brief encounters the bristol short film festival

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Elijah Walters
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1 Uniquely among UK festivals Brief Encounters puts a premium on helping short filmmakers. The Reel Stuff introduction 2000 was particularly eventful for Brief Encounters Short Film Festival. In just twelve months, the organisation relocated to Watershed Media Centre, produced the highly acclaimed new animation festival, Animated Encounters, welcomed its first full-time Director and delivered a sixth Brief Encounters Short Film Festival. Only six years since its launch by the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, Brief Encounters can now legitimately stake its claim as Britain's premier festival devoted to the art of the short film. With 550 entries, represented in 23 ticketed programmes over five days, the 6th festival was our largest ever. It featured 135 of the best short films from 25 countries around the world, 30 of which were UK premieres, and benefited from the presence and support of some of the film industry's most respected companies. Attracting a record audience, the attendees were delighted with the diversity of the films screened. The festival was honoured to host over 60 filmmakers, media professionals and celebrities including Anthony Minghella (The Talented Mr Ripley) and Damien O'Donnell (East is East). The festival also welcomed representatives from Pathé, AtomFilms, Aardman Animations, BBC, Rushes, Hypnotic, Channel 4, the BFI, HTV, City Screen, European Coordination of Film Festivals, the Barbican, LFVDA, Scottish Screen, Leeds Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, 1576 Advertising, bolexbrothers, and many other national and international organisations, who attended the festival to scout films for possible distribution or presentation rights. New prestigious awards were introduced at this years festival with the support of leading partners from the film industry. Awards were offered in five separate categories, not only guaranteeing prize money to emerging film talent, but perhaps more importantly, UK cinema distribution deals that would ensure that the winning filmmakers work received much wider exhibition and audience exposure. These initiatives reflect the festivals commitment to supporting filmmaking talent and to promoting the short film to wider cinema and on-line audiences. The new competitive element received an enthusiastic response from filmmakers and members of the film industry alike, establishing Brief Encounters as an important competitive presence within the festival calendar. The growing reputation of Brief Encounters was further evident when the festival secured the first British screening of four critically acclaimed screen adaptations of Samuel Beckett plays. Beckett on Screen played to a packed auditorium and was followed by a lively Q & A session with three of the films directors, Anthony Minghella, Damien O'Donnell and Kieron J. Walsh. Michael Colgan, Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin, who had hatched the plan to capture all of Beckett's work on film, was also on stage to answer questions. Brief Encounters is only made possible by the support of our sponsors. We are indebted to a strong list of funders from the industry and beyond, and value our partnership with the film and television industries and the wider corporate world. Evidence of the range of involvement is outlined at the end of the report. While planning for Brief Encounters 2001 is already underway, with November having been set as the festival dates, special thanks must go to Mark Cosgrove, Head of Exhibition at Watershed Media Centre who undertook the role of Artistic Director and Dick Penny, Director of Watershed and his staff who this year provided considerable assistance and support in the transition period leading up to the appointment of the Festival Director.

2 Brief Encounters Short Film Festival the international festival of the genre. Financial Times festival programme 2000 A shorter and more intense programme than previous years packed 23 programmes into 5 days, compared with the 19 programmes shown last year over 8 days. It is an indication of Brief Encounters growing international reputation that, among the 550 films submitted, there were entries from as far afield as the USA, Canada, Peru, Brazil, Australia and Russia. Although the festivals primary location was the Watershed Media Centre our objective to reach new audiences meant that selected events and screenings also took place at Arnolfini, Bristol University's Wickham Theatre and Bristol's IMAX theatre. The full list of programmes is as follows Opening programme giving a flavour of the enormous variety and talent on show during the festival British premiere of four of the critically acclaimed screen adaptations of the work of Samuel Beckett Five programmes of acclaimed international shorts Three programmes of new British shorts Two programmes of the best new work from the South West region Three programmes demonstrating the innovative work of British artists working with short film, Tony Sinden, John Smith and Tim Macmillan Screening of the most promising filmmakers emerging from UK colleges organised by the National Association for Higher Education and the Moving Image (NAHEMI) Two programmes which focused on pop promos as a dynamic form of short film Late night outing for the more outrageous work in short film making Programme of large format shorts shown at Bristol's IMAX theatre Programme of short films aimed specifically at younger filmgoers

