Readers of the forum will know the name: UNICA.
(It stands for Union Internationale du Cinéma d'Auteur'. The last letter used to stand for "amateur", but many countries have the same arguments about that word as we do in the UK. The idea now is that "auteur" - author - implies a film where one person's vision is the driving force and not profit.)
Its main event is an annual festival, held in a different country each year.
Why go?
In my case, the first time was partly curiosity. I knew the major UK international amateur film festivals: BIAFF, Cotswold and Guernsey. They were all enjoyable, interesting and different in their social atmosphere. So I made my first venture to the UNICA in Roermond, Netherlands. The first difference was that it was longer ... not just a weekend event but a week-long event. That left plenty of time for relaxed film watching, eating, drinking and on some days excursions.
The audience were delightful: responsive, sympathetic and sometimes vocal in their appreciation of films. Conversation was fascinating, even if there were language problems now and then. I had the honour of meeting people whose work I had admired for years, most notably the Italian Rolf Mandolesi and the Catalan Jan Baca.
But the films ... they were and are the gems of the event. Here, gathered in one place, were some of the best works of non-commercial film makers from all over the world. Some were not up to the standard of BIAFF winners, others surpassed that. Some countries had a more sombre view of the world, others poked fun at everything,
That's why I keep going to UNICA Festivals ... and hope to be at Comacchio, Italy from 10th - 16th September. Don't assume "foreign films" are all like those that come to BIAFF ... some are better, some worse but all are different.
Why not combine a holiday and a film festival, like I do?
UNICA 2023 in Comacchio, Italy
-
Dave Watterson
- Posts: 1879
- Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:11 pm
- Location: Bath, England
- Contact:
-
Dave Watterson
- Posts: 1879
- Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:11 pm
- Location: Bath, England
- Contact:
Re: UNICA 2023 in Comacchio, Italy
My second UNICA was the following year, in Tallinn, Estonia.
The journey was fun. We flew to Stockholm via Copenhagen. Our hotel was the one used for Nobel dignitaries and winners - too expensive to eat in but very comfortable, We had a day to explore the city before catching an evening ferry to Helsinki, Finland. The word ferry does not do justice to what was a small cruise ship with layers of cabins, shops, restaurants, theatre and cinema. But as we sailed down the to the Baltic by a thousand islands as the sun set, Jan and I were on the open top deck absorbing the stunning views. As we approached Helsinki the place seemed festooned with giant cruise ships - the city is famous for building and fitting-out these luxury palaces.
We had arranged a couple of days hotel stay in Helsinki so that we could explore it. I also tried out an urban form of sauna: steaming in a hot cabin then plunging into a cold swimming-pool. We happened on an exhibition of illustrations for children's books being set up. The artist took time to show us round. We even spent an evening in a cinma watching an Aki Kaurismäki retrospective ... and discovering the annoyance of mobile phones. (It was 2001 and those phones were new ... plus Finland's Nokia was the most famous manufacturer at the time.)
A ferry to Tallinn introduced us to the formalities held over from the old Soviet Union as we arrived. Then the city was revealed: the central part, old, charming, winding streets ... the suburbs brutalist flats and skyscraper hotels. But the people looked amazing. Both men and women seemed to be tall, blond and slim. Someone suggested their diet might be a cause.
Most UNICA people stayed in one large hotel, whose lift system was a bit of a lottery at breakfast time. The theatre was in the old town - a cosy space with good sightlines and a warren on corridors behind the scenes.
For me this time the attraction had been the films. I had been blown away at our first UNICA. This was even better. There were films that would become amateur classics as well as children's animation ... a glorious mish-mash.
The excursions included a pause during a long coach trip, where we watched and filmed traditional dance groups ... and were refreshed with - literally - milk, bread and honey. We visited a tiny church for an organ recital and the inner-courtyard of a medieval castle was where we lunched, listened to local musicians, watched craft workers making things ... we resisted most purchases except food and a couple of CDs from the bands.
I was keen to do some interviews for the IAC website. Last year I spoke to Tony Jacobs about his work "Yellow Tulips", (see www.theiac.org.uk/film/makingof/film-ma ... acobs.html.) This time I found Sigrid Lemm - suffering a heavy cold - and spoke to her about the animation "Jeanne d'Arc". See https://www.theiac.org.uk/film/makingof ... -darc.html
Who will I meet at UNICA 2023?
