How Film Bridges Borders – SFFL greets China’s best student filmmakers
This April SFFL had the honour of hosting the winners of China Student TV Festival (CSTVF), the Beijing competition for the country’s best young filmmaking and media talent – in many ways a sister to SFFL. A delegation of deans from top universities in China* together with 23 winners of CSTVF 2011 visited London from April 10-19. The visit was a tremendous success, with SFFL introducing the guests to London and connecting them with UK filmmakers and Unis. Just one of many examples of how film connects and inspires across borders!
The aim of the tour was to use the link between the London Olympics 2012 and Beijing Olympics 2008 to initiate cultural dialogue and events between China and the UK. The university deans sought meetings with UK universities to discuss educational exchanges in the future, especially those related to media, art and design. The students visited London as part of their prize, shooting several short films about cultural topics and the Olympics for CCTV, a major Chinese TV channel.
CSTVF has already exchanged film resources, celebrities, and sponsorships with the SFFL Chinese satellite team, so hosting them in London was a natural and exciting opportunity for us.
The visit was chock-full of activities, meetings and sightseeing. There was a joint filmmaking session including both the Chinese and SFFL winners. Both sides learned new filming and scriptwriting techniques. There was an evening gala at the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrave Square, an opportunity for the visitors to experience London’s diverse and thriving cultural milieu. SFFL arranged meetings between the Chinese deans and management of UAL, Oxford, and University of Westminster. We were even able to arrange a trip to see the Olympic final 100days Marathon in West Ham Park, together with the China UK Cultural Association.
We finished on a high-note with a goodbye gala right here in our home of London College of Communication, which was attended by members of the LCC administration.
All in all it was a highly rewarding experience for everyone, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it!
We can’t wait to keep expanding our message of empowerment and opportunity to talented filmmakers all over the world.
*The Chinese universities were represented by: Dean of Communication Institute, Liaoning University-Zhongyin Geng, Head of Jiangsu Broadcasting and TV Bureau-Fang Wang, Dean of School of Cinema and Television, Communication University of China- Beilie Xing, Dean of News and Communication College, Renmin University-Weizheng Lei, Dean of Art College, Shanghai Jiaotong University-Yizhong Li, Dean of Film and Art College, Hunan University- Zhiyong Zhao, Head of CSTVF-Zheng Wang.
Mag+ Launches Tablet Publishing Contest for Magazines, Music and Film, Comics, Books, Catalogues, and Creative Portfolios
“Magnify Your World” Offers Cash Prizes, iPads and Global Exposure to Influential Leaders in Six Creative Industries
The revolution will be digitised. Are you ready? Whether marketing a business, a book, a band, a magazine, even a movie or your own work, tablet publishing must be part of your promotional strategy in 2012. Today, Mag+, one of the world leaders in easy-to-use digital publishing platforms for touch screen tablets, motivates all creatives to engage with iPad and tablet publishing via its “Magnify Your World” contest http://www.magplus.com/magnify/.
Contestants may win one or more of eight cash prizes, several iPads, exposure to industry luminaries in their respective fields and the possibility of being featured in a Mag+ international marketing campaign.
Entrants can submit their digital publishing passion projects in one of six creative categories to be eligible to win US$1,000* (£630)** plus the chance to capture an additional $5,000 (£3,000) as the Best-in-Show winner.
The public will also vote via social media for a Peoples’ Choice Winner, who will also win $1,000 (£630). Every month, a Mag+ “Pick of the Month” will be showcased in a brief video – and its creator will win an iPad. The open entry period lasts until June 1st. An international jury of experts will choose the final winners. Winners will be announced June 20 and featured in an upcoming Mag+ marketing campaign.
The exposure to well connected industry leaders cannot be overlooked. The winner of Mag+’s last contest, New Zealander Natasha Mead, saw her entry MILK, a DIY fashion magazine exclusively for the iPad, secure her a job with Urbanity in the US.
“Mag+ understands how designers want to work, and using these tools has given me the opportunity to create relevant interactive content without ever compromising the aesthetic,” says Mead. “I love using InDesign with Mag+ and the ability to use these tools has given me a huge advantage in my career.”
The contest categories are as follows:
• BEST IN SHOW $5,000 (£3,170): Chosen by a jury from the seven categories below
• BOOKS $1,000 (£630): Any type of book for the general public
• BROCHURES & CATALOGUES $1,000 (£630): Created for corporate use including brochures, annual reports, catalogues, media kits
• COMIC BOOKS $1,000 (£630): Graphic novels, comic books
• EDITORIAL $1,000 (£630): Magazines, newsletters, newspapers, blogs, online magazines
• MUSIC & MOVIE $1,000 (£630): Bands, filmmakers, DJs, theatres, venues, albums, documentaries
• SELF-PROMOTION $1,000 (£630): Promotion of services, experience or portfolio for students, designers, photographers, writers, PR/ad/interactive/design firms, law firms, etc
• PEOPLE’S CHOICE $1,000 (£630): (Note: NOT NECESSARY TO WIN): Social category in which the winner will be chosen through public voting
For more information please contact Nancy Prendergast or Lise Colyer on 020 7243 4440, nancy@tannissanmae.com; lise@tannissanmae.com.
