Women in Film: From Her POV Week Eleven
It’s Week 11 here at From Her Point of View and filming is underway. Catch up with Kerrie, one of the young women taking part in the training who is also acting as Press Agent for the films…
Week Eleven
So, filming is underway, how cool is that? If that wasn’t enough, Blood Warriors have wrapped! Unfortunately I was unable to attend any of their shoot days but all the team tell me they had an incredible time, and if the photography from the day was anything to go by, the ladies have created something they rightly should be very proud of. Much of their filming took place down on Dean Lane at the Skate Park and beyond, where they had amazing weather!
Team Black Cherry were also setting up to film following Blood Warriors’ wrap this week. Unfortunately again I was unable to attend, this time due to my four wheels and the nature of their interior locations. I was thrilled to be attending their final day though, over our Easter break from official sessions at Knowle West. More on that next time…
With filming almost under our belts, we returned to KWMC on Thursday for a session with Tarah Judah: writer, programmer, broadcaster, and Director at Bristol’s very own 20th Century Flicks. Over the course of her career, Tarah has served on several selection committees and juries for film festivals, including: IFFR, Berlinale Forum, Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, CIFF, Glasgow SFF, MIFF, Revelations Film Festival Perth, Encounters Short Film Festival Bristol, MIM, and the AACTA and ATOM Awards.
Those impressive credentials in mind, Tarah was the perfect candidate to speak with us about festival submissions. As has been a trend with my participation in the programme, I know nothing about film festivals, so this session was an eye-opener and if I’m being honest, a little overwhelming!
It seems to be a really daunting task, submitting one’s work for a panel of experts to critique and decide whether they want to show it. And it is daunting, but Tarah suggested that proper research and preparation is the way to negotiate the bumpy ride to festival submission. Have a sense of your film’s identity and where you think it might belong on the circuit. Cast your net as widely as you’d like but be aware of each festival’s rules: some may not take a film that has already been screened elsewhere and so on. Costs also come into play for some, especially the bigger, more prestigious festivals.
Tied hand in hand with research is having a plan for what you want for your film which will guide where you place it: for example, some festivals have prize money, others filmmakers are drawn to for the prestige alone.
Whichever festival you choose, know that it is often a difficult road, particularly for novice filmmakers so a thick skin is a must. More than that, never lose your conviction. New talent and ideas is how this industry will keep ticking over, and it was heartening to hear Tarah speak so passionately and enthusiastically.
As well as Tarah coming to speak to us, we also watched a rough first edit of Blood Warriors! It was amazing to see the film being completed and start being polished and you’ll see after our Easter break this feeling once again abound when Black Cherry wrap…
This programme is supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, with BFI’s Film Forever National Lottery funds.