BIAFF 2006

[Fraught]

Ok... its been a month now since the Closing date of BIAFF 2006... any idea
on how the judging is going? Are we all looking forward to it? Who's going?
Let's get the buzz going early!!

[Dave Watterson]

"Fraught" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Ok... its been a month now since the Closing date of BIAFF 2006... any
idea
on how the judging is going? Are we all looking forward to it? Who's going?
Let's get the buzz going early!!

The judging was done on the weekend 20-22nd January - though a couple of
longer entries were judged earlier. The system was the same as that described
on the website for last year. Five mini-cinemas were run for the preliminary
judges who worked in ever-changing groups of three. They categorised entries
into six groups: Blue Standard, Bronze Standard, Bronze Plus Standard, Silver
Standard, Silver Plus Standard and Gold. Films reckoned as Golds went on
to a sixth mini-cinema where the final judges assessed them, assigned special
prizes like International Standard Awards, Humour Awards and so on.

Since then the Competition Manager, Brian Dunckley, has been tackling the
mammoth task of preparing lists of awards, planning the timetable for all
the festival screenings and writing to individual movie makers to let them
know how their film got on. I think there was a record entry of over 240
movies this time. Brian insists that the results are not published until
each movie maker has had a letter. I know everyone gets impatient, but it
truly is an enormous task and one that has to be done very carefully indeed
... imagine how awful it would be to get Silver Plus Standard but later be
told that was a mistake and you got Blue Standard.

So you should be getting the letter soon - some have already gone out.

I did not take part in judging this year but attended the judging weekend
as a projectionist and saw about a fifth of the entries. I can guarantee
a great festival. Among the movies I saw were plenty of great ones, so overall
there will be a wealth of top movies of every sort.

Jan and I will be at Bedford rushing round the mini-cinemas and wearing out
our hands with applause on Sunday's Gala Show.

Who else?


Dave

[Ken Wilson]

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

"Fraught" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Ok... its been a month now since the Closing date of BIAFF 2006... any
idea when we will hear something.

I think there was a record entry of over 240

movies this time. Brian insists that the results are not published until
each movie maker has had a letter. I know everyone gets impatient, but it
truly is an enormous task and one that has to be done very carefully indeed
.. imagine how awful it would be to get Silver Plus Standard but later be
told that was a mistake and you got Blue Standard.

So you should be getting the letter soon - some have already gone out.

(Ken Wilson says:) We got our (PHASE 4s) letter yesterday, so I can confirm
what Dave is saying, that the letters are indeed going out.
Having run a very SMALL competition ourselves last year (The Fiction Film
Festival) I now have more idea of what is involved. There is the logging
of entries at the start. Noting what has been paid, contact/return addresses,
storing tapes, sorting into different formats etc. (I transferred all the
different formats onto DVD for judging as we had VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8, Mini DV,
and DVD.) Then planning the judging session...a mammoth task for Brian with
around 240 entries as he will have to balance sessions with timings and I
presume a mixed programme of films to keep the judges interested and alert.
The judges then have to write their critiques and hand them in to the organiser/
manager.(In my case, I condensed and co-ordinated what everyone said and
typed the notes up.)

Now after the results are decided, Brian will have to write all the letters
to go out to entrants as well as deciding what can be shown at the festival
and then plan the mini cinema programmes, running times etc etc....and on
and on....
Brian has told me in the past, that there are only a few days each year when
he is not doing SOMETHING to do with the competition!!!
Having tried it (in a very small way) I now have great admiration for him
in this task.

No doubt those more directly involved such as Dave, will know more of the
details, but I believe it is a very complex and time consuming job!

As to our own results; I am saying nothing at this stage as I think it would
possibly not be appropriate.

Good luck to readers when your letters arrive.

Ken (Being mysterious...and serious.)

[Ian Gardner]

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

So you should be getting the letter soon - some have already gone out.
Dave

That`s a bonus. I thought that I would have to wait until the comp to see
how I did!
Getting a bit scared now! It`s proberly like applying for a job interview
and waiting for that letter to drop onto the mat!

Anyway. All the best to those that has entered and shame on you to those
that didn`t! If I can put a couple of entries in (my first ever national
comp), then you could of!