*$ amounts in USD throughout.
**GBP values are approximate and subject to GBP/USD currency fluctuations.
About Mag+
Mag+ (www.magplus.com) is the most flexible and efficient platform for publishing creative content on touch screen tablets. Mag+ premiered on the first iPads in April 2010 with the award winning Popular Science+ application and now supports more than 100 apps, including those from Outside, IKEA and Maxim. With its streamlined production system, powerful backend and feature-rich design framework, Mag+ is ideal for anyone — from magazine and book publishers to catalogue marketers and design agencies — wanting to bring beautiful, immersive content to the millions using this new generation of digital devices.
More about Mag+ for designers
Mag+’s simple InDesign-based magazine software puts full creative control in the hands of the designers, not the tech guys. Video, HTML5 elements and other interactive features are added directly in InDesign. Mag+ is the only digital publishing platform to offer instant fully functional layout review on the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab, which lets designers try new things and see immediately what the user experience will be. Mag+ offers a flexible and cost-efficient solution for getting your publication live on tablets: Free tools and a fully branded, feature-rich reader app. You only start to pay when you publish and can choose a monthly subscription or per-issue model. You can then go ahead and publish, using the powerful web-based backend to manage your users, issues and analytics. The magazine software’s built-in features include analytics from Omniture, Localytics or Flurry; in-app subscriptions; and Tapjoy, Admob and Appirator integration.
Panos 72 hour Film Challenge - Winner Announced
One month ago, as part of Student Film Festival London 2012, 5 film crews, undertook the challenge, to make a short film in 72 hours. Panos London set the challenge “ to make a film about an individual or group who they feel are invisible or misrepresented in the UK media”.
SFFLondon and Panos London were thrilled with the fact that all 5 filmmakers managed to complete the challenge within the time allocated and with the overall standard and variety of those films.
The films were judged by the Rainbow Collective (www.rainbowcollective.co.uk),
Jan Harlan(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0363214/) and
Panos London (www.panos.org.uk) .
We are excited to announce that Paul Harraby, producer/director of Better Man is the winner of the 72 hour challenge.
Panos London will be contacting all of the filmmakers individually to provide them with individual feedback on the films, but also to learn more from them about the process of putting the films together, to how people got on with the consent forms, and ensuring everyone in the film saw a rough cut of it before it was finalised.
Well done to the 5 brave filmmakers and their crews!
SFFLondon meets with Underwire Co-Founder and Co-Director Gemma Mitchell and wearer of many hats in film making and exhibition, to find out all the latest tips about how to get into film festival and which creatives have inspired her .
Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you get started in film?
G: I went to art school fully intending to become a fine art textile designer, which was quickly gazzumped after being exposed to the world of film production for only 1 hour! Combining both the left and right side of my brain, I developed an infectious enthusiasm for a world which allowed me to explore creative storytelling whilst feeding my addiction to stationery.
Now you run a film festival. What is the story behind Underwire?
G: Underwire was set up by Gabriella Apicella and myself in 2010 on a mission to support women in filmmaking early in their careers, but when we say filmmakers we aren’t just talking about directors. I’m a producer and Gabriella is a writer, and we wanted to set up the kind of festival that would support the sort of work that we do too! You know, filmmaking is probably the most collaborative form of creative expression and although directors are pivotal, the best films are the best because of strengths across the whole team. We wanted to shine a spot-light on women working in those craft roles, and give them a platform to feel excited and recognised for the work that they do.
Underwire awards Directing, Producing, Writing, Editing, Cinematography and Composing. We work with awards partners so that the winners don’t just go home with something shiny, but are provided with support for the next year of their careers. We also have The XX Award, which is for the most interesting representation of women on screen.
Did you receive a high number of student films for Underwire?
G: Erm, not sure actually – that’s not something that we monitor, but I’d hope so! We did as much outreach as possible to universities as students are a really key audience for us, especially female students – a lot of the filmmakers who attend the festival have told us that they felt really exhilarated by the experience, just by meeting other women who are making and seeing the quality of female practitioners in other fields. I’d love to see students carry that flame too.
As a film curator, what advice could you give students who wish to get their work seen?
G: Get networking, keep producing, and don’t make a film longer than 20mins! Seriously though, keep it short – think of the programmer, they’ve got around 90mins and want to show as much quality work as possible. If you’re asking them for your film to take up almost a fifth of their programme then it has got to be exceptional, and I mean REALLY exceptional. It’s much easier to take a risk on something you love at 5 – 10 minutes.
What are the most common and avoidable mistakes you have noticed in submitted entries?
G: Don’t spend money on a fancy press kit – it does look pretty but what we care about is what’s on the disc.
As above, keep it short… the amount of films I see when I’m just like ‘two minutes off the end and it would have been in’ is really crippling!
Own your work – don’t make something derivative, make something you love. Someone’s love of a project oozes out of the screen onto you.
