From: Bryan Konefsky (email suppressed)
Date: Wed Feb 16 2011 - 11:49:39 PST
An interesting and ongoing discussion... some
observations:
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is no longer an experimental
film festival... They now call themselves an "independent"
film festival. One of the reasons they receive so many
submissions dates back to when they first signed on with
Withoutabox. There, they made the decision to include
narrative and documentary works as well as experimental,
and their submission numbers skyrocketed... However, for
the kind of festival they are, I think they still do a
good job.
I agree on the thread about micro-cinemas. Basement Films
(a micro-cinema) has been around since 1991 and as the
years go by we have seen the number of artists touring
their works ebb and flow (presently ebbing). One of the
reasons we began our Experiments in Cinema festival had to
do with the "ebbing." And here I should note that the
"ebbing" refers to both touring filmmakers and audience
size. So our decision was to create a once-a-year event
that might reinvigorate our audiences (and attract
filmmakers from outside New Mexico to attend).
We run a way-transparent operation (no $75,000 salaries in
our organization)... Basement Films and Experiments in
Cinema is a 100% volunteer run operation. We attract
approximately 300-350 entries annually (from around the
globe) and we screen approximately 50 works each year
(usually representing 15 countries). Our entry fees are
free to international entrants and to those whose works we
have screened in the past. Our entry fees are $15/film
and if one enters 3 or more works that fee drops to $10
per entry. Our annual budget to run our event is
approximately $15,000 (mostly funded by regional grants).
We screen all digital formats, VHS, super 8, regular 8,
35mm, and 16mm.
All artists whose work we screen receive (free) a 4 DVD
set of our complete festival program (artists must agree
to this condition to participate)... Sure, mastering and
burning these DVDs costs us money, but it's about building
community (globally) and sharing. To this end we travel
our event to schools around New Mexico free-of-charge
throughout the year hoping to inspire a new generation of
filmmakers to create movies in ways we never imagined
possible. We also share our programming internationally -
most recently in St. Petersburg, Russia and Berlin,
Germany.
We never screen "calling card" films.
We don't believe in "art stars."
We don't believe in corporate sponsorship. B&H approached
us this year and we declined.
We do not believe in VIP passes, nor do we believe in
VIPs.
In a mild (and perhaps late) nod to Marxism, know that we
are not a competitive festival. We believe that prizes
are arbitrary and delusional validations of cultural
value.
Moving image art has a unique responsibility in terms of
representing a vital barometric read of the human
condition. And, as such it should never be undermined and
simply refered to as "content."
We believe that there is a value in nurturing this annual
week-long micro community of festival goers and presenters
- something that can not be replicated on-line until,
perhaps we achieve what media theorist Gene Youngblood
calls "emotional bandwith."
We don't give a rats ass about making money. We are
invested in supporting filmmakers and those interested in
the particular kind of cinema we support. Additionally,
at our event we never do "Q & A" with attending
filmmakers, rather the audience AND filmmakers engage in
deep and meaningful discussion. We are not a "launch pad"
to the industry - we believe in films made by makers who
have an investment in the stories they tell because they
recognize the importance of participating in shaping
future trends of cultural representation. We are not
interested in movies made by committees of lawyers and
marketing experts.
We do laugh now and again, but we are serious about what
we do. We hope to grow organically and if that means
staying the size we are, that is fine. We vow to derail
any attempt (if such an opportunity arose in the future)
to be listed in Variety magazine. We are not independent,
we are un-dependent (a term credited to My House
micro-cinema).
In closing, know that we are not suggesting that what we
do is all that unique. There are other festivals with
whom we share a common mission. We pride ourselves in
being part of a rich and complex matrix of international
festivals.
We hope to see some of you at our event this year (April
13-17, 2011).
see www.experimentsincinema.com for more info.
SPOSIBO
Bryan Konefsky, Visualiste
Artistic Director, Experiments in Cinema
President, Basement Films
Advisory Board, Ann Arbor Film Festival
guest curator, Southwest Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Lecturer, Dept. of Cinematic Arts, University of New
Mexico
================
"As the spirit wanes the form appears." - Charles Bukowski
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