3 What sets Brief Encounters apart is that it maximises opportunities for distribution. David Sproxton, Aardman Co-Founder awards Three new competitive awards were introduced at this years festival; the Pathé 5 Minute Award, the International Jury Award and the Short Circuit Award. Altogether awards were offered in five separate categories, not only guaranteeing prize money to emerging film talent, but perhaps more importantly, cinema and on-line distribution deals that would ensure that the winning filmmakers work received much wider exhibition and exposure. The Awards Ceremony, sponsored by Crest Nicholson Properties, was one of the highlights of the festival. François Ivernel, Managing Director of Pathé Distribution, announced the winner of the Pathé 5 Minute Award, Méabh O'Donovan, Director of Short Circuit presented the Short Circuit Award, Jeremy Howe, executive producer of BBC 10x10 and Mark Hewitt, Managing Director of Rushes presented prizes to the winner and runner-up of DepicT! and Damien O'Donnell presented the AtomFilms Audience Award. The Brief Encounters 2000 awards and winners were: pathé 5 minute award To Be Continued (Dir. Linus Tunström, Sweden) won this new prestigious award and will now receive a UK cinema distribution deal attached to a Pathé feature film and will be included in that film's video and DVD release. international jury award Hong Kong (Dir. Gerard Holthuis, Netherlands) was selected by a jury of international industry professionals in recognition of outstanding quality and carried a cash prize of short circuit award for best british film Jomeo & Ruliet (Dir. Alnoor Dewshi, UK) was selected by a jury of UK industry professionals and will now be accepted into the Short Circuit scheme, a major new initiative to get short films into UK cinema distribution. depict! 2000 Unique to Brief Encounters, the competition is for films with a running time of 90 seconds or less. The judging panel included Adrian Wootton (Director of the London Film Festival), Mark Hewitt (MD of Rushes), Simon Relph (Chair of BAFTA), Steve Harding-Hill (Creative Director at Aardman), Simon Cooper (Public Affairs Director of GWR) and Rachel Tillotson (Winner of DepicT! 99). The winning film Big (Dir. Sara Dunlop, UK) received a cash prize of 3000 while the runner up Everything's Going to be Fine (Dir. Michael Akerman) received a state of the art camcorder, donated by McMillan UK. DepicT! was sponsored by Aardman, BFI, Rushes and AtomFilms, who streamed the 10 shortlisted films for three months on their site. The total DepicT! films views on the Atom site over the three-month period were 20,569. More information about DepicT! can be found on atomfilms audience award The Last Dream (Dir. Emmanuel Jespers, Belgium) was voted the most popular film of the festival by the all-important cinema going public. The award carried a cash prize of 500 and the film was screened on the AtomFilms website.

