What I Encountered in my Fresher’s Week!
After a night of drinking at the SU, birthday celebrations for Emily, and a million different train cancellations. It was pouring it down and I was using google maps with a phone battery on 10%, finally we made it to the Film Festival!
The Film Festival was alongside a river and very open, everyone was extremely chatty and everywhere you turned there was someone willing to help you or answer any of the questions that you had. I was ready to get in, watch some films and start learning and supporting these film makers because one day it could be me. I no longer cared that I was soaked and hungover after drinking a vast amount of VK’s the night before, the atmosphere and the people made me excited to see what was to come on the screen and a lot of the time I was not disappointed.
ABOUT ENCOUNTERS FILM FESTIVAL:
“Encounters is the UK’s leading short film, animation and virtual reality festival. ” – Encounters 2019
So I learned that Encounters Film Festival began in 1995, and was known as ‘Brief Encounters’, and by 2017 after a lot of trial of different festivals, it became Encounters Film festival, which is the festival I went too. Encounters deals with many different fields within the filming world such as; short film, animation and virtual reality, there was a lot of special guests, Q&A’s and headline events, as well as industry masterclasses and workshops. Encounters is a platform that supports, discovers and develops new talent within the film industry and it’s a brilliant networking event to meet and discuss everyone’s journey to success.
The Film festival also has a competition called the ‘Encounters internal competition’ which is known to be one of the world’s biggest competition for short film, animation and virtual reality, which can act as a stepping stone into some of the world’s most respected awards such as the BAFTAS and the Academy Awards. I got the chance to vote in a couple of the screenings for my favourite short film which was a fun and interesting experience.
Encounters Film festival is all about celebrating talent and creativity from all areas of the world, to tackle issues and make people feel emotions from what they see on the screen. It’s a place where people unit together and celebrate what we love most- FILM! And I loved being a part of it.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AT THE FILM FESTIVAL:
At the film festival there was many different people and jobs that they were doing throughout the festival, such as help in event administration, editing, marketing, customer service, wait staff, IT and technical staff, film screening, scheduling, ticket sales and distribution, venue reservation, public relations with attendees as well as producers and directors, security officers and so on. This made me realise how many jobs and people it takes for a film festival event, which made me see this as a potential future job opportunity.
On the first evening I arrived at the film festival we watched a screening called ‘The Opening Shot’, where some content curators and directors gave a talks about their own chosen opening shots. The first one was from ‘Oklahoma’, where the man admitted he didn’t care for musicals but could respect and see this film’s opening to be incredible. The panel spoke about many other films some international, some of them classics but they talked about the mise en scene and the importance of an opening scenes within films.
The panel explained their experience within the filming industry, two of the panellists had directed and produced a film which was in the Encounters Internal Competition, and we saw the opening of their film, which they then explained the process, and the amount of help they had from other film makers, which opened up my eyes to the amount of jobs and people there is behind even a small indie film being shown at a film festival. Listening to the experiences many of the panellist had within the industry was innovating and they showed us and talked about a lot of international styles, as many of the panellist were from different countries so they had different ideas and cultural styles to do their films.
Due to the fact that The Encounters film festival is used as a marketing platform for many emerging film makers, it was refreshing seeing industry professionals converse with amateurs and students like me so we can find out the range of potential career opportunities there is, and some skill-sets could be picked up and discovered, helping people just starting within the film industry climb the ladder to reach new possibilities from meeting more experienced professionals.
If I am ever able to write a short screenplay that gets made into a film, I’d love to take it to Encounters Film Festival because you never know who is there and what opportunity may arise from doing so, and it’s a lovely environment of people to be around.
ISSUES FACED BY CONTENT CURATORS .
During my time at the Encounters Film Festival there was a few curators around making sure everything was going smoothly. A Film festival curator is someone who decides which films are to be shown within the festival .I was able to speak to one and question him on some of the issues he faces during the film festival. The man I spoke to said it’s very difficult to decide which films to choose from. They have to keep in mind a lot of things such as mise en scene, cinematography, acting and political drive and themes of the film. The man suggested a lot of the films that weren’t put into the festival was due to the low quality or too similar politics that would make the audience bored. I took this on board when thinking about my dissertation as I want to make sure I have a relevant politic but also want to say something in a way that’s interesting and hasn’t been said before.
The content curators job is also to organise what catergorises all the films fall under, such as ‘Youth Jury: Good Grief’ catergory, which was films that involved death and bearvement. Most of these films had a different take on how people view death and grieve which I found very interesting as it was nice to see a varition of peoples views of death. One of the films was called ‘Signs’, directed and written by Yero Timi-Biu, it was about a teenager taking on the responsiblity as a young career after tragic loss, it was a very dramatic and sorrowful take on loss.
Whereas another one of the films was called ‘Idols Never Die’ directed and written by
Jerome Yoo. It was a film about the death of pop star but shown more comedically than ‘Signs’ showing another take on death and how the screenwriter decided to portray loss in a different way.
