BIAFF 2009

A forum for sharing views on the art of film, video and AV sequence making as well as on competitions, judging and festivals.
User avatar
Willy
Posts: 711
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Antwerp Belgium

Re: BIAFF 2009

Post by Willy »

Dave Watterson wrote:I was sad that no UK films made it to Diamond level this year. Several of our usually high-scoring film makers did not do so well this year. Of course other countries tend to send the cream of their crop.
Dave
In my opinion also UK films deserved a diamond award. This year there was a German invasion in Chesterfield. Two years ago there was a Belgian invasion in Guernsey. They won almost all top-awards and the final judges were all British. Is this logical ? Hopefully the judges did not underestimate the films that were made by their compatriots.

Talking to Romy
But BIAFF is also interesting for other reasons. Socialising for instance. Talking to friends. Romy Van Krieken, who's also been a final judge once, was sitting at my table. We speak the same language. She is a film critic.She writes articles about the standard of films. She does it for a wellknown Dutch magazine. I asked her if she had already made a film herself. Her answer was no ! Once she tried to help someone, but she stopped very soon. It was too demanding. However, on the other hand she finds that non-commercial filmmakers should have some knowledge about the history of filmmaking and about films made in the Good Old Days and later.

Professor filmmaking at Exeter University
Will Higbee is my English friend's son. He is 38. He is a professor. His name is in fact Dr. William Higbee. He works in the Centre for Research in Film Studies at Exeter University. He gives lectures about filmmaking ! Now he's written a book about the French Film Director Mathieu Kassovitz. I don't remember if I have already seen a film directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Please, do not tell Romy because I would feel very embarrassed. Of course I went to the cinema when I was young. This to see Spartacus, Ben Hur or Doctor Zivago or to sit in the back of the cinema room together with my girlfriend... On the other hand I don't think that Dr. Wil Higbee has ever bought a camera. I don't think that he has ever made one film. Maybe also Romy has not touched a camera either.

Question : Should film critics have made a film themselves ? Maybe it's easy to criticise, but it's not easy to make a film. I myself don't think so, but I would appreciate it. The best football coaches at the moment, Arsène Wenger and Alex Ferguson, were not glorious football players themselves, but they know how to prepare and to evaluate a match. So ...
Willy Van der Linden
Brian Saberton
Posts: 355
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:00 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: BIAFF 2009

Post by Brian Saberton »

Just referring back to the DVD that stuttered at BIAFF. This weekend was the annual SAM video workshop and for the seminar I was presenting on Sunday morning I had some films to show, two of which were on DVD. I checked them both on the conference centre's player before the show and they worked perfectly. Come the actual presentation and the first DVD wouldn't load - that's the same DVD on the same player that had worked perfectly one hour earlier! I had to switch the player off and back on again just to get the disc out. On the second attempt it loaded ok and played through without a hitch. In my experience (and that of many others) DVD is an unreliable medium for presentation purposes so please, let's not blame the projectionists for any glitches as it is more than likely not their fault. (Dave: the one you sent me was ok)
Brian Saberton
User avatar
Willy
Posts: 711
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Antwerp Belgium

Re: BIAFF 2009

Post by Willy »

Brian Saberton wrote:Just referring back to the DVD that stuttered at BIAFF.
How were your holidays in Spain ?
When you ask a friend : "How were your holidays in Spain ?" he tends to say something like : "They were Ok, but the flushing system in our toilet didn't work properly." Though he could flush everything. He doesn' t say : "It was wonderful. We enjoyed ourselves very much. The hotel was excellent. The food was delicious. We made interesting trips. The sun was shining all the time. Everything was very cheap. We met new friends. We laughed a lot. Etc..."

A bunch of flowers
It's also like that when having attended a film festival. I agree. You must say something about the DVD that stuttered a bit and it must not occur next time. But after all : everything was excellent in the shadow of the crooked tower of Chesterfield. Allow me not to criticise, but to suggest only one more thing. After the winner's show Alan Atkinson thanked all our friends people who worked very hard behind the scenes. Wouldn't it be possible to ask them to ascend the podium next time and to give them a bottle of wine, a bunch of flowers or a box of Belgian chocolates ? I am willing to add one more euro to my entry fee as a contribution for friends like Billy (last year) and all the other ones who worked behind the scenes. Of course then you must not forget someone. I am not joking when saying this. We used to do this at the end of our local gala film show. Now, the competition manager for instance, he stayed behind the scenes. I didn't see him very often.
Willy Van der Linden
User avatar
Dave Watterson
Posts: 1872
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:11 pm
Location: Bath, England
Contact:

Re: BIAFF 2009

Post by Dave Watterson »

Part of the discussion about the IAC Competition and BIAFF touched on "student films". By that some people mean films made by students at a film school - often made as part of their course. Some people mean any films made by young people in school or college. And others mean vaguely any film made by someone who has hopes of going into the film or television industry and is working with "an industry mentality" rather than a "hobby mentality". That group is often referred to in Europe as "independent film makers" - though the phrase has a slightly different meaning in the USA.

This part of the discussion is echoed all over the world. At one time there was such a gulf between amateur and professional that the question hardly ever arose. Now the lines are blurred. Many film makers who consider themselves amateurs, also shoot weddings or simple corporate films for a fee. In the UK an organisation called IOV (The Institute of Videographers) is set up to cater for their needs ... and does it very well. After some early sniping between IAC and IOV the two have worked side-by-side, largely ignoring each other.

Now I hear that in Belgium a new group has arisen called VAC. I believe its main reason for being is that the people behind it fear that the state body which looks after film and photography is leaning too much toward these "independent" film makers and undervaluing the "genuine amateurs". Will there be a schism in Belgium or will the two organisations exist side-by-side?

My personal worry is that if "genuine amateurs" choose to shut themselves away in a ghetto, they may lose the stimulus and challenge of people who dedicate even more of their time and energy to moviemaking than we do. We may be lowering our standards and goals. Are we choosing to remain as small fish in small ponds?
Dave

P.S. I have just heard that the Polish "Grand OFF" Festival, which caters precisely to the European indie film makers received over 700 entries in this, its second year!
Post Reply