4 The premier event for short filmmakers in the country. Western Daily Press education programme Education continues to be a key element of Brief Encounters and this years activity was three-fold: a formal education programme for students and colleges; Briefing Series aimed at those running UK film festivals and special events for filmmakers and audiences to find out more about the art and craft of short filmmaking. All the events were well received and teachers commented positively on their value. The popularity of the programme is illustrated by attendance figures in table one. NatWest Life and the British Film Institute supported the Education Programme. formal education programme There were three main elements to the festivals formal education programme An online educational resource entitled Making It! which focuses on the one minute film, As I Was Falling, directed by the 1999 DepicT! winner, Rachel Tillotson. Aimed at students of 16+ the resource covers the background to the making of the film and provides information about the funding of short films. For further information visit A short course covering three evenings of discussion looking at the history and diversity of the short film. Making Pop Promos: an event for students of 16+ brought four top industry professionals together, David Drummond, David Smith, John Hassay and Jordan McGarry, to discuss the process of making pop promos. Examining four of their favourite films from the last few years, including Fat Boy Slims Praise You, they combined humorous how do they do that with constructive criticism. briefing seminars There were two Briefing Seminars during Brief Encounters 2000 Planning & Running a Film Festival: funded and run by the British Film Institute, the event was aimed at management staff of small to mid-scale film festivals in the UK. European Round Table: supported by the European Co-ordination of Film Festivals, this seminar focused on the importance of business support for film festivals. Speakers included Rory Concannon (Cork Film Festival), Andrew Kelly (Bristol Cultural Development Partnership), François Ballay (ECFF) and Jane Krish (Wildscreen).

5 Brief Encounters is a strong festival which delivers for filmmakers and audiences. I would be delighted to return to Brief Encounters. Anthony Minghella special events Brief Encounters hosted a number of formal and informal events during the festival. Open to both filmmakers and audiences the events aimed to extend access to cinema for a wider range of people, to provide a forum for discussion and to promote debate: The Script Factory: Following a successful event at last year's festival, the Script Factory returned to Brief Encounters with an afternoon of script readings by professional actors and discussion about the process of screen play development. In addition, the film Brilliant! was screened as part of the event which began life as a script reading at last years workshop. Without Boundaries, Panel Discussion: the artists profiled in the festivals Without Boundaries programme came together to discuss the pleasures and difficulties of creating experimental short film. The panel chaired by Al Rees (Royal College of Art) included Jo Lanyon (Curator of Without Boundaries and Director of Picture This Moving Image), Tim Macmillan, Tony Sinden and John Smith. Short Films in the Digital World: a series of timetabled discussions and presentations held in the festivals Digital Café looked at how the growth of digital technology and the impact of the web is reshaping the production and exhibition of short films. receptions The festival opened with an informal reception attended by over 250 guests, including representatives from the business community, the film industry, sponsors and of course, filmmakers. Other highlights included the sell-out awards ceremony to toast the talent of the festival and the late-night party held on the festivals penultimate evening, which included a performance of Simon Poulters Afterworld The Digital Guillotine. Open throughout the festival was the Digital Café, a new initiative for Brief Encounters. It was a very successful addition and helped generate a real buzz for the festival. Timetabled events were always full to capacity and it provided a good focal point where filmmakers, industry representatives and the general public could meet, see online short films, surf the net and relax. In addition, the AtomFilms sponsored drinks provided a lively venue each evening. film audiences Brief Encounters was extremely well attended this year. A total of fourteen events sold out, including the Opening Highlights, Closing Awards Ceremony, Beckett on Screen, International Panorama 5 and South West Shorts 1 with the Big Shorts programme at the IMAX and the Best of British programmes also very well subscribed. Non-ticketed events hosted in the Digital Café, proved very popular and were consistently filled to capacity. There was strong representation from the industry, including representatives from Pathé, AtomFilms, Aardman Animations, BBC, Rushes, Hypnotic, Channel 4, the BFI, HTV, City Screen, European Co-ordination of Film Festivals, LFVDA, Scottish Screen, Leeds Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, 1576 Advertising, bolexbrothers, as well as strong media attendance including representatives from the Financial Times, Total Film, BBC On-line, Bristol Evening Post, Western Daily Press and many more.

