“I don’t know about you, but this sounds like heaven to me. Whether you are a film aficionado or a filmmaker with a film entered, a film festival is an exciting experience and one you will want to repeat as often as possible.” These words are the experience of Chris Gore that he writes in the first 10 pages of his book “The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide”. In this book he talks about going to Film Festivals all over the world and enjoying each and every one of them.
There was a time when there were only few film festivals and people were not enthusiasts enough as the studios controlled every aspect of film making. However, with the rise of Indie films every state in the country had its own film festival. In California alone there is around twenty or more film festivals.
There was a time when films did not happen at all unless they were under the sponsorship of the some studios. There was no chance at all for a little guy getting his or her film out there. But now the whole thing has been changed. The little guy can show his films anywhere he want, this gave a call to the rise of independent film festivals all over the world.
The first few film festivals where people submitted their films were the Sundance, The Tribeca, and The Toronto Film Festivals. Later however there came lots of other film festivals where people could submit their films and show their talent. This is rather like a lottery; if you don’t play you can’t win. If you don’t enter your film you can’t get it shown. You must continue to present your motion picture as many times as you can until you finally get approval into a festival.
Always remember that film festival board may have 800 submissions and only 40 spots for a film to be shown. So in the beginning you might get few rejection letters until you get your first acceptance letters. Many a refusal letter has given the reason that they had far too many submissions to even view them all. My advice to you is that once you have your film done and you have the very first date they are opening for submissions then put forward your film. Don’t wait until the last minute.
Make sure that your film has entered the right festival. I am not sure about the category, but you can get your film into the general drift. Also do not forget to read your application cautiously. It may require your entry to be mailed, done online, or even in person.
While presenting an independent motion picture, be very careful about the timings. If it is too long then do some trimming work. Just to be on the safer side if the film is say about 10 minutes long, make it 9 minutes. Do not let them a chance to give you a rejection letter for any cause.
Rejections can be a bit funny at the same time tricky. The “Slamdance” film festival came about as an answer to the rejections from “Sundance”. The Sundance Festival shows its plays in Park City, Utah at the same time in Park City, Utah Slamdance also shows it plays. This is a purposeful attempt to show the films that have been over looked or rejected by Sundance.
Go ahead and do your own search of film festivals and check out their application processes. Do these research sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until the last minute.
Archive for February, 2010
The love of films becomes a celebration in London for two weeks during ‘The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival’. The capital city is buzzing with people who love films and filmmakers from all over the world. This festival gives a chance to view films, documentaries and provide opportunity to meet filmmakers and celebrity artists. It also promotes world films that may not be available for screening in the cinemas across the nation. The festival is an important venue for development and promotion of films from UK and abroad and it showed around 184 feature films and 133 short films from 43 countries, at various venues in London. The Festival Started with the opening night gala showing David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’ and finished with the closing night gala showing Wes Anderson’s ‘The Darjeeling Limited’, a train voyage across India. Few films from the festival are reviewed below.
Closing The Ring: Richard Attenborough/ UK-Canada
Richard Attenborough has done it again. ‘Closing the ring’ is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a long time. This film is about the value of love and the loss of it, inability to grieve, loyalty among friends and above all, the heartache and suffering brought on by war. Shirley MacLain and Christopher Plummer have excelled in their performance. Christopher Plummer showed his adoring fans that he could still win hearts, just as he did all those years ago as the handsome captain in ‘Sound of Music’! ‘Jimmy’ (Martin Mac Cann) was a delight to watch along with Pete Postlethwaite. Richard Attenborough shows us that there is no shame in falling love and keep it live, no matter what your age is. ‘A film that touches your heart and tells you something’, that’s what ‘Closing the Ring’ does and therefore, an example of good cinema truly at its best. Question & Answer time with Lord Attenborough after the screening was sheer delight.
The Darjeeling Limited: Wes Anderson/USA
A light hearted film that tells the story of three brothers who haven’t seen each other for a year going on a train journey through the deserts of India. They are trying to bond with each other and with the beautiful but unknown conditions in India. Wes Anderson’s film brings comedy, conflict among siblings and some hilarious moments. These brothers who love each other don’t like each other very much and their odd behaviour comes as no surprise once you meet their mother (Angelica Houston), who gives a great performance along with Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. A good laugh and a film you don’t want to miss.
I’m Not There: Todd Haynes/USA
‘I’m not There’ means just that! It’s a biographical journey into Bob Dylan’s life, portrayed by six actors, but Bob Dylan, as the title says, is not there! If you think an 11-year-old black boy, Marcus Carl Franklin, who is splendid as Bob Dylan is odd, the worse is yet to come; but that’s surely the best, Dylan played by a woman! Cate Blanchett in black and white turns up as Bob Dylan and you don’t for a moment suspect that it’s a woman. She is just magnificent and puts the other ‘Bobs’ in the shade. It’s confusing and chaotic if you are not a Dylan fan, but entertaining till the closing credits. The music however is real stuff and as the closing credits roll in, songs like the original ‘Knock knock knock’n on heaven’s door’ keeps you on your seat.
