Guernsey is a lovely place to be !

[vanderlindenhig@telenet.b]

The Guernsey Film Festival was excellent ! My wife Vera and I enjoyed all
the films very much. The winning film was a documentary ! "The Better the
Harvest" was made by Jeanne-Pierre Hué from France. He visited an African
tribe. In the past I have already seen many films about tribes that live
in a forest somewhere in Africa or Australia, but this documentary was very
special. It was not boring at all. I felt as I lived together with these
people for some minutes. The narration was simple and good. The film maker
did not use music everywhere. The live sounds were predominant which was
good. Also the camera work was perfect. At the dinner table I asked Jeanne-Pierre
if he had used a tripod. I was surpised by his solid shots. "Oh no", he said
... "It would not have been possible." When watching films on TV it seems
to me that cameramen tend to leave their tripods in their cars. I also think
it is not always necessary to use a tripod.
The organizers did their utmost to spoil the audience and the film makers.
I received 7 reports on my film "Together with Yoda" ! That's something I
appreciate very much. Richard Rouillard wrote : "It was nice to see Colin
Howett whose voice I have become very familiar with over the years in other
Belgian productions (Also my friend Toshi Sakurai once used his voice). His
voice does seem somewhat less lugubrious when conversing rather than doing
a voiceover". Yes, Richard, you're right. You can hear some difference. Colin
seemed to enjoy the trip to the Cotswolds very much. He looked cheerful all
the time. I had given him the text in Belgium and he extemporized a bit when
we were in England. I was very grateful to Colin. When doing a voiceover
he always reads the text without having prepared it. It fact now I should
have asked him to read a paragraph each time and to say everything again
with his own words and without watching the text. I like such reports, Richard.
I have learnt something thanks to your remarks and also thanks to the other
ones. Also many other things were fantastic. I had a nice chat with my companions
at the dinner table (Michael Gough and his wife, the Scottish actress Kate
Beauchamp who won the prize for best acting performance, the French film
maker Hué and a Guernsey female judge) . The projections were faultless (sound,
colours, etc...) Is there any international amateur festival in the world
with such precious awards ? I was very happy with them, but I am also willing
to attend the Guernsey Festival without having won an award. Vera and I had
enough time to make a trip round the island. The weather was wonderful. We
enjoyed the hustle and bustle in St. Peter's Port. I had to control myself
not to buy a new pair of shoes or a new watch. These things are very cheap
on the island.The other part of Guernsey is quite different. We stayed in
a car park. We opened our windows, read a magazine or a newspaper and took
a breath of fresh air. We watched the horizon with numerous rocks in the
sea and could hear seagulls, oystercatchers or other seabirds. Behind us
we could see some slightly moving palm trees in some gardens. All this gave
us a heavenly feeling. What a difference with Blankenberge, our Belgian seaside
resort with overcrowded shabby streets where you have to pay attention all
the time. (dog's dirt, pickpockets, etc.) No, Dave, the place where a festival
takes place is also very important. When I was in Buxton, I took the opportunity
to make a trip in the lovely Peak District. When I was in Harrogate I visited
one of the most spectacular places in Britain : Malham Cove. Attending a
festival is not only watching films all the time. Making films is my passion,
but enjoying the countryside is also very important. Guernsey is a lovely
place to be !

[Peter Rouillard]

"vanderlindenhig@telenet.be" <forums@theiac.org.uk> wrote:

The Guernsey Film Festival was excellent ! My wife Vera and I enjoyed all
the films very much. The winning film was a documentary ! "The Better the
Harvest" was made by Jeanne-Pierre Hué from France. He visited an African
tribe. In the past I have already seen many films about tribes that live
in a forest somewhere in Africa or Australia, but this documentary was very
special. It was not boring at all. I felt as I lived together with these
people for some minutes. The narration was simple and good. The film maker
did not use music everywhere. The live sounds were predominant which was
good. Also the camera work was perfect. At the dinner table I asked Jeanne-Pierre
if he had used a tripod. I was surpised by his solid shots. "Oh no", he
said
.. "It would not have been possible." When watching films on TV it seems
to me that cameramen tend to leave their tripods in their cars. I also think
it is not always necessary to use a tripod.
The organizers did their utmost to spoil the audience and the film makers.
I received 7 reports on my film "Together with Yoda" ! That's something
I
appreciate very much. Richard Rouillard wrote : "It was nice to see Colin
Howett whose voice I have become very familiar with over the years in other
Belgian productions (Also my friend Toshi Sakurai once used his voice).
His
voice does seem somewhat less lugubrious when conversing rather than doing
a voiceover". Yes, Richard, you're right. You can hear some difference.
Colin
seemed to enjoy the trip to the Cotswolds very much. He looked cheerful
all
the time. I had given him the text in Belgium and he extemporized a bit
when
we were in England. I was very grateful to Colin. When doing a voiceover
he always reads the text without having prepared it. It fact now I should
have asked him to read a paragraph each time and to say everything again
with his own words and without watching the text. I like such reports, Richard.
I have learnt something thanks to your remarks and also thanks to the other
ones. Also many other things were fantastic. I had a nice chat with my companions
at the dinner table (Michael Gough and his wife, the Scottish actress Kate
Beauchamp who won the prize for best acting performance, the French film
maker Hué and a Guernsey female judge) . The projections were faultless
(sound,
colours, etc...) Is there any international amateur festival in the world
with such precious awards ? I was very happy with them, but I am also willing
to attend the Guernsey Festival without having won an award. Vera and I
had
enough time to make a trip round the island. The weather was wonderful.
We
enjoyed the hustle and bustle in St. Peter's Port. I had to control myself
not to buy a new pair of shoes or a new watch. These things are very cheap
on the island.The other part of Guernsey is quite different. We stayed in
a car park. We opened our windows, read a magazine or a newspaper and took
a breath of fresh air. We watched the horizon with numerous rocks in the
sea and could hear seagulls, oystercatchers or other seabirds. Behind us
we could see some slightly moving palm trees in some gardens. All this gave
us a heavenly feeling. What a difference with Blankenberge, our Belgian
seaside
resort with overcrowded shabby streets where you have to pay attention all
the time. (dog's dirt, pickpockets, etc.) No, Dave, the place where a festival
takes place is also very important. When I was in Buxton, I took the opportunity
to make a trip in the lovely Peak District. When I was in Harrogate I visited
one of the most spectacular places in Britain : Malham Cove. Attending a
festival is not only watching films all the time. Making films is my passion,
but enjoying the countryside is also very important. Guernsey is a lovely
place to be !

We are very pleased to hear that Willy and Vera enjoyed their visit to the
Guernsey Lily Festival - and especially pleased with Willy's glowing report!
thank you Willy for your kind words on the festival, and on Guernsey in general.
I think if Willy made a travelogue/documentary on Guernsey, the tourist figures
would increase! His Cotswolds film is a perfect 'template' for this type
of film. Guernsey does seem to bring people back time and again - for example,
Norman and Dorothy Speirs and their Scottish friends have only missed one
of the fourteen Lily festivals! And this year, some first time visitors have
confirmed that they will be coming back. Now of course, we start all over
again planning next years festival - getting the entry forms ready,etc,etc.
We too visited the Peak District on a Buxton festival - great scenery, and
also did a Yorkshire Dales trip which was organised by the IAC when their
festival was in Harrogate for the first time. The Dales trip was superb,
with perfect weather and we were taken to such places as Bolton Abbey and
picturesque little towns and villages (plenty of material for Willy here).
So yes, by all means discover these areas between watching movies at festivals.
I think Willy may be a little hard on Blankenberge by describing it as 'shabby'
but Mary and I will certainly be revisiting Bruges - in hopefully finer weather
than we had on the UNICA trip - this really is a beautiful town (more material
for Willy!)with its canals and wonderful architecture - Belgium's answer
to Venice!

