Finally, it has come time for us to knuckle down on our ideas and actually begin creating a film festival. Admittedly, I was hesitant about the actual doing part of this process/class, mainly because I thought it would be a “too many cooks” situation. Instead, in just one class, we managed to settle on a pretty great idea – our first and only pitched idea. I’m sure this may have been a fluke, though whatever the case I am grateful it worked out this way.
In the Bright Young Screens chapter titled Festival Programming (etc), the authors mention early in the importance of establishing the dramaturgy of the event, and how closely linked to the subject this is. This notion featured in the programming teams conception of MOFF – with Jacob mentioning a film he would like to have screened, and Henry mentioning the theme he would like to go with. It’s hard to distinguish which conversation took place first – very much a chicken or the egg scenario – but nevertheless, we are extremely fortunate that both ideas could coincide with each other seamlessly.
What proved to be slightly more difficult, however, was coming up with a concise yet to the point mission statement of what the Melbourne Overlooked Film Festival stands for. It’s easy to have conceptualised an idea, but communicating that to the public in just a few words is something that is difficult, in large part due to the sheer importance of it. The mission statement is a huge drawing card for many features of the festival, including submissions, sponsorships, venue hire; honing in on just a few words without coming across as insincere or tokenistic is a huge task. Admittedly, we are still working on the final public-facing version, so stay tuned!
Another takeaway from this week is the thought of what a film festival can be or do. Are we limited to screening films in a cinema, or can we explore what Cerise coined Cinema Plus? In Kirsten Stevens Australian Film Festivals (etc), they mention that “as audiences seek out more dynamic viewing experiences, the event programming structure of the festival stands to unsurp the role of traditional theatres” (p 198). Given the theme of our festival, this is extremely reassuring and encouraging. As a previous festival goer, I understand the cries for more. Why limit ourselves to seats and four walls, when the world is quite literally at our doorstep (COVID allowing)?
References:
“A Festival for Every Occasion: Niche Programming, Event Culture, and Vertically Integrated Film Festivals (Links to an external site.)” in Kirsten Stevens, Australian Film Festivals: Audience, Place, and Exhibition Culture, Palgrave Macmillan US, New York, 2016, pp. 171-199.
Participants of the Bright Young Screens Workshop, “Festival Programming and the Ways Young Festivals and Youth NGOs See it” in Michaela Pnacekova, Mirona Nicola & Melissa Pritchard (eds), Bright Young Screens: Developing Intercultural Dialogue and Non-Formal Education Through Youth Film Festivals, NISI MASA and FEST, Espinho, 2012, pp. 6-9.