We are very pleased to announce the final list of films that have been selected for screening at our festival 21 - 23 February 2012. Thank you to all the filmmakers and Universities who submitted films this year, as usual we have been very impressed with the quality of production in UK Universities, well done to all!

Having done the selection also enabled us to put together our trailer for next year, let us know what you think!.

 

.2012 selected films

• Alice in Space, dir. Mike J Scott, Manchester Metropolitan University 
• All Day Strolling, dir. Sandro Kakabadze, Goldsmiths University
• Birds & Bee Stings, dir. Ben Whitehead, University of Worcester
• Blind, dir. Alex Lockwood, University of Gloucestershire
• Callum, dir. Michael van der Put, University of the Arts London
• Etude, dir. Ania Hazel Leszczynska, Edinburgh College of Art
• Evolution, dir. Danny Cooke, University of Plymouth
• First The Bird Fell, dir. Sing J Lee, Manchester Metropolitan University
• For Elsie, dir. David Winstone, University of Westminster
• Grub, dir. Annalise Wimmer, Edinburgh College of Art
• Happy Birthday, dirs. Rob Jones & Ted Walker, University of Salford
• I Dream in Colour, dir. Felix Elsen, Middlesex University
• Injuries, dir. Jean-Philippe Blunt, MET Film School
• Jittertree, dir. Tom Bailey, Arts University College Bournemouth
• Kerb, dir. Andrew Edwards, Northumbria University
• Let There Be Animal, dir. Anthony Zygavicius, University of Westminster
• Life and Stuff, dir. Kumar Satkunarasa, Bournemouth University NCCA
• Lost Tracks, dir. Jon Stanford, The London Film School
• Meet Me on the Hill, dir. Gavin Foden, University of Westminster
• Not So Humorous Phases of Spanish Faces, dir. Alex Ashton, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Only Sound Remains, dir. Arash Ashtiani, London Film School
• OurGlass of Cockington, dir. Danny Cooke, University of Plymouth
• Play Nice, dir. George Makin, University of Bolton
• Portrait D'un Français, dir. Sam Haire, Bristol University
• Red Letter, dir. Tom Marshall, University of Westminster
• Rumble Calm, dir. Yucef Hezili, Middlesex University
• Scars You Can't See, dir. Honey Crespo, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Secret of Confession (Tajemnica Spowiedzi), dir. Agata Jagodzinska, Queen Margaret University
• Superliminal, dir. Sebastian Melo, Goldsmiths University of London
• TATÁ, dir. Rosemarie Lerner, Goldsmiths University of London
• Tea for Two, dir. Jack Lowson, Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)
• The Ball, dir. Emal Hakim Khan, Staffordshire University
• The Beach House, dirs. Richard Standen & Tom Stanley, UCA Farnham
• The Brown's Daughter, dir. Coline Brun-Naujalis, Central Saint Martins
• The Changing Faces of India, dir. William Hartley, University of Salford
• The Making Of Longbird, dir. Will Anderson, Edinburgh College of Art
• The Neighbour, dir. Samuel Turner, University of Plymouth
• The Perfect Day, dir. Sisdel Dall, Arts University College Bournemouth
• The Phone Box, dir. Ian Robertson, University of Glasgow
• This Is Not Real, dir. Gergely Wootsch, Royal College of Art
• Wall, dir. Michael Barwise, Farnham University
• Waste: ART, dir. Andy Dow, University of Glasgow
• When The Dust Settles, dir. Tom Stewart, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Yesterday's Tomorrow, dir. Myles Whittingham, Arts University College Bournemouth

                 

 

 

Artist Katia Kameli is on her way to Algiers for a month-long film development workshop with five promising filmmakers from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. We caught up with her at the opening of New Cartography at Cornerhouse.

The driving force behind the project, Katia is determined to give filmmakers from North Africa the opportunities to develop their ideas and their artistic vision in a professional environment.