Good luck and thanks to all the volunteers who took time out of their lives
to judge it and project it.

Thanks.

Ian Gardner

[Fraught]

I've no doubt that the judging/organising of the contest is one mean feat!

My string was mainly to see if we're all excited about it? Who's going? etc...?

I'm hoping to go... its been almost 10 years since i went to a Film Festival...
looking forward to it!




"Ken Wilson" <Wilsonkenneth@granadamedia.com> wrote:

"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

"Fraught" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

Ok... its been a month now since the Closing date of BIAFF 2006... any
idea when we will hear something.

I think there was a record entry of over 240
movies this time. Brian insists that the results are not published until
each movie maker has had a letter. I know everyone gets impatient, but
it
truly is an enormous task and one that has to be done very carefully indeed
.. imagine how awful it would be to get Silver Plus Standard but later
be
told that was a mistake and you got Blue Standard.

So you should be getting the letter soon - some have already gone out.

(Ken Wilson says:) We got our (PHASE 4s) letter yesterday, so I can confirm
what Dave is saying, that the letters are indeed going out.
Having run a very SMALL competition ourselves last year (The Fiction Film
Festival) I now have more idea of what is involved. There is the logging
of entries at the start. Noting what has been paid, contact/return addresses,
storing tapes, sorting into different formats etc. (I transferred all the
different formats onto DVD for judging as we had VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8, Mini
DV,
and DVD.) Then planning the judging session...a mammoth task for Brian with
around 240 entries as he will have to balance sessions with timings and
I
presume a mixed programme of films to keep the judges interested and alert.
The judges then have to write their critiques and hand them in to the organiser/
manager.(In my case, I condensed and co-ordinated what everyone said and
typed the notes up.)

Now after the results are decided, Brian will have to write all the letters
to go out to entrants as well as deciding what can be shown at the festival
and then plan the mini cinema programmes, running times etc etc....and on
and on....
Brian has told me in the past, that there are only a few days each year
when
he is not doing SOMETHING to do with the competition!!!
Having tried it (in a very small way) I now have great admiration for him
in this task.

No doubt those more directly involved such as Dave, will know more of the
details, but I believe it is a very complex and time consuming job!

As to our own results; I am saying nothing at this stage as I think it would
possibly not be appropriate.

Good luck to readers when your letters arrive.

Ken (Being mysterious...and serious.)

[Fraught]

I'm right there with you Ian!


"Ian Gardner" <ian@gardner44.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

So you should be getting the letter soon - some have already gone out.
Dave

That`s a bonus. I thought that I would have to wait until the comp to see
how I did!
Getting a bit scared now! It`s proberly like applying for a job interview
and waiting for that letter to drop onto the mat!

Anyway. All the best to those that has entered and shame on you to those
that didn`t! If I can put a couple of entries in (my first ever national
comp), then you could of!

Good luck and thanks to all the volunteers who took time out of their lives
to judge it and project it.

Thanks.

Ian Gardner

[Ian Gardner]

"Fraught" <info@fraught.net> wrote:

I'm right there with you Ian!


"Ian Gardner" <ian@gardner44.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

So you should be getting the letter soon - some have already gone out.
Dave

That`s a bonus. I thought that I would have to wait until the comp to see
how I did!
Getting a bit scared now! It`s proberly like applying for a job interview
and waiting for that letter to drop onto the mat!

Anyway. All the best to those that has entered and shame on you to those
that didn`t! If I can put a couple of entries in (my first ever national
comp), then you could of!

Good luck and thanks to all the volunteers who took time out of their lives
to judge it and project it.

Thanks.

Ian Gardner



Thanks! That was a quick responce! Most people know that i`m club secretary

for my local video club. It does take alot of time. Some members of the committee
do some of my job like we have a Competition Secretary. He basicly does everything
like organising, printing entry forms, certificates, cups etc. So even that
it`s hard doing certain jobs. It can be sorted out with others to do bits
of it. Dave could have made his life easier when he was a projectionist.
He could have put alternate tapes in and got someone else to to the rest,
cutting his workload by 50%!

