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Critical Report
During the period between April 7th - July 1st 2014 I was the Programme
Planning Placement for the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The Film and
English and Film students at Napier University in Edinburgh were given the
opportunity to apply for this position along with the role of Guest List Placement.
Both of these positions were incredibly attractive to me, so I filled in the application
forms and sent my C.V and subsequently was interviewed for both. I was absolutely
thrilled to be accepted into the programming team and knew that although it was
going to be an exhausting few months I would endeavour to take on any challenge
that was set.
I was also very grateful to the university because I was able to get funding
due to the placement being unpaid. It would have been a long duration to work for
no pay and would have been incredibly difficult to pay the rent and bills at a time
when one does not receive bursary or any student loan. This required me, after
some confusion and e-mails back and forth with Payroll (who were very helpful),
filling in a Casual Hours form for April, May and June. I do feel incredibly lucky to
have gained the invaluable experience at the EIFF while also earning money. Many
people are requested to work for free within their field of interest which is a great
shame because not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford to do that.
Whilst working at the EIFF I kept up my weekend position at HMV and also
juggled university work during April and the beginning of May. I only had three days
off in those few months but other than almost falling asleep at my desk a couple of
times, I loved it. I was required to take the weekends of the festival as a holiday from
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HMV as it was a very busy time at EIFF. I have been employed at HMV for over fives
years and take great pride in the work I do while I am there. It is pleasurable to work
amongst things I am passionate about with like minded people. Now that the festival
is over many of the films which screened have found distributers and I find it very
exciting to seeing them on the shelves in HMV. Many of the skills I have gained from
working at HMV and in previous employment were transferable to EIFF and I believe
this, along with my passion, helped to secure my position in the programming team.
These skills include an eye for detail, effective communication, time management
and initiative. All of these were put into practice on a daily basis whether that was
communicating with filmmakers or carrying out admin based tasks.
During the first few days at EIFF I familiarised myself with the File
Management Program (FMP) and my the folders in my Mac. I don't think there was a
part of my computer I did not investigate! Later on I also came to know the software
for the Filmhouse. This was incredibly useful to me as I have never had admin
experience before and believe this will help me in office-based jobs in the future.
The FMP is where all of the information about the films that were potentially going
to be screened was kept. When I arrived there was so little information that some of
the titles were yet to even be confirmed, but it was amazing to me how quickly
everything came together. It was only after a film was confirmed that time was spent
making sure all of the required information was present and correct. I made sure all
spelling and grammar was correct such as capitalisation and looking out for spaces
where they shouldn't be, i.e. "USA , Canada". This was incredibly important because
what was in the FMP got printed directly in to the official publications and not only
would it make us look unprofessional but the filmmakers may be upset at such a
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mistake. For the sake of continuity I made sure countries where the films were from
were all written out in the same way, for instance there would be many versions of
USA such as, "U.S.A", "u.s", "America" etc. Making these the same was also useful for
searching in the FMP so if one wanted to find all of the films from the USA they could
do so with ease and without the worry that they are missing any out due to spelling
differences. It is this sort of attention to detail which I find quite natural and take
enjoyment from. Getting the opportunity to develop this and for it to be recognised
as a skill essential to a film festival as apposed to just one useful for working in a
shop will give me confidence in any interviews or jobs to come.
Within the FMP I also filled in any missing information that I could find online
including checking whether the film had a British Board of Film Classification (BBFC),
most of which did not. Nearer the end of the planning for the festival the
programmers who were in charge of each film without a BBFC would make an
informed decision and select one as a guide for the audience. I spent a great deal of
time Googling all of the films in the FMP which enabled me to bring interesting
information which was unknown to other members of staff. When Snowpiercer
(Joon-ho Bong, 2013) was in deliberation I found out that it had been released in
France on DVD and BluRay which was months even before the USA release. Another
film which was screened was Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy (Michele Gondry, 2013)
but through having the version of Netflix from the USA legally accessible through my
laptop I noticed the moment the film was put on it. Again, this wasn't an issue but
could have affected ticket sales if potential audience members noticed. I found it
incredibly interesting to familiarise myself with all of the films that would be
screened. It meant I knew if it had been shown at any other festival and what other
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films the filmmaker may have directed. This has actually come in useful at HMV
because I have had customers who have described films to me that screened at the
festival and I have been able to recognise and help them, much to their surprise. The
feature length films were mainly looked after by the senior programmers even
though I still learned as much as I could about them, and I spent a lot of my time
focused on the shorts, in particular the experimental films.
