BIAFF 2024 - yes or no?

[Simon Sumner]

The star ratings and more are now live in http://www.biaff.org.uk

Thanks so much Dave and Jan.

[Willy]

Dave Watterson wrote: some people are taking the line that they will wait for their results before deciding whether or not to attend BIAFF!
I am one of them. I was ready to go to Birmingham: bus from my home to the City of Mechelen, train to Brussels South, Eurostar to London, Euston-London fast train to Birmingham-taxi to Travelodge Hotel or Premier Inn. That's for Friday. In the evening of 12th April my film "Hubertus" will be shown. An alternative would be: bus from my home to Brussels-Airport- Flight to Birmingham-taxi to travelodge, but I am still afraid of flying. And there are strikes very often. Vera and I would have done that if Werner Hageman would have gone, but his film "Elise" is not selected. It has 3 stars. Very shocking. It is a very entertaining movie in my opinion. He is now in Malaga, in Spain...

Be sure that Vera and I would have attended the Gala dinner. We have already done this 13 or 14 or 15 times. We love the IAC. Michael Slowe filmed BIAFF 2007. I shortened it to 6 minutes. If you would like a copy of it. Do not hesitate to ask me. I am very grateful to Michael. He deserves a life-time award.

On this forum I have read that accommodation, even in the Travelodge Hotel Birmingham, is very expensive. In England everything is much more expensive than in Europe at the moment. Actually it is a pity, because it also means the end of the chapter BIAFF in my life. On 15th March there will be a MOVIE NIGHT in my village. My "Hubertus" will be screened in première and I will also officialy announce the end of my career as a competitive cinematographer. The programme: "My speech at Royal Tunbridge Wells"n "An Irish Moment" (diamond 2001), "Breendonk"(2008), "Master of Time"(2014), "Neil Ross" (2017), "The Fall of Icarus"(2022) and "Hubertus"(2024) 4 stars. I had better films, I think, like "Together with Yoda", "Will Ye Go to Flanders", et... But the audience must have the time to have a chat and a Belgian beer.

In the mean time "Hubertus" received gold at the National Film Festival in Belgium and the award for "Best storyline". Some weeks ago the Festival of Flanders took place. It was presented by the most famous filmmaker of Belgium. Jan Verheyen appears on TV every week. "Hubertus" was runner-up in the "non-fiction" category and... it received a special award because the audience found it the best film of the festival. The BIAFF-judges found "Hubertus" a boring film, because they would have shortened it with 3 minutes. That's what they wrote. But of course, I agree, judging is not easy.

[Dave Watterson]

I have been unsure about how to respond to this message from Willy.

At the personal level, Jan and I will be very sorry not to meet Willy and Vera again as we have often done in the past. The same will be true of his many friends in British film making.

We have many happy memories, and were delighted to receive a copy of the edited version of his speech toasting the IAC at the BIAFF in Tunbridge Wells. (He had asked me to record it, but my very basic film-making would not do it justice, so I asked the best film maker I know, Michael Slowe, if he would do it. Michael arrived with his camera and amazingly heavy wooden tripod. He shot the whole speech with one camera and managed to get some cutaways of the audience too.)

Hubertus did better in Belgium than it did here. That's not a surprise. The Belgian festivals draw on a smaller pool of film makers, though some of the most talented ones I know. But it may also be a matter of taste. Each country has its own preferences for subjects, filmic approach and style. (One reason to enjoy the UNICA festival, where we see distinctive films from 30 countries.) In Britain the matter of hunting is a touchy one, with elements of class differences, animal rights and so on.

Birmingham is not cheap - it is after all a major city. But it allows the top films to be seen in a proper cinema, so that there should be no problems with sightlines. As Howard Smith has commented it is possible to get reasonable hotels in the area.

The saddest comment is that Willy expects this to be the end of his career as a competitive film maker.

What a career! Most of the 13 or 14 times he has come to BIAFF, it has been to receive an award for a beautiful and popular film. We are the same age, so I understand that health plays a part in such decisions. But I hope he is wrong and that we will continue to see Willy Van der Linden's name on screens at out future festivals.

Willy, some of us will raise a glass to you and Vera at BIAFF.

[Willy]

Kind words, but we are not Little Belgium! I don't have the feeling that I am swimming in a little pond. There are 5 filmclubs within 10-12 kilometres from my house. In Belgium we are having command of many languages, just like the Dutch and Danish. We are proud of it. That's also why the Belgians are always present at BIAFF: Douglas Boswell, Samuel Faict, Tony Jacobs, Werner Van den Bulck, Werner Haegeman, Tim Verschaeren, Dominique Krem Urbain Appeltans, late René Van Van Vaerenbergh and I myself... It's a pity that the most talented one, who is called Claus, prefers to stay at home. You should see his movies!

