I asked the opinion of a filmmaker I'm working with, who will be in the 2012 RIIFF next weekend....here are her comments
''We're in RIIFF 2012 next weekend and I'd actually have to look to see what their release says on Withoutabox. The "agreement" is usually just a small box on the screen that you scroll past, so I haven't been good about recording the rights each festival wants. However, I do feel that more and more film festivals are asking for the right to a library copy or to archive the film after the festival (instead of returning the submission DVD). As a filmmaker, I think that it is fine for the film to be archived or used for in-house DVD viewing, but the minute anyone takes it home, they can burn a gazillion copies, so that makes me nervous. Also, the libraries should know that they will most likely receive a copy with a "screener" watermark on it, so the quality won't be good enough for a projected "educational screening". Separately, if the library wants to screen the film as an event, they should DEFINITELY contact the filmmaker because if there is any publicity or ticket sales for the film, they could inadvertently violate the film's distribution agreements and then the filmmaker could come after them. Hope that helps!'' ____________ Suzanne Harle Founder/Executive Director GREEN PLANET FILMS PO Box 247 Corte Madera, CA 94976 415.377.5471 mobile www.greenplanetfilms.org www.greenplanetstream.org a nonprofit organization VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
