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Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 2:30 pm
by Willy
Today in "The Sunday Telegraph": "Two Weeks' Quarantine if Going to the UK". "The Daily Telegraph" is not my favourite English newspaper, but I noticed that big title in the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Is it something to worry about? I don't know. There are still 5 months left. I only fear for my trip to the beautiful Cotswolds in September. Time passes very quickly.

On the BBC the reporter said that the number of deaths in the UK is very high now. Mind, the figures are even higher in Belgium, but they also include the people who have died in care homes, even the ones who have not been attacked by the corona virus. It's naive to include people who have died of cancer, of a heart attack, etc..., isn't it?

I also wonder if there will be social distancing in October? And maybe we will be obliged to wear masks. A chat with Michael Slowe or the tall Scotsman Dave Watterson at a distance of 2 metres and wearing a mask… Imagine…! And can we have a drink at the bar then?

And there is an other problem: In July and August it will be forbidden to cross the French border. I always cross the Channel at Calais... In Belgium they have already started to encourage people to spend their holidays at one of our own seaside resorts or at an idyllic place in the Ardennes which is the French speaking part, or to go to one of our medieval cities like Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp, or to visit the cemeteries in Flanders' Fields . But as I already said: BIAFF is one and a half month later.

A good thing: Belgium, Holland and Germany have decided to make their measures more flexible. I will be able to have my hair cut from 18th May onwards. All shops will be open on 11th May... There will be rush to the pubs on 8th June. If we behave the lock down will be over in June, our prominent virologists and politicans have said. Only wearing masks will still be a must on buses, trams and trains. Anyway, we can already see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Let's pray for a succesful BIAFF in October!

Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 6:03 pm
by Dave Watterson
Who knows? The pundits keep giving different information and various medical friends keep saying life cannot really start getting back to normal until a reliable vaccine has been created and is widely available.

In the meantime you can find many of the films in most star categories online at YouTube or Vimeo - though not so many of the very top ones.

Why not take a look at some and give your opinions?

Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 5:55 pm
by tom hardwick
I can comment on Geoff's excellent 5* film Treble Clef. We three judges loved it, and I'd like to tell you why.

Judges’ Comments

Title: Treble Clef
Number: 17134
Award: Five Star

What an excellent film Treble Clef is! It’s excellent in a huge number of cinematic disciplines, not the least of which is the audacious bravery of the edit and the outstanding performance of the actors. Acting and editing – these two stand-out performances, and the overall directorial control employed, are what make this film so very watchable, and so deserving of its Five Star success in this competition.

There are niggles, though I wish I didn’t have to voice them. We felt it a shame that the introduction – delightful as it is with its sudden start, lovely piano and ambience, is burdened by sloping horizons. And the garden party ends up looking like a gloomy affair simply because there was so little light to film by, yet night-time scenes are excellently handled later on in the film.

Enough of that. The good script is given authority by having entirely believable dialogue delivered with such acting skill, and we did admire the way the initial J cut introduces us to, and warns us about, the gum-chewing, cold-hearted, two-sided ‘man of mystery’. From then on the story is allowed to unfold, and we realise the circle is completed when the camera tracks nervously backwards after her, ‘How am I going to get home?’ closing line.

And it’s in this aftermath (during the perfectly laid out scrolling credit section) that we, the viewers, can reflect on the opening focus-pull to the treble clef tattoo, the intercutting of the police cordon, the long shot of the policeman’s house visit, the body-bag identification and the dissolve from death-mask to blinking girl. It’s all been done so well, it’s so well timed, so concisely and precisely assembled.

Technically, differential focus forces us to concentrate, backing piano turns into living room entertainment, drone footage adds to the excellence of the cinematography, masking adds to the feel. But overall it’s the bravery of the editing; editing that takes us suddenly back to the fact that he can spy on her snooping, and then immediately return to the warmth in his voice and coldness in his heart when he suggests he might buy a yacht.

Congratulations on your Five Star award. Excellent, really excellent.

Tom Hardwick FACI
On behalf of:
Jackie Williams FACI and Rod Leyland

Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:38 pm
by TimStannard
I look forward to seeing Treble Clef, Tom, and it sounds as though the lady I tipped for best actor award, who eventually won it, didn't have it all plain sailing. I shouldn't be surprised: acting in Geoff's films rarely leaves the audience wanting (though it might drive the director crazy from time to time).

Roll on October (if it goes ahead).

Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 4:08 pm
by Brian Saberton
I'm hoping to be at BIAFF in October but there is so much confusion and uncertainty at the moment that it's anyone's guess if it can go ahead. At the moment in Scotland we are not supposed to travel outside a 5 mile radius of our homes though this is advisory, rather than mandatory. However it effectively rules out any form of significant travel and who knows if this restriction will be lifted any time soon. The Photography Show, which had been rescheduled for September has been cancelled so I'm not terribly optimistic about October.

Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:09 pm
by TimStannard
Much is lost by the inability to interact with people face to face (and Zoom/Skype/Teams meetings are in some ways worse than telephone) but, on a more positive note, we are lucky in that the results of our work can be viewed on a variety and discussed of platforms and shared among a wider audience than we would have dreamed possible thirty years ago.

Chin up, Brian. I would never consider going to a photography exhibition in Scotland - even for a friend. But thanks to our friendship on social media, I get to enjoy as much of your work as you choose to put online.

Re: BIAFF 2020 RESULTS

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 1:18 pm
by Howard-Smith
Just for the record, I’ve re-booked my Doubletree Hilton Hotel room for 16th and 17th October in the hope it’ll go ahead. Via booking.com (I think) I haven’t had to pay any deposit and the booking is cancellable anytime up to the night before, with no penalty.
Fingers crossed that it’ll go ahead!