Northern Alliance - BFI

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The NZFC review deemed the number of A-list festival invitations as significant, because it observed a correlation between a director‟s A-list festival success with a short film, and the likelihood of that director‟s first feature film achieving festival success and/or international sales, and therefore a return on investment to the NZFC. Beyond Europe 2: South Africa‟s national film and video foundation (NFVF)‟s short film strategy 92 Although short films are not perceived to play a major role in the broader framework of film and television production activities in South Africa, they are nonetheless seen by filmmakers to represent an opportunity to showcase directorial and writing ability for the cinema screen. The NFVF only finances four or five short films per year. More short films are made in the context of higher education, and the remainder are largely self-financed by filmmakers. There is no formal tracking of the number of short films made without NFVF funding; the perception is that independent short filmmaking is not widespread in South Africa. An interesting new initiative in development since 2009 is the NFVF‟s plan to join forces with Africa First (an initiative of Focus Features) in the search for new talent across the African continent. Africa First awards five prizes of $10,000 towards the production of short film proposals. The approach is hands-off, allowing filmmakers to find their voice and giving them an opportunity to interact with a panel of international advisors. The filmmakers are free to seek additional funds elsewhere to complete their films at a budget level that makes sense for the short. The first of these short films is due for completion in autumn 2009, and the NFVF hopes the filmmakers will gain international attention through their association with Focus Features. Most of South Africa‟s feature film writers and directors come from a television drama background, with few individuals emerging via the commercials or documentary routes. The NFVF views short films as an opportunity to drive the career of talented commercials, documentary and TV drama directors and writers into the feature film arena, as good short films can act as their calling cards. There is currently no indication that internet distribution is significantly changing the market for short films in South Africa. However, the NFVF anticipates that cell phones will be a future platform for short film exhibition, due to South African telecommunications companies‟ hunger for content. 92 This case study is based on an interview conducted by Northern Alliance with Clarence Hamilton and Ryan Haidarian of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). Page 84
Appendix XII Data availability Summary Northern Alliance attempted to obtain data that would encapsulate the UK‟s short film universe, and specifically the UK Film Council‟s role within it. The data can be split into two categories: inputs and outputs. The input data include the number, aim and type of filmmaking schemes; scheme funding per year (UK Film Council, Skillset and partnership); film budgets and filmmakers/participants. The output data include the number of films made (per scheme, per year); their duration; format (film/digital); screenings and awards; revenues; and distribution and exhibition data. Plus, the diversity and career progression of the filmmakers was also subject to research. An initial review of all data available from the UK Film Council and its short film scheme management partner, Lifesize Pictures, was undertaken. These data presented problems, as they were incomplete and non-uniform in coverage, (eg number of years), type and format. Output data for screenings and career progression, where present, were anecdotal, qualitative and not centrally collated. Although for some issues (such as talent audit, recoupment, and National and Regional Screen Agency Digital Shorts diversity key performance indicators), spreadsheets and methods have become standardised, in many other instances this is not the case. Even in the case of diversity, reporting styles and detail can vary greatly between schemes. A questionnaire to gather quantitative data from the UK Film Council‟s strategic partners was used to supplement what was already available. This questionnaire is included as Appendix XX. It is important to note that across the various strategic partners, and across the schemes, the types of data collected differed greatly. In some cases, data noted as 'not collected' had in fact been submitted to the UK Film Council, and in others, data provided in the questionnaire do not tally with UK Film Council figures. Additional research into non-public funded short film activity also contributes to the report. A supplementary questionnaire for filmmakers was also used, the results of which have fed into the report‟s overall findings A detailed breakdown of the problematic issues with the available data is set out below, followed by a series of recommendations. Page 85
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Northern Alliance Review of short f
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Appendices I Case studies 56 II Def
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1. Executive summary 1.1 Introducti
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support a single disabled filmmaker
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emerge as a result of the structure
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target audience consists of the var
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While our interviewees had sympathy
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3.2 The UK Film Council‟s strateg
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Table 2: Summary of the NCF‟s pro
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All of the entities in the table ab
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Table 4: Recent applicants and awar
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Table 5: Strategic partners‟ prio
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There is a need to ground all futur
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Table 8: Success and its cost, from
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Shorts appears relatively efficient
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As noted in section 4.2 above, the
Page 33 and 34: Given that Cinema Extreme positions
Page 35 and 36: Figures for the Digital Shorts prog
Page 37 and 38: “We have no brief to work towards
Page 39 and 40: 4.5.2. Revenues Table 14: Scheme re
Page 41 and 42: Others were more critical, openly q
Page 43 and 44: 4.7 Support for showcasing films at
Page 45 and 46: The provision of culturally signifi
Page 47 and 48: less than a quarter of the cost of
Page 49 and 50: Recommendation: The UK Film Council
Page 51 and 52: emove the perceived element of comm
Page 53 and 54: As part of our review we checked th
Page 55 and 56: films produced in the UK. We would
Page 57 and 58: million in only a few weeks. I was
Page 59 and 60: That dedication and persistence has
Page 61 and 62: Appendix II Definitions Exactly wha
Page 63 and 64: Directors, started in 1989 and prod
Page 65 and 66: Appendix IV Why short films are mad
Page 67 and 68: Appendix V The public value of shor
Page 69 and 70: Social networking sites, such as Be
Page 71 and 72: Investment in the production of sho
Page 73 and 74: Agency Scheme Number of shorts Budg
Page 75 and 76: Appendix VIII Overview of the UK Fi
Page 77 and 78: Some rules, such as the requirement
Page 79 and 80: The future The short film schemes h
Page 81 and 82: Appendix XI Short film internationa
Page 83: Beyond Europe 1: New Zealand Film C
Page 87 and 88: it subject to loss because of staff
Page 89 and 90: Appendix XIII Platforms and audienc
Page 91 and 92: “There isn‟t much of an audienc
Page 93 and 94: Appendix XV Access and diversity Pa
Page 95 and 96: Appendix XVI Business affairs Short
Page 97 and 98: (b) VAT is paid on awards and provi
Page 99 and 100: Completion Fund, and from the Natio
Page 101 and 102: The training scheme is best known f
Page 103 and 104: Appendix XVIII The role of film fes
Page 105 and 106: Appendix XIX List of interviewees O
Page 107 and 108: Appendix XX Sample survey questionn
Page 109 and 110: 3. Measuring success How does your
Page 111 and 112: 4B. Festival screenings of short fi
Page 113 and 114: 4E. Revenue generated: Please provi
Page 115 and 116: 4H.Of the above, how many have subs
Page 117 and 118: 'Developing exceptional talent' and
Page 119 and 120: for making and reporting distributi
Page 121 and 122: Of the filmmakers supported by resp
Page 123 and 124: Filmmaker activity On average, each
Page 125: Appendix XXII Northern Alliance Nor
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Northern Alliance - BFI

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