Cheers!
Ian Gardner

[Fraught]

I'm always quick me!

I've been tempted a few times to try and start a film festival in my local
town. Maybe one day i'll give it a look over.


"Ian Gardner" <ian@gardner44.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

Thanks! That was a quick responce! Most people know that i`m club secretary
for my local video club. It does take alot of time. Some members of the
committee
do some of my job like we have a Competition Secretary. He basicly does
everything
like organising, printing entry forms, certificates, cups etc. So even that
it`s hard doing certain jobs. It can be sorted out with others to do bits
of it. Dave could have made his life easier when he was a projectionist.
He could have put alternate tapes in and got someone else to to the rest,
cutting his workload by 50%!

Cheers!
Ian Gardner

[Dave Watterson]

"Fraught" <info@fraught.net> wrote:

I've been tempted a few times to try and start a film festival in my local
town. Maybe one day i'll give it a look over.

Brave man! As they read this a few people on this forum will have gulped
and wondered if you know what you would be tackling.

As Ken Wilson wrote there is a mass of work to be done for even the smallest
festival. To establish a good national or international one takes mountains
of work and lots of time - which you have to keep doing every year since
it takes several years to establish a new event.

That is one reason why I still encourage Lee Prescott with the Cotswold Festival.
He and I disagree about a great many things, but I have the greatest admiration
for his determination and energy. He was not happy with the way existing
festivals ran, but instead of just moaning as most of us do, he chose to
try to do better.

At nearly four-score years he started an international festival, got sponsorship,
publicised it around the world and in a few short years has established it.
It has attracted attention not just from UK but from USA, South Africa, Australia
and many other countries.

Which proves it can be done if you are very keen and very determined.

What kind of festival would you organise if you ever took the plunge? I
suspect we need a few niche festivals, like Ken Wilson's for Fiction. How
about a doco-fest? Or a holiday-filmfest? Or ...


Dave

[Fraught]

I can hear the gulps already! Coming from me! LOL... its only a pipe dream
really, and if i did, it would definately be a niche market festival. Wouldn't
like to step on other festivals toes... mine would probably be more of a
genre based event. If you've ever seen a 'Fraught Production' you'll know
that most of our stuff is sort of action/sci-fi etc... so that's probably
where i'll probably point my efforts.
I almost did it about 5 years ago to be honest. I had the venue all up for
it, and a sponsor or two... but my personal life kinda got in the way. Fingers
crossed, i'll get some time to sit down and have a good old think about it,
and see what nuggets fall out of my noggin!

Thanks for the advice though Dave... most appreciated.


"Dave Watterson" <david.filmsocs@virgin.net> wrote:

"Fraught" <info@fraught.net> wrote:
I've been tempted a few times to try and start a film festival in my local
town. Maybe one day i'll give it a look over.

Brave man! As they read this a few people on this forum will have gulped
and wondered if you know what you would be tackling.

As Ken Wilson wrote there is a mass of work to be done for even the smallest
festival. To establish a good national or international one takes mountains
of work and lots of time - which you have to keep doing every year since
it takes several years to establish a new event.

That is one reason why I still encourage Lee Prescott with the Cotswold
Festival.
He and I disagree about a great many things, but I have the greatest admiration
for his determination and energy. He was not happy with the way existing
festivals ran, but instead of just moaning as most of us do, he chose to
try to do better.

At nearly four-score years he started an international festival, got sponsorship,
publicised it around the world and in a few short years has established
it.
It has attracted attention not just from UK but from USA, South Africa,
Australia
and many other countries.

Which proves it can be done if you are very keen and very determined.

What kind of festival would you organise if you ever took the plunge? I
suspect we need a few niche festivals, like Ken Wilson's for Fiction. How
about a doco-fest? Or a holiday-filmfest? Or ...


Dave

[Richard Rouillard]

"Fraught" <info@fraught.net> wrote:

I can hear the gulps already! Coming from me! LOL... its only a pipe dream
really, and if i did, it would definately be a niche market festival. Wouldn't
like to step on other festivals toes... mine would probably be more of
a
genre based event. If you've ever seen a 'Fraught Production' you'll know
that most of our stuff is sort of action/sci-fi etc... so that's probably
where i'll probably point my efforts.
I almost did it about 5 years ago to be honest. I had the venue all up for
it, and a sponsor or two... but my personal life kinda got in the way. Fingers
crossed, i'll get some time to sit down and have a good old think about
it,
and see what nuggets fall out of my noggin!

