I am very sad

[Willy]

I am sad.
I am very sad. I have been president of my filmclub for 20 years. In 2010 my club will be 50 and then it's called a "royal club". However, I fear that I will have to dissolve my club.

Clubhouse free
About 20 years ago our mayor told us that we could use our clubhouse without paying rent. We only had to make a film about something that happens in our community. Now 20 years later we have an other mayor. He is a member of the Board of Governors of our regional TV channel. He has asked them (=promised) to make a film about our community. Price : between 25,000 and 35,000 euros. One euro is about one dollar I think. Moreover he has asked us to rent the clubhouse. Now we are obliged to pay. Price : 2,880 euros per year. As we need money to buy machines, screens, projectors and other things we cannot afford our clubhouse anymore. That's why I am looking for a room at the rear of a pub/café.


Robbed !
About 12 years ago we were robbed in our clubhouse. All our machines had been stolen ! Thanks to a special show to raise funds we could recuperate part of that loss. Bearing this bad experience in mind we are looking for a new clubhouse that is only ours and that can be locked. We only have an other three weeks to solve that problem. There is only one other solution. Joining another club. However this means the end of my club ! Do you understand how I feel ? And how the members of my club feel ?

I hate politics and politicians !
I understand. We have been spoilt for about 20 years, but it hurts. I could kill our mayor ! And knowing that he is one of my former pupils in the secondary school ! Now I still love my club. Maybe even more than ever before, but I hate politics. and knowing that I was a councillor for six years in our community... But that was in the eighties and nineties. Once you are not a politician anymore you can't do anything.

And British clubs ?
I wonder where British filmclubs are. Do they have their own clubhouses ? Do they have to rent a room ? ...

[alansmith]

Hello Willy, sad news but you have been very lucky to have used a room for free. I belong to two clubs, one in Ashford Kent and one in Orpington, you may remember we spoke about them at Tonbridge Oast before your show. Both clubs use rented rooms and neither of them have storage for equipment. All equipment is stored in committee members homes. Orpington use a church hall and Ashford use a sitting room in a residential home for elderley people. Maybe you can find an existing sport or social club with a room you can use if you share the rent.

[Stephen]

This is sad news indeed Willy.....

but all is not lost ...

At Newcastle ACA we rent a good room from a local community association and it serves us well...

We must however charge an annual subscription to the clubs membership... but this is a small price to pay for the pursuit of our hobby...
single membership is £14 (18 euro) per year plus 1 of our english pounds per visit !
this however also covers insurance of equipment etc etc..

Unfortunately because of the generosity of officials, members, committee members, et al it is important to reflect the true running costs of the club/group at the end of each year... it may sound crazy but with good fiscal planning our clubs/groups will survive well into the future.


I am sure you will make it through this temporary situation Willy....

our thoughts are with you...

[stingman]

Bad luck Willy! I hope it gets all sorted out.
We pay about £20 per hire for our club room that is a church hall spare room. We have access to the kitchen, we have a lock up for the equipment and we have fixed our big projector screen to the ceiling which is motorised. Subs are about £24.00 per year for which we don`t have to pay for each club meeting.
Not too bad a price and we can borrow equipment if we want to..

I hope it gets sorted.

Be good...

Stingman

[billyfromConsett]

Can you find another room for less rent? 2280 Euros is roughly about £43 per week I think- which is steep.

Get some offers for a room from estate agents. There should be loads of rooms for hire if the credit crunch is affecting Belgium.

How do your members feel, and how many members does your club have?

There must be council-run leisure centres with a room available with a locked cupboard- find one!

[Willy]

Can you find another room for less rent? 2280 Euros is roughly about £43 per week I think- which is steep.

Useful suggestions
Thanks for your very kind words and excellent suggestions, my friends. It is not 2,280 euros, but 2,880 euros, Billy ! We have about 60 members at the moment, but about 25 of them are filmmakers and every week we are 15 to 20. We are a bit like most British clubs I think.