From early on I was given lists of films to invite to be screened at the festival,
which made me feel incredibly proud and I found it thrilling. I would imagine how
excited they may get and it was wonderful to see that in their responses. These lists
were from submissions which means the festival team didn't seek these films out,
they were sent to us. Most of the short filmmakers I was in touch with had me as
their only point of contact within the festival team. It was brilliant to go from
changing the status on the FMP to 'confirmed' to seeing that it had arrived at the
Filmhouse. I was treated like a professional in these e-mails, the filmmakers trusted
me and didn't know I had only been working there for a few weeks. I tried my best to
help them and if there were questions I didn't fully know the answer to, I always
made sure to confirm my replies with more senior members of staff. There were a
few instances where people wouldn't reply and this meant having to try to prompt
them without harassing. Some of the time it was due to my e-mail going straight to
their junk mail and after the second one they would realise. One filmmaker who did
not respond for some time had not signed the contract as she was filming on
location but ended up taking a photograph of her signature with her mobile phone
and sending it to me for me to paste on to the document. I found this very funny but
have actually taken inspiration from it and have signed documents myself this way
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but by using a digital camera and not a phone. Due to a lot of the films I focused my
time on being rather unknown it was quite difficult to find any missing information
online so it was very important to try to encourage the filmmakers to reply. If we did
not have vital information such as what format their film was or the running time
then it would make programming incredibly difficult. If their film was being sent to
us as 16mm we would have to make sure it was being screened in a cinema which
has a 16mm projection so for this reason alone it was of utmost importance we had
all of the details. I had to answer a few questions regarding formats we accepted
which was interesting for me because I went from not having any understanding to
being able to answer any questions without having to ask another member of staff.
This has given me great insight into the cinema and film festival industry and is also
beneficial if I had a film in a film festival.
There were some special cases of questions and concerns regarding the
screening of films. A filmmaker e-mailed me concerning the signing of the embargo
because within their film there was a different film on a screen for which they did
not have permission to use. When it comes to using peoples' sound or image within
a film it is vital to get signed permissions otherwise it is possible for them and the
festival to be sued. I mentioned the problem to my manager and he was happy to
write a letter removing any responsibility from the EIFF which I then got the
filmmaker to sign. This way it was their prerogative to agree for us to screen the film
without them having the correct permissions. When researching these smaller, more
independent films there were a couple of times when I would find them already
online and available to the public. In these cases the filmmaker would be politely
asked to make it private it or remove it as it does not adhere to the festival's
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embargo. I was rather fortunate because this was the only problem like it that I had
to deal with. It was a lot more straight forward than I imagined it was. I believe that
my doing research into many of the films showed foresight and I was able to point
out things others may not. I was happy that my eagerness to learn paid off and like
to think that I made a difference, however small.
There were some menial jobs which I was asked to perform but I had no
problem with this, it was all important and went toward the smooth running of the
festival. One job in particular took a long time to complete. This was the printing and
cutting of the cards used to programme which film would be shown at what time
and in what location. The cards contained the film title, the running time and the
format. Each film had to be printed out twice, once in the colour of which strand it
will be in and once in one set colour which is for the Press and Industry screenings.
The strands were separated in to colours so as if an audience member wanted to see
all of the Focus on Iran section of the programme there would not be two films of
this strand on at the same time. All of the cards were cut out using scissors as the
guillotine was quite blunt and because the pieces of cards were small the cuts would
have been less precise. Although this task may not have taken much thought, I took
great care with each cut I made and seeing them all pinned to the board gave me a
great sense of satisfaction and pride. It is important in circumstances such as the
organisation of festivals to remember the bigger picture but I managed to try and
give everything I did my full attention.
I was also able to have the opportunity to get to do some jobs relating to the
Filmhouse's non-festival films. This was due to the Filmhouse programmer having to
spend a lot of her time on the festival as it drew closer. I helped by making sure films
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were on their way and sending out chaser e-mails if not. This lead me being in
contact with distributers over the phone which made me very nervous as I avoid
using the phone in my day-to-day life, and talking to a strangers as a professional
seemed very daunting. I was incredibly glad of the experience as I believe it has
made me less anxious and will definitely help me in the long term. While working for
the Filmhouse as apposed to the EIFF I helped to programme a Chaplin season for
the first two weeks of July. This involved me being in correspondence through e-mail
with MK2 who are the distributers of the Charlie Chaplin films we wished to screen. I
had to make sure the prints of the films we required while available on the days we
wanted them and negotiate a price. I had guidance from my manager as to what to
suggest when it came to the price. This was very interesting because it had never
occurred to me before that the price would change depending on how many times
each film would be screened. This seems like common sense to me now because the
Filmhouse would make more money if each film was screened as many times as
possible and MK2 would not benefit. This season was also quite special because the
Chaplin shorts that were screened had recently been remastered and it was the first
time they were being shown which impacted on the price. To be depended on to
organise such events was a wonderful feeling as it showed I was trusted.