Thanks for the advice though Dave... most appreciated.

I can echo Dave's sentiments, it is a lot of work!

I am one of the co-organisers of the Guernsey Lily International Film & Video
Festival which will have been running for 15 years in October 2006.
It takes a lot of organising and has to a large extent taken up most of the
spare time of everybody concerned.
I too very much admire the effort that Lee Prescott has made to get the Cotswold
Festival up and running successfully at his age.
I think if we had known the amount of work involved when we started our festival
we might have had second thoughts!
Having said that is a very satisfying thing to do and its lovely to make
new friends and renew old friendships when the people attend.
You also get to see a lot of movies!
I think that making it a "genre" type of festival is a good idea, as it should
keep the number of entries you receive within reasonable bounds, at least
at first.
The more entries you get, the more work is involved!
I certainly wish you all the best if you decide to go ahead with one, as
extra festivals can only be good for the independent film movement.

[Fraught]

Thanks Richard, if i do go ahead... i may be banging on your door for advice!




"Richard Rouillard" <nsxbgsy71@newtelsurf.com> wrote:

I can echo Dave's sentiments, it is a lot of work!
I am one of the co-organisers of the Guernsey Lily International Film &
Video
Festival which will have been running for 15 years in October 2006.
It takes a lot of organising and has to a large extent taken up most of
the
spare time of everybody concerned.
I too very much admire the effort that Lee Prescott has made to get the
Cotswold
Festival up and running successfully at his age.
I think if we had known the amount of work involved when we started our
festival
we might have had second thoughts!
Having said that is a very satisfying thing to do and its lovely to make
new friends and renew old friendships when the people attend.
You also get to see a lot of movies!
I think that making it a "genre" type of festival is a good idea, as it
should
keep the number of entries you receive within reasonable bounds, at least
at first.
The more entries you get, the more work is involved!
I certainly wish you all the best if you decide to go ahead with one, as
extra festivals can only be good for the independent film movement.

[Willy Van der Linden]

"Richard Rouillard" <nsxbgsy71@newtelsurf.com> wrote:

"
I too very much admire the effort that Lee Prescott has made to get the
Cotswold
Festival up and running successfully at his age.
Yes, I agree with you and Dave. I will go on supporting his festival as well.

Willy


The more entries you get, the more work is involved!
Yes, I can imagine, Richard. I didn't realize it enough. I intended to send
you two or three films made by our youngster Samuel Faict. So, do you prefer
sending me only one to Guernsey ? I could send you the one which is the best
according to Sammy. The other ones might be useful for next year's festival.

Willy
PS I will not send my entries to Guernsey. I will see you in Bedford...

[Dave Watterson]

"Willy Van der Linden" <vanderlindenhig@telenet.be> wrote:

I will not send my entries to Guernsey. I will see you in Bedford...

I am sure Willy meant he will meet and talk to Richard at Bedford before
sending any entries to this year's Guernsey Lily Festival. I do hope so.
Willy has been such a positive force in our UK festivals for many years
that we would hate to see his entries reduced. He and Michael Slowe have
maintained (some would say re-established)the top-quality documentary in
our competitions. This year he also sent some one-minute movies which I
hope we'll see at Bedford.

Willy also is good at twisting the arms of his friends, which is why we have
entries this year from several other Belgian moviemakers. In fact with him
plus the wonderful Martin and Christiane from St.Amandsberg as regular supporters
we are extremely lucky in our Belgian movie friends. It looks as if Urbain
Appletans is also joining this group of regular travellers from Belgium to
BIAFF. Hurrah!

They are strong supporters of BIAFF and Willy, in particular, also works
hard to support Guernsey and the Cotswold festivals by keeping up a stream
of excellent entries from himself and his friends.

SO anyone starting a new UK festival should make friends with Willy!

Dave