Estate agent
The secretary of our club 'Focus Vaartland' is in Austria now, but as soon as he is back home we can try to find a room. Contacting the local estate agent seems to be a very good suggestion, Billy.

Tears in our eyes
In the mean time I have already spoken to the president of a club which is about 4 miles from us. With tears in our eyes we visited his club last Tuesday. They are well-equipped, but our heart is with "Focus", our own club. In our community everybody is furious.

Committing suicide
We are not the only victims of the new rules. The local aquarium club is in despair. They will have to pay 3,100 euros ! They are the "champions" ! The Mayor and his aldermen are committing suicide. The Mayor is haughty. He has an air of arrogance about him. He is not socially-minded. He spends a lot of money on activities for a select audience. His "aperitif concerts" in our local manor house for instance.

His aldermen never visit our club though we are one of the best in Flanders.

Electoral hands
The Mayor wants to buy new buildings for things that are not so useful. He is criticised more and more. Why has he been elected then ? Because he always shakes electoral hands and many people who doesn't know him are impressed. Because there is not anyone in our community who he is ambituous enough to become Mayor of Willebroek. Only in the local National Front Party there is one.

Anyway CLUB LIFE/SOCIAL LIFE is very important also for filmmakers in this world of individualism.

Clubs are disappearing
In Belgium more and more filmclubs are disappearing. I already told you that our national umbrella organisation (similar to the IAC) has been taken over by the Ministry of Culture. Now they are trying to support very young people who are interested in filmmaking (former filmstudents) and are shaking down clubs with older people. Of course they must be praised for the intention to encourage young people, but they must also be blamed for shaking off people who are retired and who try to make fun by making films. I fear that club life has no future in Belgium.

Long live casablanca !
Now I'm going to stop droning on about these problems. It's better to continue my next films. It's better to try and create enjoyable films for all my contemporaries and friends. "Long live my casablanca !". Oh, sorry, now I have said something stupid. I forgot that the majority of our "hobbyisting" population hates casablanca. "Hate" or "hates" ? English is a difficult language from time to time.

[ned c]

Don't be too despondent Willy as it seems you have a thriving club albeit with nowhere to meet at the present. Here in the USA the long established San Jose Club of California has closed its doors due to lack of support. A sad day indeed.

Perhaps a discussion with the local aquarium club could find a room to be shared (not at the same time), but a guaranteed double booking may be attractive.

Nobody "hates Casablanca", it's a tool and a widely used one that produces good results in the right hands. We always enjoy the presentations of Chet Davis of Microsystems (Casablanca in the USA) at our Festivals. He is a good supporter of the n-c movement and always runs a clinic for Casablanca users at the meeting.

ned c

[Chrisbitz]

make a film shaming and embarassing your new mayor, put it on youtube, and PUBLICISE IT!

20 of you could put up a lot of posters between you!

If he doesn't change his mind, you'll still have made his life uncomfortable for a while... and you'll be sticking up for all the other clubs that don't have such a communication medium at their fingertips

[billyfromConsett]

Long live casablanca !
Now I'm going to stop droning on about these problems. It's better to continue my next films. It's better to try and create enjoyable films for all my contemporaries and friends. "Long live my casablanca!". Oh, sorry, now I have said something stupid. I forgot that the majority of our "hobbyisting" population hates casablanca. "Hate" or "hates" ? English is a difficult language from time to time.

I don't hate casablancas, I don't really know them. Is that what you use for your movies Willy?

[Brian Saberton]

I know how sad you feel Willy as my own club had to fold this year but that was because we didn't have enough people to keep it going.

In Motherwell the local authority charges for rooms on a two tier basis with a cheap rate for community and non-commercial organisations, and a higher charge for commercial use. I think this is a sensible approach and makes life easier for clubs and societies. You have been very lucky to get your rooms free of charge for such a long time but it's a sad fact of modern life that everything now comes at a price. Is it possible that the council could be persuaded to phase in the charge over say three - four years rather than applying it all at once in a single year? Better for them to get some income rather than none at all. Perhaps a small delegation representing all the clubs that are affected could meet with the mayor to explain the problem and see if there is anything he can do. A calm and reasoned approach might just do the trick - you could even say that you understand his position and hope that he in turn will be more appreciative of your problems.

