I have ignored the festival circuit (and the ego gratification that comes with being at screenings of my own work) for most of my time making movies. I have no idea if this has helped me or simply hindered my ability to make connections with other, like minded film makers. There is a community aspect that comes from meeting other film makers that is not readily reproduced outside of these events. I can see how it could be very important to someone just starting out, having these connections meeting like-minded people. I generally have more fun when I'm not showing work for exactly that reason.
Michael Betancourt Savannah, GA USA michaelbetancourt.com twitter.com/cinegraphic | vimeo.com/cinegraphic www.cinegraphic.net | the avant-garde film & video blog On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 10:29 PM, Dominic Angerame < dominic.anger...@gmail.com> wrote: > PS. In a consumer society the only power the consumer has is to boycott > purchasing. In France general strikes shut down governments. The same can > happen in the underground filmmaking community. Boycott those organizations > that do not really help filmmakers as a whole community. > > Dominic > > > On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 7:26 PM, Dominic Angerame < > dominic.anger...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Well articulated. >> >> Dominic >> >> >> On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 5:35 PM, chris bravo <iamdir...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> This is an interesting topic, maybe a few points to add, maybe not >>> totally thought out, but I am currently doing festivals with a film so I >>> have been spending a lot of time thinking about these issues, particularly >>> as they pertain to documentary festivals. >>> >>> - Yes, I wish festivals didn't charge fees, it definitely feels very >>> scammy, especially in the Without-a-Box era which is a debilitating >>> humiliation festivals are perpetrating on filmmakers. But backrooming fee >>> waivers is at the heart of the problem, right? I mean that's a serious >>> structural inequality because who is going to have leverage in that system? >>> A young person from a fly-over film school with an off kilter movie? And >>> the (in my opinion) disturbingly conservative/repetitive/samey programming >>> happening in american festivals I think bears this out. Professional >>> programmers who spend all year schmoozing and glad handing (AND GETTING >>> PAID) is not a system that works very well, and its not a system that >>> filmmakers can access by sending plucky emails to programming directors. I >>> feel that the "only fools pay entrance fees" is a bit blaming the victim. >>> (You didn't say exactly that, but I have heard it). There is no real >>> alternative. >>> >>> - I think the good news is that, while festivals have bent over >>> backwards to ingratiate themselves to economic forces (True/False, Rooftop >>> Films, Hot Docs), they have rendered themselves almost completely useless >>> at actually helping filmmakers find an audience for their work. They are so >>> completely focused on a pseudo "entrepreneurial" eco-system of media making >>> and distribution that that nobody pays attention to them but themselves. >>> EG: These "partnerships" that festivals are promoting with bizarre, >>> off-brand, online streaming sites is sad to see. It seems to me, from my >>> observation, that even though it SEEMS that festivals are indispensably >>> important for filmmakers, in actuality they have never been more >>> superfluous. Whatever the audience for your film, festivals (generally >>> speaking) are not really going to help you build it. There are way better >>> ways to engage communities of people and get your work in front of them. >>> >>> >>> On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Medford Reinhardt < >>> medfordreinha...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> This article by Sean Farnel is relevant to what you're saying: >>>> http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/towards-a-filmmaker-bill-of-rights-for-festivals >>>> >>>> A few more thoughts: >>>> >>>> 1) This is just in my opinion of course, but you shouldn't ever pay a >>>> festival entry fee. Send an email directly to the programer with a write-up >>>> or a link to part of or the entirety of the film. Ask if they're >>>> interested. If they're not, you've saved money, and if they are interested, >>>> you will almost never be asked (in my experience) to supply that entry fee. >>>> The dirty little secret of most film festivals is that a HUGE amount of >>>> what is shown comes from solicitation and from private correspondences. >>>> Only a small percentage of submissions are actually accepted. I have had >>>> many conversations with programmers that have corroborated this. >>>> >>>> 2) A film festival often cannot logistically expand its dates. Finding >>>> the space and infrastructure to screen films often occurs the year prior to >>>> the festival, and predicting the number of entries is of course impossible >>>> at that time. Still, I understand your frustration. But any festival that >>>> receives entries that are comparable to the number of slots they have is >>>> just not getting enough entires. >>>> >>>> 3) Let festivals know when they are being shitty. I suspect filmmakers >>>> are often timid and afraid to confront these kind of behaviours for fear of >>>> being cast in a negative light, but I suspect that most festivals would >>>> take it very seriously. >>>> >>>> 4) Something very important to remember. Amazing films get rejected >>>> from festivals all the time, for a wide variety of reasons: too much >>>> representation from one country, having too many films that work in the >>>> same style, a film that can't be placed into any of the existing shorts >>>> programs. There are many reasons and every year, programmers often will >>>> pass along films to other festivals because of this. A rejection from a >>>> festival is not a judgment of quality. If the programmers are worth a damn, >>>> it can have many other meanings around it. >>>> >>>> >>>> Medford >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> FrameWorks mailing list >>>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>> >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >> > > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > >
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