Issues faced by Film Makers.
Throughout my time at the Encounters Film Festival I soon learnt about a lot of challenges the film makers had to face during the process of filming. This became quite apparent in the Q&A at the end of the Fly on the Wall screening which showed many short-filmed documentaries and at the end of the screening the young people most of them were students came onto the stage to discuss their films in more detail. I really enjoyed this screening not only because I’m very interested in documentaries and know a lot about the conventions due to the fact I did a film A-level module which specialised in documentaries (it’s always good when you understand the deconstruction of what you’re watching). But the main reason why I enjoyed this particular screening a lot was because it was done by students and it felt like a reachable goal for myself, something I could write for in the near future.
Within the ‘Fly on the Wall’ screening there was seven student films shown and five of the seven film makers talked about their films at the end of the screening where they mentioned issues that they faced when making the film. One that stood out to me was a film about a mother who had moebius syndrome, this particular film made me cry due to the hardship the mother faced with her condition and how her daughter dealt with it throughout her life. The film was called ‘Smile for the Camera’ wrote, directed by the mother’s daughter, Lucy Graham. When Lucy got on stage to explain the struggles she had with her documentary she told us that it was difficult getting her mother to feel comfortable on camera and there were a few times that her mother tried to back out. Within Lucy’s film there was a scene where her mother opened up about why she wouldn’t go to Lucy’s parents’ evenings because she though Lucy was embarrassed of her and then the pair of them talked out how they felt together. Lucy said this has made their relationship stronger, so filming about or with a family member can have it’s struggles but the pay off can be great just like Lucy’s film.
“I’m closer to my mother now, I understand her more and my film helped me do this.”- Lucy Graham.
This quote just makes you realise how film can really affect your life, which is so lovely to see and hear.
Another film which had a similar issue to Lucy’s film ‘Smile for the camera’, was an animated film called ‘West Question East Answer’, which was directed and edited by Becky Manson, who went to Korea to find out her family history from her grandmother, but her grandmother wouldn’t open up so Becky’s idea changed a lot due to her Grandmother’s wishes. Becky also mentioned that another struggle for her was time, due to her drawing every stock image out by hand it took a lot longer than expected. Time management is a big issue many professionals and amateur face during filming so it made me feel better that everyone struggles and I still have time to master this art.
I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Fly on the Wall’ screening, pretty much all of the films were personal to the film markers which made them refreshing to watch. All the films tackle different issues and looked at a lot of modern topics such as a film called ‘A Wider Screen’ which was filmed through VR chat and talked and looked at two people who had a relationship in the VR world and met for the first time. The director Joe Bunting in the Q&A’s talked about how VR Chat could change the world and help many people get over anxiety and depression as the VR world is more accepting than our real world which I found very interesting.
From watching The Fly on the Wall documentaries it’s helped me come to terms with how pushing something you believe in or is about you, can be a good thing to write about as it helps you to have that passion and drive to keep writing and that’s what I saw when the students who have worked on these films got up to talk about their creations. Myself as the audience could see the passion and love that has gone into those films and that’s something I want to portray and achieve in my dissertation screenplay.
VR:
Another screening I went to was ‘The VR Competition 3: Through Time and Space’, I’d never experienced VR before, I felt very nervous but excited to see what it was like. Before the films started there was a lot of safety guidelines to go through and it took a while for everyone’s headsets to be on properly but once the films began I loved every minute. The first film was an incredible experience it was called ‘Aripi/Wings’ directed by Dmitri Voloshin, and it was very fast paced and there was a lot to look at. The last film was very interesting as well, it called ‘Your Spiritual Temple Sucks’ directed by John Hsu, this film felt like a proper VR experience as you were able to see 360degrees of filming content and could look anywhere with your headset and something would be going on.
After the VR Films I spoke to one of the girls who checked my headset and asked her what the main issues that VR filmmakers face, and she said the biggest issue is money. With VR you don’t just have to pay for the filming side of things but you have to also pay for the equipment that the films are watched on which makes audience numbers less. Another issue that VR Films faced is getting the audience, a lot of the older generation stay away from technology and due to the motion sickness, which can come with VR it makes watching the films sometimes impossible. In my screening someone had to leave due to motion sickness, luckily, I was able to see the films, however it’s definitely something that film makers need to consider.
HOW IT ENHANCED MY CAREER:
Throughout my time at the Encounters Film Festival I kept in mind, how the things I learnt could help me with my future career and achieve and get the best out of my degree. Watching 20+ films a day was a bit of an eye opener for how many people like myself are trying to break into the industry, it made me realise that the more I write and the more experiences I have, and people I meet, it could help get me where I want to go.
As I’m doing a screenwriting degree, I have a lot of knowledge about narrative and character some of the films I watched reinforced a lot of the things I’d already learnt but others broke the stereotypical narrative conventions I know.
