Judging-FVM June

[Willy]

• "Danny's Red Box"

Congratulations, Michael! Your film was given 4 Stars at BIAFF last year, but it was awarded "Best Documentary" at a Professional Festival now. It is one of the films I will never forget. In the documentary Danny has a nice chat with passers-by at his teashop. It's a scene in a typical London street, perhaps not far from where you live. I just feared that the judges thought it was a bit too long. That opinion was shared by a few friends I remember. But "Danny" excelled in the spontaneity that was once again shown in your typical Michael Slowe documentary. What a list of fantastic movies you have made!

I just hate the idea that professionals know everything better. That idea can be shown shown. No one has a monopoly on wisdom. Filming is art. You either appreciate it, or the film doesn't move you at all.

Best film
"Best in Festival, best British Film, best drama" three awards for a single filmmaker! Why not? Of course it is annoying that one filmmaker is champion four or five times in a row... But I had no problems when our late friend Bernard Hausberger won twice (rf. article Brian Dunckley in FVM). He really deserved it! By the way it was fantastic that a British filmmaker was number one this year. BIAFF will not lose some of its internationial glamour by that.

I admire James Chalmers' honesty. In "The Lark Ascending", a Ralph Vaughan Williams song , one judge said that James should have shown the image of a real lark. I understand James's feelings. On the other hand we should understand that judging can be very difficult.

I was the only judge!
I remember a difficult moment as a judge myself. I was asked to watch 24 films at home. The organizer: the North West Region. I had to write 24 reports. Moreover I was asked to travel from Belgium to Preston to announce the results. I was kindly received. There were many people. Next to me was the chairman of the region. I was the only judge, but I had shown these 24 films in two Belgian clubs before. They all agreed with my choice. With a certain peace of mind and some confidence my wife and I had traveled through all kinds of weather to the north of England. In that Preston Festivity Hall the charmain said publicly that he didn't agree with my ranking. It was a bit shocking.


3 stars at BIAFF. Top film in Belgium
I think that in the next issue of "Film and Video Maker" an article written by me will appear. It is about "The Milky Way", a feature film by my friend Werner Haegeman. Michael Slowe has told us that movies can be differently received in different competitions. "The Milky Way" is a good example. At BIAFF 3 stars. In Belgium it was the topfilm of the competition. Good for a discussion I thought. But, be sure Werner is not disappointed at all! He was only surprised. He loves his movies to be talked about and now he is busy working on his next one. Time to stop this text now. On the continent it's already after midnight.

[Michael Slowe]

Thank you Willy for your kind words, we have quite a lot in common with our taste of films and we both tend to make factual ones and documentaries. I am amazed at your story of your trip to Preston. Firstly that you were good enough to undertake the job of solely judging 24 films and then undertaking the long journey. For the Chairman to then publicly disparage your choice of winner is quite astounding!

Why can't people accept that there is no common standard by which to judge art. In a race or a fight or a game of football, there can be a certain and undeniable winner, with art it is mostly personal feeling and intuition.

[TimStannard]

We may all have different opinions, but I also prefer those top two prizes to go to different films.

But if, in the judges opinion, the Best in Festival happens to be made by a British entrant, we have no choice but to award it both.

I have judged many a club/inter-club/regional festival where we have "spread the prizes around a bit" (with the agrement of the organisers) and, invariable, those present realise that has been done. Indeed, it can lead to interesting discussions along the lines of "Jill's documentary would have walked away with everything if the judges hadn't spread the prizes around". So long as everyone understands this it's quite a healthy thing - more people get awards, and Jill gets a major award and the warm feeling of lots of people telling her she would have walked aways with lots more.

I have also judged festivals where one film was the clear winner in several categories and the organisers have been adamant that, if in our opinion, a film is the best in a category it absolutely must be awarded the trophy.

BIAFF is a prestigeous competition and I am firmly of the opinion that, as the prizes stand, if the best film is also British is absolutely must be alsoi best british and a Diamond.

Some people suggested as best of the festival: THE APARTMENT for example.

An excellent film and a candidate for Best in Festival. What some people here and elsewhere may not realise is that, although judges have limited time between films at BIAFF to exchange thoughts and award star ratings, the final round judges can (and do!) take as long as they like to arrive at concensus for which films win Diamonds and all the special awards. You can rest assured that the decisions are not taken lightly and not without a great deal of thought. We come to our own conclusions based on justifiable reasons - others will often disagree. Unfortunately, it's not rocket science - there are no hard and fast rights and wrongs at this level of flm making. (And this is probably just as well - no one has ever died as a result of a miscalculation of a BIAFF star rating or award. At least, not to my knowledge)