B I M I F F S P E C I A L A R T I C L E 57BEFORE AND AFTER ATALK WITH ADISTRIBUTORBY PAMELA NASSOURBEFORE AND AFTER A TALK WITH A DISTRIBUTOR
B I M I F F S P E C I A L A R T I C L E 58B E F O R E A N D A F T E R A T A L K W I T H A D I S T R I B U T O RBEFORE AND AFTER A TALK WITH A DISTRIBUTORA special article about independent filmmaking and film distributionby Pamela Nassour (Lebanon)The writer, Pamela Nassour, is an award-winning Lebanese filmmaker, film critic, and educator. Pamela graduatedfrom the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik USEK with a master's degree in Visual Arts - Cinema and Television. She iscurrently pursuing her Ph.D. in Contemporary Latin American Cinema at the Saint Joseph University Beirut and theUniversity of Granada.It was during the editing period of one of my short films thatthis hit me. As an artist and filmmaker, you take a seat on theediting chair, with all your footage in front of you. You havecomplete power over them; complete freedom to move themback and forth on the timeline, keeping what you feel is rightand removing what you decide is out of place.On the editing chair, you are the master of that world. Youcreate it, show it, and know it by heart in all its visible andinvisible layers. It takes days, weeks, and maybe months for youto create that world, and on the last day, you rest admiring yourachievement.In that world, you are the sole creator and decision-maker.It was an October night, around the end of the month when Istarted to become tight on time for delivering my final cut, the"director’s cut" as they call it. My film at that stage felt right. Icould film it and edit it just like I’d written it. I remember thatthe script was twenty-eight pages long, and what should havebeen the final cut was about the length of twenty-four minutes.On that night, I was supposed to send that draft to mydistributor, and after a long editing session, I finally succeededto do so.But it didn’t go well. That fact hit me. My distributor had aperception, a vision slightly different than mine, or maybe a lotdifferent. Now that I am moving to my next film, I had thechance to talk with him and have the conversation I’ve beenavoiding having for so long. Our talk went like this:Do you prefer international or local stories?"Local stories would relate to a group of people living in aparticular country or society; thus they would be targeting asmall group. In such stories, there will be signs that only localsof a certain place will understand. What is important is to beable to reach a wide audience; actually, this can’t be done withlocal stories, and thus we cannot allow ourselves to go very deepto the point of particularity. The story should be universal".Which criteria matter for deciding the time and place for thefilm's premiere?"This depends on many factors. First, it’s the story. Does it suitthe big international festivals? After that comes the execution:like the filmmaker's style, and the quality of the film. The filmmight be very simple but with a very good structure and twist,then it will get a great premiere. For me, if the film is really goodon paper, then it will be very good. If the director is great, butthe script is not bad, then the film won't be bad. If the script iswell written, and the director is averagely skilled, then the filmwill be good. So, the script is a priority for the premiere'sdecision, and then comes the rest. Other factors play along, likethe year of the production, and the topic it covers. Somefestivals have certain quotas that we should not ignore. Inaddition, if the film is co-produced, then this will lead to fulltrust that this film will be universal and will get aninternational audience's engagement".What are the key factors for the success of a film?"There is no magic spell for a successful film. But based on manytries, a few facts can define a good film. The script should beoriginal and well-written. The director should be engaged in thestory to be able to add details that will move the story further.With attention to the details, spectators will be able to feel thisattachment".
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