BIAFF RESULTS 2023

[Howard-Smith]

This is the month when we filmmakers get to receive our results and judges’ comments.
I submitted nine films last year and the highest star rating I received was 4 stars (for six of my entries).
This year I submitted ten films and I’ve already resigned myself to the very real possibility that once again none of my films will have been awarded more than 4 stars.
If I’m wrong then I shall be pleasantly surprised.
It’s extremely difficult to break through to 5 stars for a lone filmmaker, as a former BIAFF judge pointed out to me recently, being in competition with films made by groups and teams. It’s just a matter of making films to the best of one’s ability and hoping for the best, and taking Michael Slowe’s advice regarding not taking awards too seriously!

[Albert Noble]

I recently watched an animated version of Pinocchio. It wasn't cartoon
but real object animation taking years to plan and make.

As the end credits rushed passed I estimated how many people had been
engaged it it's production......well over three thousand !
This being typical today of other intensive special effects films too.

It was a sobering thought that as I have made/making animated films
as a one man band, this enormous difference, far greater even than any amateur film
group productions credit list.

Shakespeare, Constable, Beethoven, etc all worked alone too.

[Dave Watterson]

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is amazing - and watching the "Making Of" featurettes roused my admiration ... but it is not the original story and he marries it with the rise of fascism ... too much for my taste.

As for old fine artists - some had mush of the grunt work done by apprentices with the master just doing the face, or some key elements. Shakespeare clearly needed actors and theatre crew for his plays ...

But you are right that this is an area of film making, where amateur v pro shows up most. There are computer programs to help with some aspects of animation ... but essentially ity is down to the dedicated enthusiast with an idea.

[Albert Noble]

I might be out of date now but the only group of amateur film makers who made an animated film
where more than one man was involved in its production, was the Grasshopper Group,
of Berners St. London. back in the 1960 era. started by John Daborn.
Even there, most members were sole film makers too, such as Stuart Wynn Jones
and myself, etc.

Very few here will remember this bit of amateur film history and I hope that
youngsters here will excuse my nostalgic recollection.

[TimStannard]

Shakespeare, Constable, Beethoven, etc all worked alone too.

Though quite a lot of Shakespeare's and Beethoven's work required several others for it to be appreciated by the masses

[Michael Slowe]

I strongly disagree with Howard that lone film makers are at a disadvantage as opposed to a team. Over the last fifty years or so I've only worked alone and find that I can go by instinct, both in shooting and editing and would find it impossible to discuss with others how I was feeling and thinking. Of course, I am only making documentaries and appreciate that complicated dramas require many different talents and many hands. Different genres demand different approaches.

[Howard-Smith]

Michael, it’s what I was told by a person who has been a judge in various short film competitions, regarding lone filmmakers such as myself being in competition with people making films in teams. I’d mentioned that I was bracing myself not to be given more than 4* again this year, like last year. Here’s part of what I was told:
“ So year on year the 5* awards move further towards the genres the judges see on TV. You accept what acting talent, wardrobe, equipment you're given. You rely on natural lighting, domestic camcorders with on-camera mics and the good will of those around you. How on earth can you compete? It's a recipe for constant unhappiness if you're always comparing yourself to others in different circumstances. Be content with being the best filmmaker you can be, and you've certainly proved you can do that.” I can see the sense in what is being said here. But rest assured I’m not interested in changing my way of making films. Like you, Michael, I’m not a ‘team player’ and will continue to be a ‘one man band’ even if it means I never again receive higher than a 4* award. My achievements to date at BIAFF have been enough for me to have been granted an IAC Master Movie Maker Fellowship and I’m proud of that, it’s the highest accolade given by the IAC. I have no more to prove and can just carry on making my films purely for pleasure regardless of what star ratings they receive.

[Michael Slowe]

Howard, yes, we both can see the sense of what that judge was saying but I still maintain that he is not totally correct. A full blown complicated drama would of course benefit from all the professional assets, but not all 'one man' films would. I have been fortunate enough over many years to have had films broadcast and exhibited internationally (sadly not recently!), and at no point was there a comment that "this one man production would benefit from professional input". Anyway Howard, your splendid productions give loads of pleasure both to audiences and participants, quite regardless of how many "Stars" it may be granted.

[Howard-Smith]

Many thanks Michael, your generous comments are much appreciated.

[John Simpson]

I look forward to seeing the BIAFF films, I see they are going to be shown over 8 days

[Howard-Smith]

Yes John, 8 days, but the first 5 days are just online on Zoom. While it’s good to have extra films shown like this, as a filmmaker I want my films shown at the live event Saturday to Monday as for me that’s what BIAFF is all about, seeing your films on a big screen with a live audience. It’s nowhere near as satisfying having films just shown online.

[John Simpson]

I completely understand Howard. When you have made a high quality film it needs to be shown in a blacked out cimema where the audience is subsumed, like in "Un Chien Andalou" . Peferably with a big audience.

Is it possible nowadays? Answers on a postcard!

[Michael Slowe]

John, it's getting rarer I have to say. Even the humble club show has all but disappeared, BIAFF and some continental festivals are all that is available for the ambitious film maker. To be perfectly honest, I have taken to watching commercial films at home via streaming rather than in the cinema, that's a terrible admission I know.

[Howard-Smith]

There are still a few good Film Festivals with live screenings in the UK in which I’ve had films shown on big screens including The Birmingham Film Festival (with a decent sized audience in November 2022), and The Wolverhampton Film Festival.
As with you, Michael, I almost exclusively watch feature films at home these days but I do have a home cinema with a 9 ft wide screen. I tried watching Everything Everywhere All At Once tonight but I couldn’t get on with it at all and didn’t finish it. I personally can’t see why it won all those Oscars.

[Michael Gough]

There was an interesting discussion in this thread (March 3rd-8th) between Michael Slowe and Howard-Smith about the pros and cons of working as a lone video maker. Despite their obvious differences of style they are both lone workers who maintain personal control over all their productions. Although I have occasionally collaborated with others I am predominantly also a lone worker, mainly in documentaries.
Howard expressed a concern, based on something he heard, that lone workers in fiction films were not likely to be fairly compared with dramas with extended credit lists. I’m sure there are many who have been frustrated by that effect in the past.
Recently I also heard something that frustrated me about my main area of filmmaking. It was that fiction films were described by a judge as being “real films” as compared with documentaries. I have always believed that documentaries also tell stories. Some can be more “dramatic” than any fiction.
As Michael said “Different genres demand different approaches”. As Howard said we should “be content with being the best filmmaker we can be”. I say we should look forward to seeing some excellent fictions at BIAFF, no matter how many people are involved, generously mixed with some powerfully “real” documentaries.