[Frameworks] current situation with film festivals

[Bryan Konefsky]

An interesting and ongoing discussion... some 
observations:

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is no longer an experimental 
film festival... They now call themselves an "independent" 
film festival.  One of the reasons they receive so many 
submissions dates back to when they first signed on with 
Withoutabox.  There, they made the decision to include 
narrative and documentary works as well as experimental, 
and their submission numbers skyrocketed... However, for 
the kind of festival they are, I think they still do a 
good job.

I agree on the thread about micro-cinemas.  Basement Films 
(a micro-cinema) has been around since 1991 and as the 
years go by we have seen the number of artists touring 
their works ebb and flow (presently ebbing).  One of the 
reasons we began our Experiments in Cinema festival had to 
do with the "ebbing."  And here I should note that the 
"ebbing" refers to both touring filmmakers and audience 
size.  So our decision was to create a once-a-year event 
that might reinvigorate our audiences (and attract 
filmmakers from outside New Mexico to attend).

We run a way-transparent operation (no $75,000 salaries in 
our organization)... Basement Films and Experiments in 
Cinema is a 100% volunteer run operation.  We attract 
approximately 300-350 entries annually (from around the 
globe) and we screen approximately 50 works each year 
(usually representing 15 countries).  Our entry fees are 
free to international entrants and to those whose works we 
have screened in the past.  Our entry fees are $15/film 
and if one enters 3 or more works that fee drops to $10 
per entry.  Our annual budget to run our event is 
approximately $15,000 (mostly funded by regional grants).

We screen all digital formats, VHS, super 8, regular 8, 
35mm, and 16mm.

All artists whose work we screen receive (free) a 4 DVD 
set of our complete festival program (artists must agree 
to this condition to participate)... Sure, mastering and 
burning these DVDs costs us money, but it's about building 
community (globally) and sharing. To this end we travel 
our event to schools around New Mexico free-of-charge 
throughout the year hoping to inspire a new generation of 
filmmakers to create movies in ways we never imagined 
possible.  We also share our programming internationally - 
most recently in St. Petersburg, Russia and Berlin, 
Germany.

We never screen "calling card" films.

We don't believe in "art stars."

We don't believe in corporate sponsorship.  B&H approached 
us this year and we declined.

We do not believe in VIP passes, nor do we believe in 
VIPs.

In a mild (and perhaps late) nod to Marxism, know that we 
are not a competitive festival.  We believe that prizes 
are arbitrary and delusional validations of cultural 
value.

Moving image art has a unique responsibility in terms of 
representing a vital barometric read of the human 
condition.  And, as such it should never be undermined and 
simply refered to as "content."

We believe that there is a value in nurturing this annual 
week-long micro community of festival goers and presenters 
- something that can not be replicated on-line until, 
perhaps we achieve what media theorist Gene Youngblood 
calls "emotional bandwith."

We don't give a rats ass about making money.  We are 
invested in supporting filmmakers and those interested in 
the particular kind of cinema we support.  Additionally, 
at our event we never do "Q & A" with attending 
filmmakers, rather the audience AND filmmakers engage in 
deep and meaningful discussion.  We are not a "launch pad" 
to the industry - we believe in films made by makers who 
have an investment in the stories they tell because they 
recognize the importance of participating in shaping 
future trends of cultural representation.  We are not 
interested in movies made by committees of lawyers and 
marketing experts.

We do laugh now and again, but we are serious about what 
we do.  We hope to grow organically and if that means 
staying the size we are, that is fine.  We vow to derail 
any attempt (if such an opportunity arose in the future) 
to be listed in Variety magazine.  We are not independent, 
we are un-dependent (a term credited to My House 
micro-cinema).

In closing, know that we are not suggesting that what we 
do is all that unique.  There are other festivals with 
whom we share a common mission.  We pride ourselves in 
being part of a rich and complex matrix of international 
festivals.

We hope to see some of you at our event this year (April 
13-17, 2011).

see www.experimentsincinema.com for more info.


SPOSIBO

Bryan Konefsky, Visualiste
Artistic Director, Experiments in Cinema
President, Basement Films
Advisory Board, Ann Arbor Film Festival
guest curator, Southwest Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Lecturer, Dept. of Cinematic Arts, University of New 
Mexico

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"As the spirit wanes the form appears." - Charles Bukowski