6 Superb festival, an excellent experience. Long may it last! Festival attendee Audience questionnaires were distributed at Watershed throughout the Festival. Valuable feedback has been obtained from the research, helping Brief Encounters to build a profile of its audiences. It is worth noting that almost 87% of respondents rated the festival as excellent/good and 25% of attendees came from over 50 miles away. audience attendance summary table 1 Date Event / Programme Attendance % 15 Nov Opening Highlights International Panorama Nov Running a Film Festival International Panorama International Panorama NAHEMI Student Shorts Big IMAX Best of British Without Boundaries Outrageous Shorts Nov International Panorama International Panorama Pop Promos: Schools Event European Round Table International Panorama Best of British International Panorama Art of Pop Video Nov International Panorama Without Boundaries Plug-in Cinema Script Factory Experiments in the Digital World International Panorama South West Shorts Art of Pop Video Discussion Best of British International Panorama Art of Pop Video Nov Shorts for Young People South West Shorts Without Boundaries Beckett on Screen Without Boundaries Discussion 15 8 Awards Ceremony TOTAL

7 Bristol's annual Brief Encounters has rescued the short film genre and this year its more star studded than ever. Venue Magazine marketing and publicity In 2000, Brief Encounters again devoted considerable resources to marketing expanded programme of free and ticketed events. The series of marketing activities were specifically devised to lever the festival outwards to new audiences and enable communication with target consumers for one month before the festival. In particular, there was an intensive distribution of the festival programme both nationally and regionally, joint mailings with Watershed and Picture This Moving Image, direct mail campaign through the Brief Encounters database and an intensive poster campaign. In addition, all printed publicity material was displayed at the venues of Brief Encounters partner arts organisations; Watershed, the Arnolfini, the Wickham Theatre and additionally at the British Film Institute and National Film Theatre in London. The Brief Encounters programme featured in the November brochures of Watershed, Arnolfini and the Wickham Theatre. printed publicity The following items were prepared to promote the years activities: 15,000 Festival postcards promoting the festival were distributed in January across the country and at film festivals worldwide 5,000 Film entry forms were sent out in February to filmmakers and film festivals worldwide 7,000 DepicT! 2000 post cards were distributed in March to schools, colleges, universities and regional arts boards 15,000 Festival brochures were distributed across the UK and South West of England 500 Posters were distributed both nationally and locally 2 full-page festival advertisements were taken out with Venue magazine to publicise the festival and credit sponsors Street banner displayed outside Watershed to publicise the Festival Advertising board displayed in the Watershed to publicise the festival and credit sponsors website The festivals web site is up-dated on a regular basis and carries information about the festival including film submission and press releases. The site also features links to other related sites including our sponsors and provides tourist and travel information for festival attendees.

8 The line-up is as digestible as the running times. The Guardian media coverage Caroline Harris PR, an external PR agency, was employed to handle the increased publicity associated with the growing festival programme. New initiatives included a press launch at Edinburgh Film Festival which was hosted by Damien O'Donnell and Dave Sproxton and attended by more than 90 press and industry professionals. Prior to the festival, HTV broadcast a 30-minute documentary on Brief Encounters which featured film clips and interviews as well as three half-hour programmes post-festival, providing opportunities for local and regional filmmakers to have their work seen by a much wider audience (43,000 viewers on average for each programme). Overall Brief Encounters enjoyed significant national coverage and strong regional coverage in 2000 including: national press Foresight Listings (Aug) - Information piece Film Monthly (Sep) - Diary piece Film News (Sep) - Information on festival launch Total Film (Sep) - Short preview article Guardian Guide (11 Nov) - Highlight article Financial Times (14 Nov) - Full-page article Mondo Magazine (16 Nov) - Picture and editorial Total Film (Dec) - Two articles radio and television HTV (November) - 3 half-hour documentaries HTV West News (15 Nov) - 3 spots on breakfast, lunch and evening news bulletins Film 2000 (16 Nov) - Short piece on Beckett shorts BBC Points West (15 Nov) - Feature in 3 news bulletins BBC Radio Bristol (16 Nov) - Interview with Mark Cosgrove and Eiméar Carolan BBC Radio Bristol (16 Nov) - Interview with the director of The Lido, a festival entry Eagle Radio (14 Nov) - Interview with Mark Cosgrove and Eiméar Carolan Eagle Radio (23 Nov) - Interview with Eimear Carolan on-line press/exposure AtomFilms - three month streaming for DepicT! BBC Bristol Online - Extensive features for 3 weeks prior to festival whatsonwhen.com - Page on Brief Encounters bbc.co.uk/film Piece on Beckett shorts shots.net - Festival highlights adhoc.co.uk - Details of festival film2.com - Reports on festival and awards BBC Knowledge - Competition for festival tickets local press Evening Post (Aug) - News article Folio (Nov) - Highlight article Venue Magazine (10 Nov) - Full-page feature Evening Post (11 Nov) - double page feature spread Western Daily Press (16 Nov) - Full-page feature Proof magazine (Nov) - Listings entry

