From: Jason Cortlund (email suppressed)
Date: Tue Dec 18 2007 - 12:56:41 PST
I agree with Brook's assessment--festivals often just use the filmmakers own
statement, which I think is safe and lazy on the part of programmers who do
this. And it short-changes what programmers are offering--establishing a
clear, specific, and (hopefully) thoughtful context for the works they're
showing.
In my past experience as a programmer, that kind of catalog writing takes
time and many hands to generate. At Cinematexas, writing and rewriting took
about a month after the programs were locked, it always went to the ultimate
deadline for printing, and it was always painful for the catalog
coordinator. But the copy was usually much appreciated by filmmakers. W got
feedback that our catalogs were seen as valuable resources by other
organizations. And our work was often widely republished (sometimes it was
even appropriately credited to the author, and not just plagiarized--wow!).
I think it was worth the trouble.
As a filmmaker, I've found it rare to get anything more than a paraphrase.
Even if someone has a completely weird take in what they write--I'd like to
know what that is. Then again, I've also never had anyone publish something
I totally disagree with that I feel was a misrepresentation. But it's worth
the risk.
Jason Cortlund
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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.