Symposium âHow to Sell a Short Filmâ - Internationale Kurzfilmtage ...

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a unique profile in terms of experimental films and the way that audiovisual works arepresented.ThefestivalontheonehandattractsawideaudiencefromthePortoregion,ontheother hand it is also a meeting point for numerous filmmakers and industry representativesfromathomeandabroad.Themostimportantcompetitionsectionsin2009were:‐theInternationalCompetition:9programmes‐theNationalCompetition:3programmes‐anexperimentalcompetition:3programmes‐amusicvideocompetition:1programmeThe international competition has awards in the categories of fiction, documentary andanimation. The 2009 edition of the festival saw a renewal of the children and youth filmprogramme “Curtinhas”. One of the festival's specialities are its special programmes, whichoften explore the boundaries between music, audio‐visuals and performance. The “Remixed”section, for instance, offers screenings with live music. Exhibitions display the works ofrenowned artists as well as of newcomers. The Section “In Progress” shows works byfilmmakers,whosecareersarelinkedtothefestival'shistory,andthePortuguesefilmschoolprogrammeaimsatpromotingnewtalents.Everyyear,about2,500filmsaresubmittedtothefestival,viaauser‐friendlyonlineform.RoundTable1Simon kicks off the discussion with the question about the premiere requirements of thevariousfestivals,somethingthatonlyMaikeMiaHöhnehataddressedduringherpresentation.∙MaikeelaboratesontherulesforthedifferentsectionsoftheBerlinale:‐BerlinaleShorts:internationalpremiere‐Generation:Germanpremiere‐Theothersectionsaremoreflexibleintermsofpremiererequirements∙GeorgespointsoutthatClermont‐Ferrandisagainstpremiereexclusivity.Whenthe European Coordination of Film Festivals was founded in 1995, it included aCodeofEthicsbasedontheprinciplethatafestivalshouldnotdemandexclusivityfor its short films. Short films normally don't have any commercial value, andfestivals are their most important platform. Clermont‐Ferrand represents thedemocratic vision that short films should be seen by as large an audience aspossible.Ontheotherhand,“wearen'tstupidseither”–ifafilmhasbeenshownatalltheotherfestivalsbeforeapplyingtoClermont,thereisatolerancelimitwedonotwishtomissourturn.∙MaikeaddsthattheBerlinaleisagreatplaceforafilmtostartitscareer,whileafinishedfilmshouldnotwaithalfayeartostartitscareerinBerlin.∙Mario:AtCurtasViladoCondethereisanexceptionforPortuguesefilms.The
fewnationalfestivalsthatscreenshortfilmsattractthesamepress.Ifashortfilmhasalreadygainedtheattentionofthepress,thenit'sdifficultforVilatoselectit.VilaistheshortfilmcapitalofPortugal.Ifyouwanttoshowyourfilmthere,youhave to agree with exclusivity. There are no premiere requirements for theinternationalcompetition.∙ Simon: one has to distinguish between national premieres, internationalpremieresandworldpremieres!∙Shane:Sundancehasnopremiererequirementsforshorts.Buttheprogrammingcommitteedoeslookatwherethefilmshavebeenshownpreviously,whichcandetermineitsdecisions.Aquestionfromtheaudience(afilmmakerfromGeneva)toGeorgesBollon:isthereanupperlimittohowmanyfestivalsafilmcanalreadyhavebeenshownat?Georges:IfthefilmiscompleteforClermont‐Ferrand,submitit!Ifitisonlyreadyshortlyafterthesubmissiondeadline,thennoproblem:itwillsimplybeshownatanotherfestivalfirst.RetoCaffi–CaseStudy„AufderStrecke“(“OntheLine”)Retotakesupthelastpointinthediscussionandremarksthathisfilmwouldnothavehadthecareerithadifthefestivalshadhadapremiererequirement.Thecareerof“AufderStrecke”:ThefilmwasalmostcompleteinAugust.AfterbeingrejectedatLocarno,Retoaskedhimselfifhe should submit the film to Winterthur and Hof or if he should wait for the Berlinale. Thequestionwasnotsomuchthequalityofthefestival,butmoreabouthowlongafilmcanbeexploitedafterwards.Thefestivalsdon'tlookatthemonthofafilm'scompletion,butattheyear,whichmakesitunfavourabletoreleaseafilmattheendoftheyear.Inthisway,almostanentireyearwaslost.Butwhentwoinvitationsweremade,onetoWinterthurandonetoHofinGermany,hecouldn'twaitanylongerandwantedtoknowhowthefilmwouldbereceived–adecisionthatpaidoff.ThebreakthroughcamewiththegrandprixatClermont‐Ferrand,whichforhimwasthemostimportantaward,asthereismuchmorecompetitioncomparedtotheOscars.Butthefirstwaveswerealreadynoticeablebeforethefestivalafterthecataloguewaspublished,resultinginnumerouscontactstootherfestivals,producersetc.Afterwinningtheaward,oneyearofpromotiongotunderway.Retoinvestedawholeyeartoexploitthefilm.“AufderStrecke”wasshownatabout150festivalsandwonabout50to60awards.Itisrepresentedbytwoagencies,onecommercialandonenon‐commercial,andhasbeenacquiredbydifferentTVstations(SundanceChannel,arte,Canal+),andcanbeboughtoniTunes.Theworkhaspaidoff.Aftersomesuccesses,Retowasalsoasked:“Whydoyouevenbothersubmittingthefilmanylonger?”ForReto,thiswasastrangequestion,ashefeelsthatfilmsaretheretobeseen.
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Symposium âHow to Sell a Short Filmâ - Internationale Kurzfilmtage ...