Peter Rouillard

[Willy Van der Linden]

"Peter Rouillard" <rouillard@cwgsy.net> wrote:

I think if Willy made a travelogue/documentary on Guernsey, the tourist
figures
would increase! His Cotswolds film is a perfect 'template' for this type
of film. Guernsey does seem to bring people back time and again - for example,
Norman and Dorothy Speirs and their Scottish friends have only missed one
of the fourteen Lily festivals! And this year, some first time visitors
have
confirmed that they will be coming back.

Of course I am always willing to make a documentary on Guernsey, but for
my Cotswolds film I crossed the channel about 5 times and my good English
friend Brian lives in Devon. The Cotswolds are half way ... I always make
films for fun. I don't want to earn any money.For "Yoda" I only had to hire
the triumph sports car and the B & B (one night) for Colin Howett. It took
two half days to film the sequences with Colin and Yoda, but we were always
in a hurry. I prepared everything at home and had a chat with Colin who lives
in my home town Antwerp. Yoda's boss received a bottle of the best wine
and also a copy of my film. She was very happy with it.

Michael Slowe suggested offering the film to some organisation in Gloucestershire
in order to raise funds for charity which I did. I was sure that people in
the Cotswolds would appreciate my film. The B & B lady for instance seemed
to be very enthusiastic and also other people in the Cotswolds were more
than positive. I only asked the organisation, a British Tourist Authority
office, to give money to the Gloucestershire Fire Brigade for instance
and also to pay for copyright.

In Belgium I always pay for copyright. It means that I am allowed to use
any sort of music, that I am allowed to take part in festivals, but that
I am not allowed to commercialize my films. I was a bit surprised that the
manager of that office in England did not reply. I had given her a copy with
Dutch subtitles. If I can do anything for charity I always do. That's typically
English. The Dutch are also outstanding in these things. I am sure that many
B & B's in the Cotswolds would like to have a copy of my film. They could
give it to their guests to show what places they could visit in this area.
That's also what the B & B lady told me. The BTA-office I wrote a letter
to is in Cirencester. In my film this place is not mentioned. The famous
Roman Museum in Cirencester was closed for a long time when I was in the
Cotswolds. Is that the reason why they did not reply ?

Once the secretary general of the European Schools asked me to make a film
for the 50th anniversary of the first EU-school in Luxemburg. He did not
agree with one sentence : that the tax payer had to pay for the new and expensive
buildings. Of course I thought of making a documentary. He wanted a promotion
film. I am not a rebel at all, on the contrary. I wanted to delete that "awful"
sentence for him, but - believe me or not - my casablanca crashed because
I changed the wires while it was still on ... ! My film on the European schools
was gone ! Luckily I still had that documentary for the festivals. One judge
in England and one in Belgium said that the pupils of the European schools
are too spoilt. Therefore they didn't like the film. I didn't agree with
these judges. I just wanted to show the viewers that pupils of a European
school are "high society children". After all I was not so lucky with my
"Schola Euopaea Symphony" !

Anyway I am always willing to make a film on Guernsey, but it takes some
time (and money)to finish such a major production (one or two years ?).
I would also like to make this film very original then. I cannot use a guide,
a dog and a sports car anymore. I will have to thoink about something different
then, which I always enjoy. A travelogue maker must be creative otherwise
his film is very boring.

Mary and I will certainly be revisiting Bruges - in hopefully finer weather

than we had on the UNICA trip - this really is a beautiful town (more material
for Willy!)with its canals and wonderful architecture - Belgium's answer
to Venice!

Yes, you're right, Peter ! Bruges is the Venice of the North, but I have
already seen numerous films about Bruges in Belgium and as you already know
I already intend to make a film about the war graves in that Flemish region.
The theme : "No more War !".