As the festival neared its end I began to check again to make sure we would
receive the films in time for regular Filmhouse programming. Along with this, it
conspired that in the midst of the festival several Iranian films did not have subtitles
or the subtitles were in another language. This meant having to get them translated
and then put into the form of a Powerpoint presentation and for that to be
projected against the film. I spent many hours copying text from the document and
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transferring it in to Powerpoint. It was important to make sure that the dialogue
didn't get confused between more that one character and that there wasn't too
much writing on each slide. I found this whole process rather rewarding and knowing
something I did was enabling the audience to understand what was being said was
very fulfilling. It was also commented on that I managed to do it with speed as well
as precision and this meant a lot to me.
As well as generally being a part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival,
a highlight for me was getting the opportunity to meet filmmakers I have a lot of
admiration for. I noticed that Tim Walker, a photographer whose work I adore had a
short film in the programme. Although I took the Blu-Ray screener home to watch, I
made sure I attended the shorts programmed it screened in as its beauty would have
been all the more on the big screen. When I found out that he was going to be doing
a Q&A after the programme I was beyond excited and although I was so nervous I
made sure I had questions in mind to ask if I got the chance. Not only did I get to ask
my questions but he and his producer went to the Cameo bar afterwards and I was
able to converse with him and get a photograph. I felt like I had to seize the
opportunity and not be shy while also keeping a professional demeanour even
though I was overwhelmingly star struck. I think this encounter helped develop some
confidence ever so slightly. My second highlight my incredibly brief chat with Robert
Kondo who directed The Dam Keeper with Dice Tsutsumi. This film is an animated
short and my favourite film of the whole festival. I like to believe I had some
contribution in him being at the festival because after seeing his film and falling in
love with it, I e-mailed the industry team and suggested inviting Robert Kondo to do
an animation lab or something similar. I was overwhelmed when I heard that he was
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going to be doing a talk along with some other animators and was delighted to get
the opportunity to talk to him before the screening of his film. I was encouraged by
members of the programming team to make my suggestion and the fact it was
listened to and taken seriously gave me affirmation and belief in myself.
Throughout my time at the Edinburgh International Film Festival I have
learned to trust myself and believe that I will be taken seriously. The manoeuvre
from jobs in retail and being a student to helping run a festival gave me the belief
that I am a capable person and although I am still not very confident, my confidence
certainly improved. I am incredibly proud that I kept up a full time and part time job
while continuing with university deadlines and believe being that busy suited me. All
of the admin based tasks I did will stay with me and benefit any office jobs I do in the
future, along with gaining experience in conducting myself in a professional manner.
Most of all, my time at EIFF has made me realise that working with film in that
manner is something I would like to base my career on. An ideal job for me would be
either in distribution or starting as a production assistant in an established
production company. Throughout my time at university I hadn't know what it was I
wanted to do once my studies had ended but this placement has changed that. I am
so thankful to everyone who made my experience there possible and I am proud
that I was chosen and that I deserved it.
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Photographs from my time at EIFF
The force behind the festival. I'm in the second row fourth from the right.
Opening night in such a wonderful venue! (The National Muesum)
I'm in the bottom right hand corner (with the pink hair).
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This is the first film I received (Into the Innards) from the ones I invited.
A small selection of the cards I cut out...
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I am responsible!
This is a photograph of the Filmhouse database. I particularly wanted to document
this because I love Locke and was incredibly excited to see The Wind Rises.
I thought this was cute. Also, I have
a lot of admiration for Ainslie Henderson
One day mainly consisted of laminating.
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I got to do some research for Chris Fujiwara which meant going through ALL of the
old programmes and catalogues. I absolutely loved it.
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These are some gifts Robert Kondo brought for me. I was so overwhelmed.
The much sought after brochure which
we had to keep hidden until the
announcement.