The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford: Andrew Domonik /USA
Definitely ‘a Brad Pitt film’ and everyone else fades away in the background. The film is based on the legend of Jesse James, ‘the gentleman outlaw’ who became an American icon. Brad Pitt has shown his acting ability yet again, only more so this time. He has graduated in the ‘Jack Nicholson School of acting’! A film worth watching and the cinematography is at its best. Perhaps the film would have been even better, if it did not stretch that long after the assassination of Jesse James; great film, in spite of this and not to be missed.
In Memory of Me: Saverio Costanzo/ Italy
As the film is set in Venice one expects to see at least a bit of this beautiful city; but that was not to be. The camera has eyes for the outside world only when a large ship slips by the window of the seminary. ‘In Memory of me’ is a very intense film that goes into the inner depth of spirituality and the conflicts encountered. The story is about Andrea who is accepted into a Jesuit seminary, isolated in an island. The recruits undergo very strict training to prepare them for the disciplined work that awaits these soldiers of Christ. The rituals are repeated in a methodical fashion everyday and that includes cleaning of the corridors of that magnificent monastic building. The inmates’ personality is analyzed to such an extent that they start to doubt their own spirituality and whether such mental cruelty is justified.
The silence that lingers in the magnificent corridors is mesmerizing, to say the least! We have heard of severe Mother Superiors, but the Father Superior in this film is frightening. Some find this fearsome training unbearable and decide to leave. Andrea too reaches his turning point, but finally realizes that he is made for better things and God has a purpose for him and decides to follow Him. This film is a lesson in itself in how one gives himself to God, then loose that faith and ultimately regaining the love of God and the faith. An intense film that makes one think.
Things We Lost in the Fire: Susanne Bier/USA
It tells the story of Audrey (Halle Berry), her loss and how she tries to rebuild her life after loosing the love of her life in a tragic accident. Her envious life with her husband ‘Brian’ and the two beautiful children are shown as flashback. Audrey decides to seek help from her husband’s childhood friend, Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), who is a drug addict and quite dangerous at times. Though she did not like him to be her husband’s friend in the past, she felt drawn to him now as they both had one thing in common- the love they both shared for Brian. She asks Jerry to move into the converted garage that was refurnished following a fire at the house and Audrey and the children form a bond with him. Anyone would wish to have somebody like Jerry in a situation like this, but not a drug addict though! Complications set in and the emotional turmoil in dealing with the sense of loss, drug addiction, rehabilitation and the society’s role in all this are portrayed very well.
Halle Berry has given a magnificent performance. Benicio Del Toro was dazzling and he has given his best ever. It was a delight to see Halle Berry at the screening, looking gorgeous in a brilliant blue backless gown! Susanne Bier (Director) and Halle Berry answered questions from the audience after the film: a beautiful film not to be missed.
Richard Attenborough, Wes Anderson, Susanne Bier, Saverio Constanzo, Andrew Dominik, Shivajee Chandrabhushan, Shamim Sarif, Amitab Bachan, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry and Adrien Brody were among the celebrities who attended the screening of their films. It was truly a festival of films, films that touched the audience and made them think. The two weeks of the festival was a stage for meeting the best filmmakers from all over the world, listen to them and see films of extreme diversity.
Related items
When a science fiction film is being produced, it’s not surprising that many of the film’s backgrounds are created using computer generated imaging or built on a studio back lot. That’s because this is a fantastic film that’s not based in reality, or at least for the most part. But, when a film is trying to deliver a believable story, studios will usually opt for actual, physical Los Angeles film locations to serve as the backdrop.
For this type of movie, the producers may require an average-looking single family dwelling in which the film’s family will be experiencing some type of inner turmoil or crisis. Or, they may need a slightly dilapidated apartment building to lend their story the realistic atmosphere of inner city plight.
While studio craftsman and technicians can pull off some incredible effects and magical moments; this type of realism can only be found at Los Angeles film locations that actually exist.
Additionally, when a studio is producing a film, television program or commercial, time is money. And most executives don’t want to wait for a backdrop to be created from scratch; they would rather pay for a Los Angeles film location that’s already available and ready for filming. Therefore, studios of all sizes are constantly on the lookout for suitable film locations in Los Angeles or the surrounding area that conveniently fit within their script’s set descriptions and timeframe allowances.
For those individuals who register their property as a Los Angeles film location, their property will be made available for viewing through online databases like the one available from FiveStarFilmLocations.com. It is through these directories that many studio location scouts find their ideal Los Angeles film locations. Once your property is chosen as a film location, the studio will pay you a daily rate for the right to use it in their production. And depending on a number of factors, that could be quite a significant amount of money.
To learn more about making money by registering your property as a Los Angeles film location, visit FiveStarFilmLocations.com today or call 323-654-3900.