Peter Rouillard

[Peter Rouillard]

"Willy Van der Linden" <vanderlindenhig@telenet.be> wrote:

I am always willing to make a film on Guernsey, but it takes some
time (and money)to finish such a major production (one or two years ?).
I would also like to make this film very original then. I cannot use a guide,
a dog and a sports car anymore. I will have to think about something different
then, which I always enjoy. A travelogue maker must be creative otherwise
his film is very boring.

Mary and I will certainly be revisiting Bruges - in hopefully finer weather
than we had on the UNICA trip - this really is a beautiful town (more material
for Willy!)with its canals and wonderful architecture - Belgium's answer
to Venice!

Yes, you're right, Peter ! Bruges is the Venice of the North, but I have
already seen numerous films about Bruges in Belgium and as you already know
I already intend to make a film about the war graves in that Flemish region.
The theme : "No more War !".

Yes, I take your point Willy, about the time and expense for such a film
- particularly for a perfectionist as yourself. You will need long holidays
in Guernsey to achieve this! But if you ever decide to make such an epic,
we in Guernsey will give you all the help we can - and if anyone can come
up with an original approach, I'm sure you can! However,in the meantime,we
await your film about the war graves in the Flemish region with much interest.

Peter

[Cinema For Thurso Group]

A few months ago I was sitting outside Kirkwall Cathedral killing time before
heading to Stromness for the ferry back to Thurso.
It was a lovely sunny day as I sat watching the world go by (something we
find so easy to do up here). Suddenly my old mobile went 'beep beep', Aha!
a message had arrived. So out came the brick like phone and into the messages
menu- time/date of message, scroll down, senders number, scroll down, the
message, "Isn't Wick a lovely place to be?" I burst out laughing.
For those of you not familiar with the joke you'll just have to ask around
or maybe visit the place. (ooo!)

[Willy Van der Linden]

"Cinema For Thurso Group" <canuimagine@btopenworld.com> wrote:

A few months ago I was sitting outside Kirkwall Cathedral killing time before
heading to Stromness for the ferry back to Thurso.

About ten years ago I made a trip to the Orkney Islands. I remember the red

bricked Kirkwall Cathedral very well. My wife and I were sitting on a low
wall in front of the cathedral for a while. We also went to Stromness for
the ferry back to the mainland. We had spent a fornight on the Orkney Islands.
We had hired a lovely cottage in a bay between Kirkwall and Stromness. At
high tide the water of the ocean was just under our window ! We also visited
other islands like Westray and Papa Westray. Of course I will never forget
the prehistoric site Skara Brae. On the Orkney mainland I visited a prehistoric
tumulus. A farmer showed me the skull of a prehistoric man. On Hoy I visited
a military cemetry. A ship was attacked by the Germans in the second World
War. Many soldiers were killed. I also remember a small church built by Italian
prisoners of war. Do they still make those high Orkney chairs that give protection
against the fierce winds and those fine Orkney jewels ? I also enjoyed a
malt Orkney whisky.

On our way back Stromness was very busy. There was a carnival parade with
pipers and vikings. The ocean was a bit rough when we passed the Old Man
of Hoy. About all this I made a film with Dutch spoken commentary. I should
see it again, but I fear that the quality is bad (sound, editing, ...) Anyway,
also Orkney is a lovely place to be, my Scottish friend !

[Cinema For Thurso Group]

A ship was attacked by the Germans in the second World
War. Many soldiers were killed.
The ship was the Royal Oak, sunk in September 1939. The survivors were shipped

over to Thurso and billeted to houses there. Some stayed with my great grandfather
who was himself a veteran of WW1 with the rank of Major.
Caithness's history is as rich as Orkney and archeologists say there's more
to be found in Caithness than Orkney- no-on has yet taken the time to look
so our attractions are somewhat thinner in tourist terms.
But yes, Orkney is a lovely place with lovely people and Caithness is quite
good too.