You are the founder of short film festival dedicated exclusively to women, which female directors have inspired you professionally?
G: This isn’t just about directors, so I’d say Producer Andrea Calderwood, Doc’s Director Kim Longinotto and writer Abi Morgan.
Could you name three up coming women filmmakers?
G: Ooooo – that’s bias! Work that I have loved would be Ruth Paxton, Deborah Haywood and Christine Entwisle.
What are your plans for next year?
G: We’re desperate to get out to the regions, so we’re working that out now and we’ll be back again in November for a bigger and even better festival! Sign up to the newsletter on the website to be kept up to date – we’ll be accepting submissions again from the 16th of May.
Sundance London Short Film Competition
There has been a beautiful rumor circulating on the grapevine, which I am sure you have heard. Sundance is coming to London this April with all the A-listers and indie stars it entails. So now you have a chance to meet and mingle with your film icons at this year’s festival if you submit an original short by the 28th of February!
What you need to win?
- Be unique and daring.
- Create new content.
- Tell the ‘Story of our Time’.
Why we believe in students
We are the generation of the credit crunch, of tuition fees, of the hipsters. Our lives have been shaped by the mistakes of previous governments, the misplaced faith of generations, lies and deceit from our core institutions. External factors have decided our fate and we have been disempowered, ripped of any agency; finally we have been called the ‘Lost generation’. Time, this last decade, has been our master, our focus and as such there is no one better placed to tell the ‘Story of our Time’. Speak up students and show Robert Redford your experience of what he described as ‘some of the most profound years of rapid change in our lifetimes’.
Sundance creates a platform for emerging filmmakers
The founder of the Sundance institute has created an opportunity for filmmakers to reflect around the unifying theme of ‘Story of Our Time,’ in the hope this ‘will open a window into both the challenge and the inspiration of these days’.
January’s London Short Film Festival frenzy
What an incredible start to the year with London Short Film Festival ‘s buzzing opening night at the ICA and sold out screenings of Low Budget Mayhem - a category Students like yourselves should explore for tips and screening opportunities. Suitcase cinema, provided us with a rare opportunity to recycle, deface and re-imagine film reel, fulfilling an old fantasy of mine of getting tactile with film.
We also loved their collaboration with Shooters in the Pub and Straight 8, these guys were absolutely fantastic. If you have not heard about them before Straight 8 is a super 8 film international festival. Shooters submit one cartridge only without editing, an exercise in style but with no limits to the content, we laughed, cried and cowered at these truly original and fun works. Even better, these displayed side by side in silent disco set-up, the resulting confusion of soundtracks was enlightening as to the function of sound in cinema.
Tonight some of us will be heading to Screen Social, a film focused VJing set at the Book Club and others to Kino, an open mic film event in Brick Lane, we can’t be everywhere at once but we really wish we could with all the exciting events happening in London this month. This Friday Midnight Movies are partnering with LSFF at the Rio Cinema which should be treat, we are big fans but mostly the SFFteam loves nothing more than to hide from the weekend crowded clubs at this magnificent theatre.
Please visit http://shortfilms.org.uk/lsff9/events if you want to know more…
72 HOUR FILM CHALLENGE POWERED BY PANOS LONDON!
Taking part in the Student Film Festival’s 72 hour challenge means that Panos London can share our vision with promising young film makers, encouraging them to make the marginalised, visible, and feature their voices and stories. Panos London will also be sponsoring an internship for one lucky student, mentoring them and building their capacity to use participatory communication methods to enhance their film making skills.
Having a say in how we live is something that we often take for granted. Most of us reading these words are able to communicate our opinions publicly and affect decisions in our family, community, society and government. Yet, millions of people around the world don’t have this freedom, and remain silent and invisible. Panos London works to break the barriers that keep people silent. They create new spaces for dialogue and inclusive platforms for people who are often not heard, by engaging with the media, using participatory communication approaches and technologies, such as mobile phones, social media, oral testimonies and video and photo storytelling.
How Does the Competition Work?
SFF London is looking for 5 student filmmakers to participate in the challenge.
Each filmmaker is allowed to work with a crew of 3 people. They will get 3 days or 72 hours to create a 1-3 minute short film.
The challenge will launch as part of the SFF London Opening Ceremony at 7.30pm on 2nd February 2012. Panos London will present the brief that will outline the rules of the challenge. SFF London will provide all teams will camera, sound and editing equipment for all 3 days. All teams are required to submit their films online to competition@sfflondon.org at 9pm on 5th February 2012.These films will be featured on the SFF London website for one week and the winner will be declared by majority public vote.
TO PARTICIPATE EMAIL US BEFORE 27TH JANUARY 2012
About me
Student Film Festival is London's first international film festival solely for student films, a platform for young filmmakers to showcase their work and to meet established industry professionals. Founded by enterprising young people for young people, SFFLondon aims to support aspiring filmmakers, set designers, actors –cast and crew alike, to bring their colours to the future of cinema.
http://www.sfflondon.org/