Related items
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
Wedding Crashers – 3 Stars (Good)
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby – 2 Stars (Average)
There are comedies that can make you laugh that are not good films because they lack any meaningful substance or worthwhile message. An example would be “Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby”, worth a few laughs with Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby, but not able to get you emotionally involved in a character’s plight.
Then there are comedies that can make you laugh that appear to have a lack of substance, but slowly pull you into a character as you become emotionally involved with his situation. An example would be “Wedding Crashers” with Owen Wilson as John Beckwith.
So what makes one film good and another just average? The difference is in the script, the direction and the acting.
For openers, Talladega Nights was written by Will Farrell, who also plays the lead role, and by Adam McKay, who is the director. My experience has been that when the director of a film also writes the script, the script, the direction and the movie all suffer the majority of the time. When the lead actor of the film is also a writer of the film, the situation becomes compounded, like the blind leading the deaf through a minefield.
Both Farrell and McKay try to tell a story with their comedy but fail because not only is the comedy unbelievable, but the character of Ricky Bobby is not likeable enough to convince us that there is human drama unfolding here.
McKay joins a long list of other writer/directors who have bombed in these dual roles, including Vanessa Parise (terrible rating) for Kiss the Bride; Peter Weir (average rating) for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; Nancy Myers (average rating) for Something’s Gotta Give; Thomas Bezucha (average rating) for The Family Stone; Michael McGowan (average rating) for Saint Ralph; Jared Hess (terrible rating) for Napoleon Dynamite; Robert Rodriguez (terrible rating) for Once Upon a Time in Mexico; and Paul Thomas Anderson (terrible rating) for Punch-Drunk Love.
Exceptions to this dual role as writer/director are Kirk Jones (excellent rating) in Waking Ned Devine, and Tim McCanlies (excellent rating) for Secondhand Lions. Both Jones and McCanlies are master storytellers in these films, and other writer/directors who have failed could learn a lot from them.
Wedding Crashers, another funny comedy, is just the opposite of Talladega Nights in that Steve Faber and Bob Fisher can tell a good story, and David Dobkin can direct a good comedy film. Their effort comes together because Owen Wilson as John Beckwith is likeable and has the acting style and ability to emotionally connect with the viewer.
We can see ourselves in his predicament—living a life of fun and pleasure at the expense of others, and then developing a conscience that foreshadows personal growth.
After taking advantage of so many lovely, unsuspecting bridesmaids, he slows down enough to notice Rachel McAdams as Claire Cleary, who shares his sense of humor and light-heartedness. The more he looks at Claire, the more he wants to look at Claire.
Claire, however, is spoken for by a person she has not yet discovered is really a self-absorbed, dictatorial, manipulative, rich jerk, whereas John Beckwith appears more worthless but is wanting and willing to change his ways.
It is interesting that Vince Vaughn as Jeremy Grey’s character, Beckwith’s wedding crasher partner and best friend, is not nearly as likeable, although he also decides to get married to Claire’s immature, dippy sister Gloria Cleary (Isla Fisher).
I saw the unrated and uncut version of Talladega Nights, and the uncorked (not rated) version of Wedding Crashers, the theatrical version was rated R with sexual content, nudity and filthy language.
Despite watching the additional footage not shown in theaters, and enduring the sexual content and language, I would watch Wedding Crashers again but would not watch Talladega Nights again if you offered to pay me.
Moviegoers are fooled less often than you may think, and it becomes evident at awards time. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, was nominated in 2007 for the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Movie Comedy, but did not win. Wedding Crashers was nominated in 2006 for the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Movie Comedy and did win.
Related items
The advances of technology have given us many new ways of listening to music. These range from the radio stations to the use of the internet. With all of these forms of music you can hear music from different parts of the world. Of all of these methods the most popular one today is still the live radio stations. The music that you can hear from these stations is a mixture of old time favorites and contemporary.
You will find that these live music radio stations can be found in different countries around the world. They provide a range of music that caters for a vast range of audiences. Besides music these radio stations also provide people with the opportunity of hearing the latest news. This is helpful in the times when you are traveling and you can’t get to a television in time.
There are some live radio stations where the listeners have the ability of listening to an ongoing soap opera type of show. These kinds of broadcasts are very popular with the listeners of these radio stations. While this may seem to be old fashioned with the advent of television there are still places in the world where stories unfold before the listeners as they hear the story form the words of different radio actors and actresses.
While the majority of us love to watch TV to see what happens in our favorite game of sports, this is still possible with live radio stations. These stations will have commentators who are at the games themselves. Since they are right where the action is you will hear what is occurring as the game progresses. Now while hearing a game is not as exciting as watching it there are advantages to this.
While you need to watch TV in order to see your programme live radio stations provide this service to you. And the best thing about the use of these programs is that once you have set the radio to your channel you can continue with other activities. By listening to live radio stations you will never need to miss either the activity that is happening or the work that you have at hand.
Since each neighborhood has many different live radio stations located in their area you should find a couple that will provide you with many different options for listening. When you use a live radio station for your music or news or even the sports you are connecting with many others who all share this pleasure.