A lot of the films were very enjoyable, I found that if I liked the themes, politics and message the screenwriter was trying to get across I enjoyed these types films a lot more than ones I didn’t understand. There was a film called ‘Fatherland’ directed and wrote by George Sikharulidze, which was about Stalin returning from the dead, I couldn’t engage very well with this film as I don’t know enough about Stalin, which made me think about how important a target audience is in my own work so I can aim it at the right audience.
Another one of the films was called ‘All Inclusive’ which was directed and wrote by Teemu Nikki and it was all about a powerless man, who was then granted the power to control people but he takes it too far in different crazy ways. I used this short film as material to help me craft my dissertation screenplay. My screenplay is a psychological thriller all about a ballerina who is being control by a man until she breaks free but takes it too far. ‘All Inclusive’ allowed me to make my dissertation film a lot more terrifying, which I didn’t expect would come out of going to watch films at the Encounters Film Festival.
WRITERS WORKSHOP:
As a Screenwriting Student I thought I’d better attend the Writers Workshop, called ‘Serial Eyes- Experience the Writers’ Room’. And it was all about how and why to write TV in a post-Brexit world. Heidi Balletic and Pierre Puget discussed their experience and how important it is to build an international network with other screenwriters. Throughout the talk it made me realise how important the international film industry is and that I must network with people all over the world. After the talk I looked up some International Networking Events and found one in France, Lille called The European Film Festival of Lille, and it’s the 3rd biggest short film festival in France. I love travelling so I think that’ll be the next adventure for next year. Coincidently when Gail Renard came for a talk at the university, she also suggested that The European Film Festival of Lille is a fabulous place to Network especially for a writer.
Before the writers workshop I thought it was near impossible to become a screenwriter, but after talking to other screenwriters and people within the film industry it’s made me want to try because if they can do it why can’t I. The talk opened up my eyes to more ways into screenwriting and the aspect of going to a Film Festival abroad excites me, and makes me want to continue writing after university whilst working as a teacher.
British Sign Language:
After University I’m going to be doing a teacher training degree in a Secondary school teaching English and also going to SEN school to help children with special needs. When booking I wanted to see through the Encounters Film Festival website as soon as I saw there was British Sign Language Films, I was very excited and intrigued to find out what they were like. My university house mate is hearing impaired and can-do sign language and I’ve been to a few of his sign language classes, so a BSL film sounded very appealing to me.
The BSL films had a very different atmosphere to a lot of the films I saw, everyone who helped or was acting in the films was present and everyone seemed to know each other. The cinema was packed and it was surrounded by a lot of hearing impaired or deaf people, which made it feel like a very supportive community. I learnt some sign language whilst being around the audience and instead of clapping we would raise our hands and shake them in the air.
The first BSL film shown was called ‘CODA’ directed and written by Erika Davis-Marsh, which was about a child of a deaf adult (CODA) which I found very interesting as I’d never heard of the word CODA before. I want to become a teacher in the near future so watching and getting a different perceptive of the deaf world was very interesting and important to me, as being a teacher, you have to consider and under all obstacle’s children may face within their lives.
Another fun part about the BSL film was that we were able to vote for our favourite film, which was a fun experience and it made me focus and analyse the films more than usual. Throughout the films there was a lady doing sign language at the front of the cinema which was nice to see the deaf people being included. Throughout the Encounters Film Festival, I’ve witnessed a lot of inclusive of different countries and minorities with a lot of the films relating to the LGBTQ society, so it was also refreshing to watch films about BSL as well so they’re able to get their films across too.
At the end of the films I spoke to a lady who teaches sign language and is a special needs teacher, we spoke about the films and then I asked advice for going into a school and she said that it’s all about having high empathy, patience and understanding why you’re helping these children. I took this advice on board and thought about it whilst writing my UCAS Teacher Training personal statement and I now have an interview for November (Wish me luck)!
Encounters Film Festival Time Well Spent.
Encounters Film Festival has been a new experience for me, I really enjoyed the film festival and I feel like I’ve learnt a lot, and I’m proud of how many films I pushed myself to see.I loved meeting loads of new people from different walks of life and engaging with films, that’d neither have even thought about watching.
Being a delegate at the Encounters Film Festival meant that you had to be very motivated and proactive. Most films I saw started early in the morning and meant I would be at the festival one day from 10am-9pm at night so you had to be committed. The way I’d do the Encounters Film Festival differently is by staying for the whole week but spreading out my viewings of films so I could enjoy them more and not be so tired. Also I wish I was able to speak to more industry professionals but due to a tight time schedule I had to go to my next screening sometimes 5 minutes apart from each other, and wasn’t always able to make all the notes I wanted which I found quite challenging and stressful especially because I was exhausted.
The Film Festival was more tiring than I initially thought it would be, I must have watched over 20+ films a day, however, it was worth it and I’ve definitely developed skills that I can transfer onto my University degree and beyond. Just maybe next time if I return to the Encounters Film Festival I’d stay in a Premier Inn for a nice full English and a better nights sleep, as the hostel was not as enjoyable.
Liv's Blog :) 