[Willy]

I know how sad you feel Willy as my own club had to fold this year but that was because we didn't have enough people to keep it going.

Casablanca is Moroccon townBilly Boy ! You're joking ! Casablanca is one of the major towns in Morocco, but of course it is also the best editing machine in the world. Please, no discussions about it here. Some friends cannot stop talking about them. TensionYes, Brian. The problem is that the new measures will be taken in a few days. Then there is a council. There is no time left. Some of my clubmates will be in the town hall, but I fear that this is useless. The last few days I wrote lots of messages to councillors, aldermen and also to the mayor. I even wrote a letter to the national party president. Now there is some tension in the (=my) party. They know me very well as I was their party secretary for eleven years. We were a stronghold in Flanders. That was in the eighties and nineties. Now the stronghold is in ruins. Once you are not active in politics anymore you are a mere number in this society.Pig-headed !Alas, the mayor is very stubborn and he has hardly no affection for clublife. He's too pig-headed to listen. (This has nothing to do with you, Billy ! Look at Billy's picture on the left, my friends. This is not an insult. )  The next local elections are in five years. I fear that nothing will be left of the stronghold for which my friends and I gave part of their family lives. Fighting windlillsIt's disgusting that the council will pass the bill just before the summer holidays... That's a trick because many people are on holiday then. Protesting is just like fighting windmills. My secretary Freddy is in Austria at this moment and I will be in Guernsey next week. That's also a problem. Guernsey people are also stubborn folks. Did you know that ? Stubborness is in their genes. They're called donkeys. Stubborness is one of their icons. Maybe our mayor is a Guernsey man. Oh no, because he is not so friendly. Not very kind of me !Anyway,  last night I talked to the president of the aquarium club.  He's also filled with despair. My Focus-friends and I are not the only ones. Once we are back home we will talk about your suggestions, my forum-friends. I've also thought of sending this forum-discussion to our mayor. He should understand English as he was one of my pupils about 25 years ago. Each time when he has made a speech in English he asks me : "Was it OK ?"  Next time I will tell him that it was a very bad speech. That's not very kind of me, is it ?

[stingman]

I think your Mayor Sucks BIGTIME! He is not for the people, but for himself. Now all you need to do is dig up some dirt on him and bribe him with it. Does he have a wife, but is seen with some blonde on his arm? Has he just bought a new car? I`m sure people could tell you storys about his past. Was he dodge at the school where you taught him?

I like the film idea. It would take guts. Do you have them!

Be good....

Stingman

[Michael Slowe]

Willy, try also some local commercial companies as there are often rooms or buildings that are not used in the evenings and weekends. You might be surprised at the re action and willingness to help. Also your idea of a film about the matter might help and would certainly embarrass the Mayor.

Ian, I think you mean 'blackmail' rather than 'bribe'. To blackmail you use information on someone that he may not want made public, to bribe you offer money, which Willy certainly would not wish to do!

[stingman]

Ian, I think you mean 'blackmail' rather than 'bribe'. To blackmail you use information on someone that he may not want made public, to bribe you offer money, which Willy certainly would not wish to do!

Yes. You are correct! Blackmail was the word I was looking for. It IS a risky way of doing things but it could be fun!!

Lets wait and see what Willy does. Will it be Blackmail or Kiss the mayors A*se ?

Someone who is good at doing Polls on here could start one, just for fun of course.

Be good......

Stingman

[Dave Watterson]

Good suggestion from Michael ...

A firm may not be able to let you have a permanent room of your own but it MIGHT let you have a room when needed and the use of a locked cupboard for equipment.

In return you could get them some local publicity like newspaper headlines "Firm steps in where Council abandons local enthusiasts..."

Otherwise a last resort would be to meet in someone's house and to distribute the equipment into the care of various members.

You could make your "royal" status ... King Willy !

Dave