I doubt if Dave Watterson has seen "Hubertus". It's a matter of taste, he says... In Britain the matter of hunting is a touching one... I know Britain very well. I am called an anglofile. Jqn Verheyen, the most famous filmmaker in Belgium, who presented our National Festival in "Lumière" in the City of Mechelen, asked me to imitate bellowing just like a red deer (see my movie) and asked me what I think about hunting. In Britain it is a touching one, he said. In "Hubertus" I don't promote any hunting at all. On the contrary! In the mean time many former English judges have seen "Hubertus"... They all have a good taste... They do not understand what has happened.

Next Friday there wil be a Farewell Movie Night in my local filmclub. It's to celebrate the end of my career as a competitive filmmaker. All the clubs in my region will be represented. It will not have the glamour and glance of our national festivals, but there will be enough time to drink a glass of "Hubertus" (wellknown Belgian beer), to watch som of my old and new movies, and to have a nice chat about BIAFF and other things. I will raise a glass of "Hubertus" at BIAFF and all my English friends.

[Albert Noble]

I doubt if Dave Watterson has seen "Hubertus".

If it were put on YouTube both Dave and all of us could view it.

[TimStannard]

Having now got a proper job (I was made redundant when the school I worked at went into administration at Christmas), I shall be returning to BIAFF this year after a finacially induced absense last year. Boy, how I missed it! I'm so looking forward to seeing some excellent films. I hope Werner's "Elise" will be shown. I love his films and, of course, it's the name of my youngest daughter. I think Werner's films don't always do well at BIAFF because they are a bit to surreal and a bit too "art" for some judges. We can't really fault the judges. They wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't give their honest opinion.

Can't wait for some serious and not so serious discussion (and argument) about the films on show.

Couldn't get Travelodge for anything like Howard's £117, but still not too extortionate. Can I still buy breakfast at the Novotel? Will Howard send me out for his Daily Mail? Will Jill drink me under the table (again)? Will Alan Sinclair make the epic voyage from so far north nobody has any business being there? Will there be a battle of the tartans with DW?

I only hope new job gives me the Friday off.

[TimStannard]

BTW I've not seen any comments here on Paul Kittel's excellent promo for BIAFF
I sincerely hope he used some templates for this as it would take days to make all these edits manually:

https://youtu.be/i0xtAYtlmhs?si=H53J7NlLuZlpssIU

[Willy]

Werner and I are close friends. "Elise" is a wonderful film. I don't know if it will be shown at BIAFF. Just after having received our results he went to Malaga in Spain. Good to get rid of his frustrations. He sent me some messages, but he didnt tell me whether his movie will be screened or not. He will be back this week to attend my Farewell Movie Night on Friday. I will tell the audience how he has helped me with the acting scene in "Hubertus". That's his contribution. I showed him the locations in the Ardennes. He took his camera and tried to find the best angles. I mean the best spots to achieve the best photography.

Together with the young actor we went back to the Ardennes in the summer. He did the camerawork on his own and in a remarkable way. My former colleague at school, Matthew, was the runner and helped us all the time. While Werner was doing the acting scene I was lying on my back in the wood to take enough functional shots for my intro. Not everybody knows how beautiful nature is in the French speaking part of Belgium. I also wanted to create the right atmosphere for my story. I tell the viewer where Hubertus lived in the Middle Ages. Afterwards Matthew took his car and drove me through the wood to take some different shots of nature. At the National Film Festival I received the award for "Best Storyline"and Werner for "the best editing". So back to Werner: He was a fantastic director for the acting scene in "Hubertus" and I allowed him with great pleasure to edit that part of the film (almost 5 minutes). The length of the film is 19min30 seconds.

The BIAFF-judges said it is a fascinating film, but it might be trimmed. Perhaps 3 minutes he even said. That' a contradiction in the critiques. That's why I am angry and sad. I really don't know how I could have done this without weakening the story. I am sure also Werner will be astonished. Also Werner's acting scene is ideal in length. In a film you must create silent moments between the narrative parts, but apparently the judges don't know this. (Hopefully you understand what I mean. I enjoy writing things in English, but it is not my mother tongue). In the mean time I asked some prominent English judges what they think of "Hubertus". It's a relief to know what they think. Now about languages: I subtitled scenes from French to English and from Dutch to English and I tried to find the best English narrative voice. I wrote the story in English, but as usual my English neighbour Chris Allen corrected my mistakes.