It all started with the 2006 initiative Bledi in Progress. "In 2004, while filming Bledi a possible scenario, I went to the University of Ben Aknoun and Fine Arts of Algiers and saw their obvious lack of audiovisual equipment.  The students felt quite frustrated with the representations of Algeria abroad and the lack of  a "home grown" outlook on Algerian society on the international artistic scene. The idea for a month long workshop to develop their projects came from these discussions." 

5 films were produced during the month and toured major international festivals and exhibitions. Above all, these workshops really changed the outlook of the participants and they have all taken giant steps towards a professional carrer in video and film. You can watch all 5 films (or extracts) produced during Bledi in Progress on the Belle Ville website (in French) .

Now Trans Maghreb takes the adventure even further, opening up collaboration, exchange and opportunities between Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia - the three countries known as "Maghreb".

“We put a call out for scripts last year and selected the filmmakers on the strength of their ideas" says Katia. “We received over 70 applications and have selected 5 really strong proposals. I am going there on Saturday and I'm bringing a DOP, sound engineer, visual artist and editor with me to help them turn their project into reality."

Having a specialised team on a film production is of vital importance to Katia and she is keen for the young filmmakers to understand how all these elements contribute to the artistic process.

"I am pretty much able to do most roles on a film. If I have to, I can edit, do the sound and everything else but working with a team of specialised professionals makes for far superior work; not only technically but creatively. Nowadays, I would never embark on one of my own projects without my editor and my sound engineer. Not only do their technical skills manage to produce some amazing work I could not achieve to the same level but working as a team really helps to take a step back, focus and produce the work to its full potential. After spending hours shooting and working on a scene, you find it hard to let go of it, even if it does not bring anything to your work as a whole. You need an editor to help you make these harsh decisions (and tell you off!). Sometimes if you do it all yourself you are not always capable of that".

Katia also feels very strongly about bringing a visual artist - other than herself - to the project. " I want the participants to realise how video art is an integral and important part of film practice and to see for themselves the different approach and perspective a visual artist has on filmmaking; it makes them reflect on their practice and opens up new avenues they can explore"

The month will be divided between reworking the scripts, shooting and editing. A  further 5 people who submitted a project but were not selected will be invited as assistants so they can hone their skills in all various aspects of filmmaking.

Talking to Katia reminded us how much these kinds of initiatives are important; "in Algiers there is one cinema school but they don't have a sound department - that's one fundamental aspect of filmmaking that is not even touched upon at film school for lack of technical facilities. The filmmaking scene is still in its infancy throughout the Maghreb and professional and technical means are extremely sparse compared to what is available in Europe.

Culturally, producing video work is not easily accepted by the population at large; it can be difficult to shoot video in Algeria, even taking pictures is frown upon. There is a real distrust of the camera.

This was illustrated by one of last year's filmmaker work. Amina Zoubir's Prends le bus et regardes is an experimental film depicting Algiers’s inhabitants everyday life through their daily bus journeys. "Shooting the film in buses was not easy but easier than we thought. We actually got quite a lot of good responses to the presence of a video crew on the bus from the passengers," says Katia " but when the film was screened in the cinema there was a massive uproar. I remember some people shouting "You should be ashamed of yourself! How can you do this to your parents?" There is still a big cultural barrier to overcome.

It’s been a lot of work putting this project together from scratch – including finding all the funding. Katia’s drive was really impressive, as well as that of her team. “I have a colleague in Algiers who is sorting out all the practicalities; she’s amazing she’s sorting out at least 3 problems a day everyday. Her work is absolutely vital in making this happen”.

Good luck to the selected filmmakers Faouzi Boudjemai; Sophia Djama; Khaled Hafi, Amine Hattou and Abdelaziz Zerrou and to the Trans Maghreb team - we're looking forward to seeing the resulting films

The screenwriter and director Tony Grisoni might be best known for his collaboration with Terry Gilliam on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but his discussion at exposures ranged from his writing process to making short films, the practicalities of directing, and his views of the film industry.
 
