many of you again and, in 2012, holding a short film festival in Guernsey.

regards

Wynter
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