The journey was fun. We flew to Stockholm via Copenhagen. Our hotel was the one used for Nobel dignitaries and winners - too expensive to eat in but very comfortable, We had a day to explore the city before catching an evening ferry to Helsinki, Finland. The word ferry does not do justice to what was a small cruise ship with layers of cabins, shops, restaurants, theatre and cinema. But as we sailed down the to the Baltic by a thousand islands as the sun set, Jan and I were on the open top deck absorbing the stunning views. As we approached Helsinki the place seemed festooned with giant cruise ships - the city is famous for building and fitting-out these luxury palaces.
We had arranged a couple of days hotel stay in Helsinki so that we could explore it. I also tried out an urban form of sauna: steaming in a hot cabin then plunging into a cold swimming-pool. We happened on an exhibition of illustrations for children's books being set up. The artist took time to show us round. We even spent an evening in a cinma watching an Aki Kaurismäki retrospective ... and discovering the annoyance of mobile phones. (It was 2001 and those phones were new ... plus Finland's Nokia was the most famous manufacturer at the time.)
A ferry to Tallinn introduced us to the formalities held over from the old Soviet Union as we arrived. Then the city was revealed: the central part, old, charming, winding streets ... the suburbs brutalist flats and skyscraper hotels. But the people looked amazing. Both men and women seemed to be tall, blond and slim. Someone suggested their diet might be a cause.
Most UNICA people stayed in one large hotel, whose lift system was a bit of a lottery at breakfast time. The theatre was in the old town - a cosy space with good sightlines and a warren on corridors behind the scenes.
For me this time the attraction had been the films. I had been blown away at our first UNICA. This was even better. There were films that would become amateur classics as well as children's animation ... a glorious mish-mash.
The excursions included a pause during a long coach trip, where we watched and filmed traditional dance groups ... and were refreshed with - literally - milk, bread and honey. We visited a tiny church for an organ recital and the inner-courtyard of a medieval castle was where we lunched, listened to local musicians, watched craft workers making things ... we resisted most purchases except food and a couple of CDs from the bands.
I was keen to do some interviews for the IAC website. Last year I spoke to Tony Jacobs about his work "Yellow Tulips", (see www.theiac.org.uk/film/makingof/film-ma ... acobs.html.) This time I found Sigrid Lemm - suffering a heavy cold - and spoke to her about the animation "Jeanne d'Arc". See https://www.theiac.org.uk/film/makingof ... -darc.html
Who will I meet at UNICA 2023?
-
Dave Watterson
- Posts: 1879
- Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:11 pm
- Location: Bath, England
- Contact:
Re: UNICA 2023 in Comacchio, Italy
My third visit to a UNICA festival had a significant influence on my life.
It took place in the Music School: Conservatoire de la ville de Luxembourg on the outskirts of the city. There were two video projectors, both more powerful than any I had hitherto seen. During the World Minute Movie Cup, the "backup projector" was used to display the voting at each stage of the competition. The shows were introduced by a glamorous lady, who wore a startling array of dresses. An actress? No, she was a schoolteacher!
There was a restaurant in the lower floor of the building, so we could quickly and easily have lunch and dinner. The catch was that the college was a bit remote from the city and its shops. Those who preferred to buy their own snacks had some problems.
The General Assembly, UNICA's AGM event, was held in another building: the imposing Hemicycle of the European parliament, as seen on TV.
The outings included a visit to a winery, where we had dinner with tables laid in cellars. There was a great deal of noise. Suddenly the wife of a Polish committee member grabbed my hand and led me outside. On the steps of the building she told me of her upbringing. She was a child when the Germans invaded. Suddenly everyone must speak German and Polish was forbidden. She had to control her younger siblings to stop them speaking out in the "wrong" language. Then the Russians invaded and only their language was acceptable. Under Soviet rule any contact with the West was strictly controlled. The then UNICA President bullied the Polish officials into allowing her husband, the Polish delegate to UNICA, to attend - and to bring his wife. They were reluctantly issued with a little Western money - far too little for hotels. When the UNICA took place, other delegates found they were sleeping in the back rows of the cinema overnight. Immediately they were adopted by delegates, who snuck them into their hotels.
It was a moving story, punctuated by tears ... and told to me in school-level German which was our only common language. She wanted to impress on me, a relative newcomer to UNICA, why the organisation meant so much to her and her husband.
But that was not what changed my life ...