Tony talked about the nature of his collaboration with Terry Gilliam, describing it not as hard work but “hard play”, saying that Gilliam “distrusts it if it feels like homework.” The screenplay for Fear and Loathing was a deliberate attempt not to write anything new, drawing dialogue from the novel itself as well as from Hunter S Thompson’s other works. Tony described the Vegas of the film as a dark magnet in the vein of Dante, the protagonist Raoul Duke’s attempts to escape repeatedly drawing him back into an increasingly hellish city.
 
In response to a question about his career, Tony argued that he rejects the idea of a conscious career plan within the film industry. He compared filmmaking to rock and roll, saying that he and his peers were simply “trying to play forever”. After going to film school, Tony got his first job as a runner in the early 1970s, working on BBC-produced films. This led to directing and producing short films, before eventually becoming a screenwriter. Refreshingly, throughout the evening Tony talked about how much fun the film industry is, saying that this is down to the people involved; film people “are like circus people”. Filmmaking has a social, collaborative nature, with the director as the focal point for everything and everyone involved. Tony said that he sees filmmaking as a strange combination of extremely practical decisions and the intangible magic that it can create.
 
Discussing his old fear of public speaking, Tony shared an anecdote about how Terry Gilliam had helped him overcome his fear; “it’s because you think you’ve got something important to say,” Gilliam had told him. Once you realise that you actually don’t have anything important to say, Tony suggested, you’ll be fine.
 
Talking about his writing process, Tony said that the best place to start is in not knowing, and writing should follow the journey of finding out. You have to be able to play and to pretend, and you need to be able to visualise the finished film, complete with cuts, music, lighting, and everything else that goes into creating a scene. You must always stay true to your characters, and let them take you on the story; don’t try to impose anything external. Tony suggested that the first draft should always be written fast; make notes as you go along, so that you’ll have something to go back to when you’ve finished. Similarly, you should end every day of writing while you still have something to do tomorrow.
 
Returning to one of the themes that had run throughout the evening, Tony stressed the collaborative nature of film; after all, you can’t make a film by yourself. Going to film school is a strong foundation, in part because it’s all about surrounding yourself with other people who are doing the same things as you, and building the network of people you’ll collaborate with throughout your career. Over the course of the discussion, Tony gave an inspiring account of filmmaking as exhilarating, fluid, collaborative, and, perhaps above all, fun.

And fellow digital rerporter Dan Shannon manged to grab a quick few words with Tony after the event....

Laura Swift - words and photo
Digital Reporter

Dan Shannon - audio
Digital Reporter

One of the most exciting events last week at the festival was the One World Media Live Pitch. It was a great session where 5 young filmmakers had been whittled down from a group of 70 to battle it out for the One World Media Live Pitch final grand prize of £2,000!  In front of a prestigious panel of documentary film makers and producers each filmmaker had 5 minutes to pitch their idea and were then grilled by the panel and offered feedback on what they had delivered.

The documentary ideas put forward covered an eclectic range of topics ranging from moustaches in India to punks in Algeria. The panels advice was clear and concise with their main questions including 'how is this universal to all?' and 'what is the story?'. A couple of the pitches were in the early research stages and these were offered guidance on how to develop their ideas fully and told they need to be clear from the story what type of production company they want to take their idea forward when complete.

And the winner was.....With The Punk. They were my favourite and gave an excellent, very confident and energetic pitch.  They had a story mapped out and a taster film to show, which highlighted the feel, emotion and pace of the documentary and how the story would unfold.  The presenters were very engaging and the story had a real life journey to it, relevant storyline and was universally linked to all teenagers rebels.

Fellow Digital Reporter Monique Jarrett caught up with panelist Steve Boulton after the event and also got to grab winners Onyeka Igwe and Sofia Bouzidi to congratulate them on scooping the top prize...

And my favourite bit of advice from the event was from filmmaker Olly Lambert who made Tea Boy of Gaza.  He said that the best documentaries are those that do not hit the message home with a hammer but take the smallest story like the little tea boy from Gaza to show the bigger picture such as the political unrest and war happening around him. That bit of advice I will use well!