9 The programming at Brief Encounters is great because it brings together the best films from shorts festivals across Europe during the year. The screenings are incredibly well attended which gives the Audience Award definite prestige. Pamela Casey, Acquisitions at AtomFilms, sponsors of the Audience Award sponsors and funders Fundraising and sponsorship is always crucial to the development of the Festivals work. As a partnership Brief Encounters works with a range of public and private organisations to maximise the resources available for the festival. Brief Encounters 2000 would not have been possible without the generous support and funding from the following organisations: Aardman Animations AtomFilms Bank of Wales BBC Bristol Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative Bristol City Council British Film Institute Crest Nicholson Properties European Co-ordination of Film Festivals Foundation for Sport and the Arts HTV McCann Erickson Bristol NatWest Life Pathé Rushes The South West Media Development Agency WESTEC Considerable help-in-kind was also provided for the festival by Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative (management of accounts), Solomon Hare (auditing), Kodak (film stock for the winner of NAHEMI) and TLT Solicitors (legal matters). It is worth noting that 66% of the audience questionnaire respondents were aware of sponsors support of Brief Encounters and that 60% of those respondents had a more positive view of the company as a result. the future This year has demonstrated that the Brief Encounters Short Film Festival is now an established player on the international film festival circuit. Brief Encounters commitment to the short film has gone from strength to strength, discovering and nurturing new films and talent for the UK and international audiences. Not only is the festival a major showcase for new British film it also put these films in an international context and brings together new and established talent. It has a strong presence in Bristol as part of the annual calendar of arts events and its reputation in Europe, as this years involvement by the European Coordination of Film Festivals demonstrates, grows healthier each year. New initiatives continue to highlight the spirit and enthusiasm of Brief Encounters. The organisation appointed its first full time director, Eimear Carolan, just before the start of the festival and she is working with members of the board, together with other key stakeholders, to further develop the festival on the international stage. Extra effort will be devoted to establishing a secure and independent flow of funds from organisations that feel that they have a stake in nurturing emerging creative talent.

10 Now, after six years of steadily increasing attendance and the launch of the spin-off Animated Encounters Festival, Brief Encounters is poised to take a giant leap forward on to the international stage. Venue Magazine Bristol's media is a key part of the cultural and economic life of the city, known world wide for its quality. Brief Encounters and Animated Encounters both celebrate this excellence and help develop it further. As Bristol moves forward to making its bid for 2008 Capital of Culture, both festivals will play a central role in highlighting the best that Bristol offers to the world and bringing the best of the world to Bristol. The festival team is currently preparing for the second Animated Encounters Festival, scheduled to take place at Watershed from Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 April Building on its very successful inaugural year, Animated Encounters will celebrate the enormous wealth of talent in Bristol and show the latest animation work being developed around the country. Brief Encounters 2001 will run from Wednesday 14 November to Sunday 18 November 2001.

Sponsorship Proposal

Sponsorship Proposal Contact Orlando Jopling, Artistic Director Orlando@romanrivermusic.org.uk 07808474515 Julie Cuthbert, Trustee Julie@red-bird.co.uk 07946476336 Roman River Music Registered Charity