During one of the breaks, Jan and I stepped out to the lawns around the building. We came upon the Austrian delegation, some of whom we knew. One man offered us a pack of tic-tacs emblazoned with the name "The Festival of Nations". He invited me to join the jury at the next event. In vain did I protest that my German was not nearly good enough. I sought advice from Christiane Surdiacourt - a Belgian who attended many festivals including our own BIAFF. She encouraged me to try it ... and thus began almost two happy decades of visiting amateur film festivals in different countries.
You never know what a UNICA might do to your life.
It took place in the Music School: Conservatoire de la ville de Luxembourg on the outskirts of the city. There were two video projectors, both more powerful than any I had hitherto seen. During the World Minute Movie Cup, the "backup projector" was used to display the voting at each stage of the competition. The shows were introduced by a glamorous lady, who wore a startling array of dresses. An actress? No, she was a schoolteacher!
There was a restaurant in the lower floor of the building, so we could quickly and easily have lunch and dinner. The catch was that the college was a bit remote from the city and its shops. Those who preferred to buy their own snacks had some problems.
The General Assembly, UNICA's AGM event, was held in another building: the imposing Hemicycle of the European parliament, as seen on TV.
The outings included a visit to a winery, where we had dinner with tables laid in cellars. There was a great deal of noise. Suddenly the wife of a Polish committee member grabbed my hand and led me outside. On the steps of the building she told me of her upbringing. She was a child when the Germans invaded. Suddenly everyone must speak German and Polish was forbidden. She had to control her younger siblings to stop them speaking out in the "wrong" language. Then the Russians invaded and only their language was acceptable. Under Soviet rule any contact with the West was strictly controlled. The then UNICA President bullied the Polish officials into allowing her husband, the Polish delegate to UNICA, to attend - and to bring his wife. They were reluctantly issued with a little Western money - far too little for hotels. When the UNICA took place, other delegates found they were sleeping in the back rows of the cinema overnight. Immediately they were adopted by delegates, who snuck them into their hotels.
It was a moving story, punctuated by tears ... and told to me in school-level German which was our only common language. She wanted to impress on me, a relative newcomer to UNICA, why the organisation meant so much to her and her husband.
But that was not what changed my life ...
During one of the breaks, Jan and I stepped out to the lawns around the building. We came upon the Austrian delegation, some of whom we knew. One man offered us a pack of tic-tacs emblazoned with the name "The Festival of Nations". He invited me to join the jury at the next event. In vain did I protest that my German was not nearly good enough. I sought advice from Christiane Surdiacourt - a Belgian who attended many festivals including our own BIAFF. She encouraged me to try it ... and thus began almost two happy decades of visiting amateur film festivals in different countries.
You never know what a UNICA might do to your life.
Re: UNICA 2023 in Comacchio, Italy
I attended UNICA three times: at Blankenberghe (Belgium), Zeist (The Netherlands) and Dortmund (Germany). Dortmund was certainly number one. The venue used to be a colliery. It closed down in 1966. Three years later it was recognized as Germany's first technical building monument of international importance. The festival was very pleasant. It went very smoothly. Perhaps thanks to the German Gründlichkeit. The organizers did their utmost. I will never forget the impressive start. Vera and I had just arrived. The City was overcrowded. Black and yellow scarves everywhere! Why? Because the German (Semi-?) Final took place that night: Dortmund playing Bayern München. It was difficult to find a table at a restaurant. Luckily we didn't miss the UNICA-show at the townhall. The big star was a Scotsman. The UNICA-chairman was wearing his kilt. We enjoyed the singing at the Festivity Hall. And the UNICA-festival itself? It was quite different from BIAFF, Guernsey and our own local festivals. It was good to feel that every country got the opportunity to show something. I also admired the judges who had to master different languages... at least two or three languages. They didn't have much time to criticise the movies. Imagine you are asked to be a UNICA-judge! And I enjoyed the breaks: we could eat an icecream outside. The weather was fine. Vera and I had dinner in the open air together with Dutch and British friends. Zeist was also pleasant. It was easy to read the subtitles, but our Belgian competitor's movie was shown without any subtitles. It was not his fault at all, but we thought he had a big chance to win the World Movie Contest. Some clubmates were there to support him. The ones who don't do anything never make mistakes! We could still go back home with a very positive feeling. Zeist near Utrecht is a very clean and cosy town. I also remember Piet Van Eerden there... and my thoughts are now with so many good friends who attended the international festivals. UNICA is unique!
Willy Van der Linden