Sarah Miles - Words and photos
Digital Reporter

Monique Jarrett - Audio
Digital Reporter

 

David Lewis Richardson stepped in to run the workshop at the last minute, and we couldn’t have been in better hands. As well as directing television drama and soaps including Shameless, Eastenders and Hollyoaks, David has directed documentaries, commercials, and music videos, and the workshop was peppered with anecdotes and examples drawn from his professional experience.

The workshop started off with a discussion of the importance of a strong showreel; while showing a broad selection of your work, it also relies on the physicality of acting for moments that capture the viewer’s attention in a short space of time.

Throughout the workshop, David stressed the importance of a relationship of mutual trust and respect between actor and director, and how the director must treat each actor differently.

The directing process begins during casting, and directors will usually already have an idea of what each character will look like. One of the most important functions of the audition process is to see how well the actor can take direction; even if they deliver the scene perfectly the first time, a director should give them other suggestions to see whether they are willing to adapt their performance after feedback. Auditions will also help you to determine whether you can build a rapport with the actor, which is crucial to a successful working relationship.

David stressed that the director must always trust their intuition. If you’re happy with the first take, it’s not always worth doing a second take just for insurance. On the other hand, if your intuition tells you that something’s not right, don’t be afraid to ask for another take. A good performance is simply defined by whether or not you believe it.

Drawing on certain examples from his own experience, David gave some tips on how to work around, and cover up, truly bad acting. Usually the best thing to do is to keep the camera on the better actor for as much of the scene as possible, concentrating on their reactions.

David then turned to the subject of how to direct experienced, well known actors. Even if you’re a little starstruck, you owe it to them and yourself to always trust your intuition and say what you feel; if you’re not true to yourself, any actor will lose respect for you. Even the most successful actors are always looking for direction. Equally, it’s important to listen to the actor’s point of view. Soap actors, for example, may have been playing the same character for decades and will know them inside out.

The workshop was filled with advice and tips from David Lewis Richardson’s hugely varied career, with practical ideas as well as discussions about the importance of intuition and building strong working relationships. Above all, it was a fascinating insight into the many roles of the director.

Laura Swift
Digital Reporter

For those wanting to get into the TV and Radio industry last weeks talk provided some useful tips on how to get ahead. The speakers were Bob Dickinson, Freelance Radio Producer and Cat Lewis, Executive Producer and managing director for Nine Lives Media. 

The talk started with Bob who works mainly for the BBC as a freelancer and gave a good insight into what it's like to work in this fashion as he's had a long and fruitful career working both for the BBC as an employee and as a freelancer. 

He gave details of how to pitch ideas and made the important point, which was later reiterated by Cat - to be successful in this type of career it's all about the IDEAS.  Keep them coming and log them, whether they're small or big, his advice was go nowhere without an ideas book.  His book has been the source of many commissioned radio pieces and he explained how logging small ideas can bloom into much bigger ones.  Another good piece of advice he offered was not to be downhearted. He explained how rejection is a huge part of the process of producing programmes and just because an idea has been rejected once doesnt mean it can't be stored, revisited and revamped at a later date.

The talk then moved onto Cat Lewis,  who started in the business when she was 14 years old as an intern at her local radio station in her spare time.  Savvy from the start she turned a 3 week project into a 3 year one just by asking.  

In her first piece of advice she developed Bob's idea of IDEAS!  She said to be in the business of TV and radio, it is low paid (to start) and long hours so you have to passionate about this route first and foremost.  She also said it pays to immerse yourself and train yourself in this concept of ideas!  Never close your eyes to opportunities and stories around you and ask yourself “will this make a good program”.  Keep a close eye on what's happening at present on TV, radio, in newspapers as well as Art and Design and don't feel that your ideas are not important. 

Next is EXPERIENCE which can be a catch 22 situation, as to get a job in the industry you need the experience but to gain the experience you need the jobs!!!  She said it's great that there are so many vocational courses out there which give a level of experience but within her company and a lot of TV companies it is important to gain a good post grad qualification in TV and Broadcasting. These are the best institutions Cat reccommended for post grad courses...