Eventually the story was read by William Higbee, professor Film Studies/French films at Exeter. I feel ashamed that some well known English friends helped me with this, but at the end I told them I wanted to ask William Higbee to do this. Their reaction was very positive. Thanks to them and other British friends I am not going to give up my IAC-membership. I have seen I have been an IAC-Member since 1998. I have not told William yet that "Hubertus" was eliminated after the first round. I feel ashamed. You should know who has already seen "Hubertus"...

But "Elise", dear me. Imagine it will not be screened at BIAFF! Last year it was not shown either. And "Elise" (in my opinion) deserved more than 5 stars! And this time it is also entertaining for those who hate mysterious movies. It didn't need any subtitling nor any narration. Again the photography is wonderful. Again Werner has been very creative. Again he has been very original. Again the images and the chosen music go wonderfully together. "Elise" (filmed in the Netherlands) is a piece of art. Please, show it at the Winners' Show, even with its 3 stars.

For Albert: The Belgian Umbrella Organisation "Breedbeeld" has asked me to put "Hubertus" on YouTube. I told them that I have not any problems with it. Just like Tim I make films for fun. Werner asked me not to stop making movies. He asked me to help him when making documentaries. When I have your address I can send it to you.

[Willy]

Dear Tim. Werner Hageman is back home from a wonderful holiday in Spain. His film "Elise" will not be shown at BIAFF he said.

[Dave Watterson]

I am also deeply disappointed at the star-rating for ELISE ... but I was not a judge this year.

[Martin Evans]

But "Elise", dear me. Imagine it will not be screened at BIAFF! Last year it was not shown either. And "Elise" (in my opinion) deserved more than 5 stars! And this time it is also entertaining for those who hate mysterious movies. It didn't need any subtitling nor any narration. Again the photography is wonderful. Again Werner has been very creative. Again he has been very original. Again the images and the chosen music go wonderfully together. "Elise" (filmed in the Netherlands) is a piece of art. Please, show it at the Winners' Show, even with its 3 stars.

Dear Willy,

I did the write up for Elise. I really liked this film and loved it's eccentricities but I was on a panel of three and the others, as I recall, just didn't like it. AT ALL. It wasn't without fault but then what film is? Remember, we had only 7 minutes to discuss and come up with a mark for each film. This all said, I still think that the combined comments of the judging panel were fair. I would love to have seen it at BIAFF however, but I wasn't responsible for choosing the screenings.

For what it's worth, I felt my own film The Litterator was robbed at just 3*. But that was a very offbeat comedy film and what makes one person laugh will leave another cold. That is the risk we take with our quirky films such as Elise and The Litterator.

Please tell Werner to keep making films.

[Willy]

Do not be worried, Martin. I feel embarrassed when reading your message. I called Werner two hours ago, but he is out. Anyway, I am sure that he will keep making films, also for BIAFF. Do you remember the interview with me in your "Film and Video Maker" of August 2023? He said : "I am very competitive. I realise that my style is quite unusual and you can't win them all. It's do or die. But I respect every decision of the jury. And, by the way, I don't envy them." Now he died again at BIAFF!

Werner is 11 years younger than me. It's St. Patrick's Day. It's also my birthday. I am 78 now. Time to stop. Werner has asked me to contribute to his documentaries in the future. Not to his fiction films, of course. I am old-fashioned. I am an oldtimer. But he's got his own style which is unique.
I can only translate his fiction-films with the help of my English neighbour Chris Allen.

In my "Hubertus" there is an acting scene in it. Werner was the director of that part. The historical first sequence. One of my judges had reservations about the washed-out look to it. Unbelievable...

Last year Werner received a monster score of 18 out of 20 for his "Milky Way" at the Belgian Film Festival. At BIAFF only 3 stars. Werner stayed at home. His film was not screened. This year "Elise" was one of the 5 winners at this national festival. He received the award for "best editing", but they could have given him the first prize for best fiction film as well. My "Hubertus" was also one of the winners. We both decided to stay at home. Maybe non-filmmakers don't understand our feelings. We are disappointed. We worked on our films for months and months, for years and years. To make my film I went to the Ardennes about 15 times. The distance from my house to St. Hubert is about 160 kilometres x2 for return journey. Mostly Werner was the car driver and he did more. From time to time we formed a real duo. But we don't want the efforts to be rewarded. Only be respected.

