When is the best time for festivals and competitions?

[Dave Watterson]

A conversation with a couple of festival organisers today set us all wondering when is the appropriate time to have these events.

If we assume the IAC Competition is pretty much a fixture at the end of January - just to give us a starting point ...

Many countries use a system whereby each region has its own competition before the national one and sends on a number of films to the national one. Could we try something like that? It would mean having regional competitions in the September to December period.

One advantage of this would be to let film makers consider comments from regional judges and - if they wish - to amend their films before sending them to the IAC. We might even go further and make part of the top x prizes for a regional competition be to pay for their entry in the IAC national one.

Much depends on whether you think film making fits the pattern of "shoot in summer, edit in winter and compete in spring". If so then comps around Easter make sense.

Of course the Cotswold and Guernsey festival playdates might make it difficult to find appropriate weekends ...

Dave

[stingman]

A conversation with a couple of festival organisers today set us all wondering when is the appropriate time to have these events.


One advantage of this would be to let film makers consider comments from regional judges and - if they wish - to amend their films before sending them to the IAC.
Dave

This sounds better to have it later in the year like late summer. You get a holiday as well as a film festival. Who would go on holiday in january in this country to this country crazy.
It makes sence to have it later so, as you say Dave, people can amend their films if they want to.

Be good....

Stingman

[Michael Slowe]

The title of this thread is a bit of a mouthful, do we have to copy it exactly to retain the thread?

I disagree that the best time is during good weather, I hate it when the sun is shining whilst we are closeted in darkened rooms! I remember going to Oslo for their festival in darkest Scandanavian winter - lovely and cosy in the cinema!

I also wonder who would alter a finished production as a result of a judges comment. The structure of a film is the result of much heart searching and experimentation and is finely balanced. I would find altering this once everything is finally in place almost impossible. As far as I'm concerned the film stands or falls in the form I have settled on and on with next effort.

[ned c]

The AMPS/TBW/AMMA Festival is held in the Fall (October) when travel/hotel rates are usually reduced and the travel may be combined with a short vacation. Our travel distances are such that we have to make every penny count. There is a growing feeling that this year's joint Festival may be the last as travel costs have risen so much (even so I suspect that petrol at GBP 3/gallon sounds like a bargain!). We will certainly continue the AMPS and TBW contests and the winning DVDs will be circulated to members.

I think that rising travel costs will accelerate the growth of the Internet as a means of sharing our productions.

ned c

[Willy]

A conversation with a couple of festival organisers today set us all wondering when is the appropriate time to have these events.

If we assume the IAC Competition is pretty much a fixture at the end of January - just to give us a starting point ...
...
Of course the Cotswold and Guernsey festival playdates might make it difficult to find appropriate weekends ...

Dave

There are festivals all year round. I think that's good. The deadline for BIAFF is in January... for Guernsey in May ... for AMPS in September etc... Of course I cannot attend all these festivals... That would be too expensive. I also spend a fortune on entries... Maybe I exaggerate, but that's my nature.

Our local heats are in January. The regional competition is in April. The national one in October. Yes, you're right, Dave. This gives the opportunity to improve your film(s), but I have decided not to change mine anymore after the local or regional heat. Changing a film does not always mean improving it. This year I changed a film after a judge had given his opinion at a regional competition. Afterwards it seemed that I had better kept the first version.

Taking part in more than one competition with one particular film has its disadvantages. After some time the judges/audience have already seen your film more than once. Each time the effect of "power" disappears/fades away a little bit. There aren't any surprises in your film anymore. The judges/audience see more mistakes after one screening.

I can see a film once or twice. After four or five times I still enjoy it, but not so intensively as the first time.

[stingman]

The title of this thread is a bit of a mouthful, do we have to copy it exactly to retain the thread?


I also wonder who would alter a finished production as a result of a judges comment.

I`ll make it easier for you Michael....
It`s not the WITBTFFAC thread. Is THAT easier!

I may not alter a film because of the judges comments, there normally dodgy anyway !
But some competitions have different rules like film length, and you may have to cut it down a bit. The max film length in our club for competition is 12 minutes. I have entered the same film in a ten minutes ruled comp. It takes alot of time and energy to cut 2 minutes out of a heavily edited film... Believe me! Because if you didn`t want it in the original film, then it wouldn`t be there.

So the main comps should be towards the end of the year.

I normally have to spend alot of my summer editing anyway. That`s why i`m always lilly white!

Be good....

Stingman

[Willy]

Taking part in more than one competition with one particular film has its disadvantages. After some time the judges/audience have already seen your film more than once. Each time the effect of "power" disappears/fades away a little bit. There aren't any surprises in your film anymore. The judges/audience see more mistakes after one screening.

That's one of the reasons why I also take part in the American Festival (AMPS). Then I am sure that the judges watch the film for the first time.

Tonight I was in my Antwerp filmclub. We talked abvout this and that. One of my friends said that he had seen one of his favourite films starring Louis de Funès. He admitted that he didn't enjoy it so much anymore. About twenty or thirty years ago he could not stop laughing with some scenes. Now he just smiled from time to time.

So after all, European festivals in spring. American festivals in autumn.

Every year the Guernsey Festival is a bit later. This year it will be on 17th October I thought. In autumn the sea may be very rough and as I am afraid of flying ... I know why the organizers have chosen this period. The tourist season is over at that time and it is easier to find cheap accommodation for the guests.