- UCLAN
- FALMOUTH
- CARDIFF
- CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON

So if this is your career direction check them out.

She also said interestingly that there are no set career ladders in this business - it'ss more of a D.I.Y. ladder.  So to putting it plainly you need to make sure you set your ladder against the right house.  There is no use going for any old job out there.  If you're into the Inbetweeners then why go for a job on BBC Radio 4 - it makes no sense.  You have to make friends in the business, as “people do business with friends” and she suggested that even if you do 2 weeks (recommended amount) of unpaid work, that you do every single little job with passion and enthusiasm as you will be watched. This comes from her own experience running her company.

So to sum it up, to get a job in TV and Radio-
- Get the very best qualifications you can
- Get some experience
- Sell yourself through your ideas (currency of the business)
- Make sure you are pitching for the right job

Simples!!!

And for more pointers check out this book recommendation from the talk – CONFLICT - the Insiders' Guide to Storytelling in Factual/reality TV & Film by Robert Thirkell

Sarah Miles - Words
Karl Doran - Video Capture
Mary Stark - Video Edit
Digitial Reporters Team

Yesterday I was volunteering at the Kudlian Animation workshop which was happening downstairs at Cornerhouse. James Long from Kudlian Software Ltd was showing a group of 15 individuals how to use I Can Animate, an easy-to-use programme to create stop-motion animation that Wallace and Gromit would be proud of.

He brought along a bag full of wacky puppet creations and invited the group to make their own. Using a webcam, the software lets the user take a sequence of pictures which can be played back as a movie. Set the character up in front of the camera and move it a little bit before each photo is taken. Now when the sequence is played back the character will appear to move all by itself. This is the basis for stop-frame animation. The only limit is your imagination. It's also incredibly simple to export the finished film to YouTube or other computer programmes for post-production and editing.

James also showed the group the brand new I Can Animate app which is available for iPhone and iPod Touch (the one with built-in camera). With it you can animate remotely, no wires and no computers needed. The project files can even be copied back onto your computer where you can continue to work on them.

It's amazing how new technology is putting industry-standard tools in the hands of individuals. And with the power of the internet, you can show your films to millions of people.

Rob Birchall
Digital Reporter
@thisisobject
http://thisisobject.co.uk

Do you define yourself as an artist or filmmaker? Is there a place for artists’ films in cinemas, and how do we position filmmakers’ works in galleries?

Last nights panel looked at these issues and explored the directions emerging filmmakers and artists may take to develop a successful artist film practice.

If you missed it catch up with the disscussion here on the live blog we wrote…

Katia Porter
Digital Reporter
@katiaporter
http://www.katiaporter.com

So you've got a great idea for a documentary how do you go about pitching it? Cue the Pitching for Documentary workshop that took place earlier today.

We heard from experienced filmmakers Steve Boulton and Sophie Chalk who gave lots of great advice to those wanting to get their ideas commissioned and onto our TV screens.

Steve Boulton started working on documentaries in 1982 and was a researcher at Granada. He's worked with a whole host of companies including Channel 4, ITV, BBC and Channel 5. Steve started his own company in 2002 and went on to make the documentary Young Nazi and Proud, which won a BAFTA  - not bad hey.

So here's Steve’s advice on how to pitch for a commission -

- It matters that you learn how to sell - the power of persuasion is key.
- It helps to have a reputation, experience or awards within the business.
- If you don’t its important to encapsulate your idea in no more than 100 words to get it across clearly.
- Never give more than two pages for an idea.
- Always start with the nugget of the documentary.
- Know your character.
- Know exactly what you want the documentary to be about.
- Think about who would be involved on the talent side i.e. celebrities, experts.
- Research the people you're pitching to. Each broadcast channel has a genre and specific topics that they are looking for so watch out for those and taylor your pitch. 

Things NOT to do when pitching a documentary -

- Undermind the person/company you're pitching to.
- Do no research into the person/company you're pitching to.

