Filmmakers should be seen and not heard!

After almost two hundred entries it's time to select the chosen few. When programing a three day event with two theater screens, time is of the essence. Five judges, ten categories, and a program director who looks for entertaining films and informative documentaries in order to make up the program for the Central Florida Film Festival (September 4-6, 2009). Shorts are broken up into two hour blocks, which is why shorts that really aren't short are hard to place.

To accommodate the filmmakers, who scored high in film school in their creative skills but low in their editing prowess, we came up with the Mini Feature category. this is my fourth Central Florida Film Festival. We moved from Kissimmee, Florida to Ocoee, because we wanted to be closer to the movie crowd and further away from the rodeo crowd. We also moved from a beautiful auditorium (that few know about) to a "real live" movie theater (West Orange 5). One has to figure that the smell of popcorn alone will provide a flavor of film festiveness.

Selection has it's highs and lows. Twenty-five percent of the films entered are 'no brainers' they belong and we're lucky to have them. There's also another twenty-five percent that are still learning how to become film makers. We offer them a critique in hopes of making them better in the future. It has been written that a short film made for under a grand really doesn't have a place in a film festival. They usually have a punchline and not a plot and are better suited for You Tube or My Space than a movie screen. Then there's the other fifty percent. Based on their scores, they sit on the bubble of selection until the selection committee agrees their film has scored high enough to receive an "Official Selection." Production value is very important in the process and filmmakers that have shot on film may have an advantage for the "big look" a film needs. However, HD looks damn good too and has started to make the Mini DV and Digital format look cheap and amateurish. It seems like every kid out of film school is given an HD camera and editing system these days and call themselves filmmakers. I remember when you got a car and a "kick out the door" when you graduated. Film schools weren't as plentiful as they are now and if you shot a film, it was on film.

Emails and phone calls from bubble filmmakers never help their cause. I hate to say "We really don't care..." but we really don't! If your friends and family have made other plans and can't attend your film if it's not prime time, this would be your problem. Your film has been placed into a time slot we feel best for the festival. We don't want to place all the high scoring films in the same time slots any more than we want to place all the "Fence Films" in the same block either. We don't want a "Mass Suicide" in the theater, which is why we look for comedy to off set the many depressing topics filmmakers choose. Incest, child abuse, rape, murder, molestation, war issues, and psychological issues, seem to be the topics high on the list of new filmmakers. Many of the filmmakers tell these stories with a creative flair but after watching these themes over and over, even a Hyena would get depressed. This is why a short comedy film with less quality will slip into the festival. It's not that their film scored high in production value but it did score high in entertainment value and these film are just as important to the selection process.

The rule of thumb is to keep your short under fifteen minutes. The shorter it is the better chance the selection committee will try to slip the film into a slot. Of course the production value has to be there and it would help to get to the point of your film quickly and not at the end of a seven minute piece.

Did you know that most festivals only give the film's director a free pass to the festival? It's true. There are a small few that will offer travel accommodations but they're the festivals with large corporate sponsorships. The average festival survives on public admissions. The average multiplex screen holds two hundred patrons. If the festival gives away too many free passes to sponsors, media, and filmmakers there would be no room for the general public. Our festival caters not only to film makers but film watchers. A filmmaker should value an audience response. We've all gotten audience responses from a cast and crew screening but they are tainted. Many rejected selections after receiving our critique argued the point that their film was well received at their last screening. Of course "after further review" it was a cast and crew screening and well, if you can't be well received from the people that we involved you might as well cut up the print now and recoup your money by selling guitar picks (assuming you've shot on film, of course).

So, now you have it. The selection process that takes months and a programing process that takes weeks can't be fixed to accommodate you. Film festivals are an excellent marketing tool. A distributor is more likely to view your film if it's "an official selection," "Best Short," "Best Feature," or "Best Documentary" of a film festival. The festival laurels should be placed on your poster or one sheet for all to see. Unless you're in that top twenty-five percent it could be the only festival you are selected to...make it count. Also attend the festival. Share techniques, horror stories and attend other screenings (not just yours), seminars and of course the Award Show (if you're lucky enough to have one) and get the full experience of attending a film festival either as a film maker or a film watcher.

The 4th Annual Central Florida Film Festival (http://www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com/) is held over the Labor Day weekend (September 4-6, 2009) with screenings at the West Orange 5, and parties, seminars and vendor room are at the Best Western Turnpike. Both are in Ocoee, Florida and walking distance from each other. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!!!

.....and cut!