[Frameworks] Current situation with Film Festivals

Wed Feb 16 19:33:11 CST 2011

                I would like to respectfully acknowledge your post, Raymond.  I feel that our experiences are quite different, and this is absolutely not a problem. It's a big world, and lots of folks see things differently. Some folks like golf. I don't.
                Regarding  the particulars of the film festival here this week,  one filmmaker wants to perform live music  with his film, so I think it's great that the organizers (filmmakers Jim Haverkamp and Joyce Ventimiglia) have made it possible for him do so. And the beer is across the street (at the brewery) after the screenings. Having presented at this festival before, I believe that the only thing attracting the audience to Strange Beauty is what's on screen. A  lot of the work is probably available online (I haven't looked) but if you are interested you can check the schedule on www.strangebeauty.org<http://www.strangebeauty.org> and pick the ones that you want to watch on a computer screen wherever you are, whenever you want. Those filmmakers chose to make their work available  in that way. I've got no complaints about that, never have.
                As a filmmaker, the opportunity to project film on a nice screen in a really dark room with a good sound system, to an attentive audience of 100 people  there for "strange" and "beauty," well it's just a real nice situation for me, personally. And it's less than a mile from my house. I shoot and collect 16mm film, have done so for 30+ years. I make shows in that format, and  have no interest in paying for transfers to video so I can put it online, nor do I feel any obligation to do so. You want to see a Durham Cinematheque show? Come to Durham - it's a nice place. Or pay me to come to your place, that works, too, I don't charge a lot. For me, some festivals play a very important role in my overall cinematic experience, and they will continue to do so for quite some time. For me, that important role will not be replaced by Youtube.
                As for the cinematic experience being religion, I'm agnostic. One question - why do you put "live music" in quotation marks?

-          Tom
From: frameworks-bounces at jonasmekasfilms.com [mailto:frameworks-bounces at jonasmekasfilms.com] On Behalf Of Raymond Salvatore Harmon
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 7:01 PM
To: frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com
Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Current situation with Film Festivals

Tom,

I fully agree that there is always another perspective, but functionally festivals that rely on "live music" and beer to attract an audience fully do fall into the category I mention of social engagement and networking. Of course there is nothing wrong with social gatherings and in any context in which one enjoys cinema is better than none. But 10 or more years ago I may never have seen literally thousands of films I do now online. What I would see is the things that a specific group choose to show. Youtube is fully democratic in that there is no rejection (short of copyright issues). Put it up and all can watch.

I agree that cinema is best experienced on the big screen but reality dictates that most people see less and less of the big screen every year. Festivals are not want for an audience, but filmmakers often find the festival experience lacking. I appreciate festivals, especially the ones that do so without funding. But the model of festivals as the source for experimental film presentation is past us. I would be willing to bet that more people have seen crappy resolution Brakhage online in the past ten years than all of the audiences for all of the fests Brakhage has shown at combined. That may or may not be a good thing but its just a matter of economics and distribution.

>From the perspective of a young filmmaker trying to find an audience for their work festivals offer very limited opportunities compared to online websites. A solid film blog like Badlit has a bigger viewer base than most festivals. A single twitter post might generate a 1000 views in an afternoon, festivals can not compete with that.

To me personally the cinematic experience is close to a religion. The darken theater like a church. But there are less and less people coming to worship these days and more and more coming to socialize. There is nothing wrong with that reasoning, its just not the same thing really.

Yours
RSH

--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: tom.whiteside at duke.edu
To: frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:22:41 -0500
Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Current situation with Film Festivals
I disagree with both of the statements below (excerpted from a longer post.) I am not saying this person is wrong, but there is certainly another point of view. In my experience film festivals are still a pretty good thing, and they are not "over." In fact, Strange Beauty Film Festival starts Thursday in Durham at Manbites Dog Theater, and if you want to be there you have to be on time...... Oh sorry, I think it's sold out, seems there are too many people who don't agree that "the basic fundamentals of a time restricted festival (are) over." Can you see some of this work online? No doubt. When you do that, will you miss the live music performances? Yep. Will you get to talk about the films over a beer with other folks who've also just seen it for the first time? Nope. One might dismiss such activity as "social engagement and networking," but all of the arts activities I have been involved with over the years - symphony orchestras, rock bands, film making - have included some element of that. It's not a bad thing.

What's next, the end of music? Come on folks, cultural institutions change, but they don't disappear just because of new technology. I've watched "The Wizard of Oz" with my family at home on tv, it's great; I've watched "The Wizard of Oz" with a full house at the Castro, it's better.

-          Tom

>No one goes to a fest (like Toronto or Sundance) to see films, its about social enagement, parties and networking.

>Curration may create cohesion or thematic ideas in programming but the basic fundamentals of a time restricted festival (be here at this time to see these films in this >order) is over.

>Long live cinema.

>Yours
>RSH

On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12:22 PM, Tom Whiteside <tom.whiteside at duke.edu<mailto:tom.whiteside at duke.edu>> wrote:
I disagree with both of the statements below (excerpted from a longer post.) I am not saying this person is wrong, but there is certainly another point of view. In my experience film festivals are still a pretty good thing, and they are not "over." In fact, Strange Beauty Film Festival starts Thursday in Durham at Manbites Dog Theater, and if you want to be there you have to be on time...... Oh sorry, I think it's sold out, seems there are too many people who don't agree that "the basic fundamentals of a time restricted festival (are) over." Can you see some of this work online? No doubt. When you do that, will you miss the live music performances? Yep. Will you get to talk about the films over a beer with other folks who've also just seen it for the first time? Nope. One might dismiss such activity as "social engagement and networking," but all of the arts activities I have been involved with over the years - symphony orchestras, rock bands, film making - have included some element of that. It's not a bad thing.

What's next, the end of music? Come on folks, cultural institutions change, but they don't disappear just because of new technology. I've watched "The Wizard of Oz" with my family at home on tv, it's great; I've watched "The Wizard of Oz" with a full house at the Castro, it's better.

-          Tom

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