More useful tips from Steve -

- Use a Narrative Ark that shows a clear beginning, middle and end of the documentary.
- Take a few mins sample footage of your documentary that covers the core of your work.
- If pitching about a character it should be about the character and nothing else.
- No graphics should be used unless its explaining something brief.
- Stay clear of music besides the intro and ending.
- Simple is best.
- No fancy editing.
- Communicate your passion for your documentary.
- It’s a hard business so you have to be tough skinned.

Up next was Sophie Chalk. Sophie started working in documentaries in 1989 and over the years has worked with companies including Sky News, TVAM and Yorkshire TV. Sophie set up her own company Rooftop production in 1998 and also works for the International Broadcasting Trust.

Here's Sophie’s advice on making and pitching documentaries:

- Documentaries that are about misery don’t work well.
- Pitch to a company that you like and who work with similar topics as your documentary.
- Being turned down becomes a way of life, dont take it personally, be thick skinned and passionate.
- If it's an international documentary make it more about the people than the topic.
- Find a human narrative and a familiarity in peoples lives that the viewer can relate to.
- Think about the sensitivity towards the viewer.
- Produce adocumentary that would inspire a viewer.
- Include a mixture of humour and sadness or seriousness

And more advice on commissions from Sophie -

- BBC3 have made a real skill of developing serious documentaries without them looking serious.
- All of these channels/progs are looking for new ideas NOW for documentaries: BBC1, 2,3,4, Dispatches, Panorama and Crew Cut.
- To find out who to speak to watch documentaries and keep an eye on the credits to catch contact names.
- Don’t be put off by the commissioners saying it will cost more to film abroad, in many cases this isn’t true. It costs a lot to film in Britain.
- Make sure your taster video has your name at the beginning, end and on the DVD.

Monique Jarrett
Digital Reporter
@roidmj

 

There was a lot of helpful advice dispensed at yesterdays panel discussion. Successful director Phil Hawkins chaired the session and a group of industry professionals talked about their experiences on becoming a freelance filmmaker. These included....

Mercedes Crescenti the funder of Mercedes Crescenti TV. She began her career as a runner at the BBC and graduated to head up production for the Current Affairs department, producing a wide range of programme, from BAFTA nominated documentaries to live broadcasts. Over the past few years, Mercedes has worked for independent companies shooting award-winning television commercials for multinational brands.

Richard Bodgers has composed and produced music for over 1000 commissions, including global TV and cinema ad campaigns for brands such as Bentley motors, Mercedes, Tomb raider and Hoover. He has also written original scores for computer games and films.

Paul Kondras a production designer and art director with a background in theatre.

And Ollie Pillon who is fairly new to the industry after graduating from Manchester Met two years ago. He's now an assistant director and editor after beginning his career as a runner.

Phil and the rest the group had recently worked on a Manchester-made feature film called Being Sold which is due to be released early next year. 

Everyone agreed that being a runner was a good way of getting into the industry. If you're eager to learn and can make yourself indispensable then you will hopefully progress. It's a great way to learn about the industry. An ability to drive is a useful skill to have as a runner. It's not a necessity but will make you more hireable.

Working on short films is a good way to acquire new skills and get your work out there quickly. If you can get your work shown in one of the many film festivals around the world then that's a good way of marketing yourself. There are also still avenues for funding, even in this financial climate.

Another great positive for being freelance is the freedom to do your own thing, up to a certain point. Everyone agreed that it can be a little daunting if a constant supply of work isn't flowing in. You just have to keep publicising yourself and be as proactive as possible and you will hopefully find more work.

The best piece of advice was to just go for it. If you have an idea, for a film or business, then you can make it happen. If you have the passion and the commitment to get into the film industry, give it a go. Be as confident as you can be and introduce yourself to other professionals. There is a lot going on, in and around Manchester for the freelance filmmaker in terms of projects and networking events and with MediaCityUK opening in the coming year the future seems bright for the freelance filmmaker.

And if that wasn't enough advice for you our Digital Reporter Dan Shannon caught up with Phil after the panel. They talked funding opportunites, the different routes into the industry and those all important characteristics you need to make it.

Rob Birchall
Digital Reporter