After an intense session this evening of pitches and ideas about all the possible projects, my brain is slightly frazzled and needs some time to process all of the the information and condense my thoughts before I even begin writing about it. Therefore I thought I would just reflect on the past couple of sessions…
My highlights so far have been:
Programming the Fresh Flix selection for Encounters was inspiring and eye-opening. Listening to other people argue for or against a certain film, really opened up my mind to the different reasons why a film might be interesting to an audience, reasons I might not have previously considered. I came in to the session with such fixed ideas about the films we had watched, and came out again having completely changed my mind. I found the whole process exhilarating and I am very happy with the final selection of shorts.
The talk from Ian – Festival Director and a programmer and producer for Flatpack festival. I found this talk particularly inspiring because I got a strong sense of someone who had really seen something right through to it’s potential and beyond. The fact that he is now making a living from something that he loves, and that started off so simply (using a projector to show films in pubs), really struck a chord. During his presentation, he had plenty of good advice to give whilst maintaining a real sense of humble honesty and a strong connection with why his project had come about in the first place. He also made a very good example of someone who has found a different way of engaging with his passion for film … you don’t have to be a filmmaker to put on a great film festival.
A concept that I haven’t given much thought to before, but I have become very excited about since starting Future Producers, is the concept of immersive cinema. This is something that encompasses both my love for the visual arts, live art and performance, and also my love for film and storytelling, as well as my desire to produce events. This is why, in terms of projects, the BFI Gothic season Watershed event, which involves producing an Immersive Dark Arts Cinema event has captivated my imagination, and made my decision about which project i’d like to work on very easy. The fact that I now have a whole new form of art to explore and literally immerse myself in has seriously sparked my curiosity! Why did I never think about it before? There is so much possibility….