On 3rd November, St. Hubertus Day, I took 6 people with me. We stayed overnight. All together it cost 4,500 euro. But for my "Hop Around the Weald" I even spent more money on my film. I crossed the Channel many times. OK, no problem. I enjoyed it. And I am an anglofile... But there are limits. I am, just like Tim Stannard, only an amateur who makes films for fun, for the love of it.

There is still something wrong with the judging system. These are not only my words. 7 minutes to take a decision! Many thanks for saying this, Martin. Actually I already knew this. Many years ago I made the film "Guernsey, I Love You" together with Peter Rouillard. Also his wife Mary contributed to it. The film received 3***. One of the judges apologized. Our movie was shown on a small TV-screen and the colour had not been adjusted!

One of the most experienced judges told me this:
You have produced a mini-masterpiece, really you have. Hubertus is a most remarkable film, full to the brim with georgous variety, superb photography, interesting facts, remarkable special effects, varying pace and overall, it's a beautifully tightly edited documentary. .... Why on earth was Hubertus not nominated for "best documentary"?

I don't want to mention names of IAC-friends I had a chat with or who wrote something to me. Werner always makes works of art and sorry, ... I am an Antwerpian with a thick neck... and Belgians can be very difficult people I have heard...But well-known English judges called my "Hop Around the Weald" (3***) and my Hubertus (3***) mini-masterpieces and actually Werner and I are both excluded from attending BIAFF.

There is really something wrong in the land of Denmark.

In the mean time Werner and I made a film about a special event in a Flemish village near the French border. You will not see my name as maker of the film. It will only be in the credits. Werner and I have made an agreement. Moreover I quoted sentences from a famous Flemish author who was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His style is too difficult to translate. But Werner is making a wonderful film for Belgium and BIAFF.

(to be continued... St. Patrick's Day was already yesterday on the continent)

[TimStannard]

the others, as I recall, just didn't like it. AT ALL.

I hope they didn't mark it down just because they didn't like it.
Whether we like a film or not shouldn't have anything to do with it (though I imagine we are all influenced by our likes and dislikes).

Comedy has the biggest problem here. If you don't like the humour, how can you possibly tell if the gags are delivered on the beat, behind the beat, in front of the beat etc.? It's a toughie.

Is your film being shown, Martin? I usually (don't want to say always as that sets it up for a fail) enjoy your humour and your delivery.

[Willy]

Dear Martin, First of all congratulations to you. "Film and Video Magazine" is great. I always enjoy it. With pleasure I read all the articles. In the latest issue I was very interested in the article by Ken Wilson: "Is Filmmaking Fun?" I can't miss the magazine. That's one of the reasons why I will never give up my IAC-membership.

But, again, I am very disappointed. I have already told you why. I really do not understand that the two other judges did not like "Elise", AT ALL. I mean Werner Haegeman's movie. Ok, Werner's films are difficult to understand sometimes, but now "Elise" is very entertaining for everybody. The wonderful photography fits well with the rhythm of the music. That's already one of the reasons why it deserves more than 3 stars. The length of the movie is about 19 minutes, but it is not boring AT ALL. Werner has a new modern style. And only 7 minutes to take a decision!
I worked on my film for more than two years and the judges only got 7 minutes to decide whether Hubertus deserved to be selected for the final judging and to be screened. It will be screened on Friday night, but I fear that there will be no audience. Vera and I and... Werner would have arrived in the late Friday afternoon after a very long trip... And to be honest: I will miss the chat with our IAC-friends... Yes, I am an "enfant terrible", but I think it is useful to say these things in the interest of the IAC. I hope you will have ever to see Werner's Elise and I invite you to compare it with the BIAFF winning film of two years ago.

[Michael Slowe]

I have carefully kept away from all the criticism of judges as it mostly comes from disappointed film makers. Willy, I am very surprised that you are so upset that you decide not to go to BIAFF. We have all been surprised, and yes, disappointed by judgements of our films but you surely understand that viewing films is a subjective matter and no two people will generally agree on the merits of a piece of art.

Willy retiring at aged 78? I'm now 89 and in the middle of editing my most difficult film yet, and I had to drag camera bag, mics, tripod etc over a distant island in the Caribbean to shoot it! It will probably have a running time of over one hour so it will not see the light at BIAFF I fear. I really want to see Hubertus and Willy kindly sent me a link. However when I try to play it I get the message that it is of an "unsupported file type". Can someone kindly explain what that means and what should I do. Dave, in a post of several days ago, you described me as the best film maker you know, coming from you that made my day! In the 1970s and 80s maybe, alas not now.