Mike's ShortFest feedback

ShortFest co-director Mike Rom has his own take on how filmmakers react to being shown -- or not shown -- in film festivals:

Mike says:
"I'm glad that directors and producers are passionate about their films but they have to know that films are subjective -- films that I like, someone else could hate. That's why films can win at one festival and not even get into another. You can have one audience clap and cheer and another walk out. That's the nature of the film business. One of the producers of Star Wars didn't think it was very good and was flabbergasted that people were standing around the block to get into it!

You should never put your film up on a pedestal -- make the best film possible, one that you want to see and hope you can find an audience that will appreciate your vision. There were things that we loved about each of the films that got into our festival and our online showcase. The audience laughed and reacted in all the right places and seemed to like the selections so be happy that you touched a few people and if you are in the online showcase maybe you'll find a wider audience who will love your creation."

So take our blog comments as helpful hints; trying to help you enjoy fests more and remain positive about the entire experience! We love all the films that were shown at the ShortFest! :)

the online ShortFest is next!

It has taken a week, but I have finally recovered from last Saturday's ShortFest. What a wonderful ride! Thank you again to all who have offered your kind and sincere words, especially the filmmakers. TucsonFilm.com will be updated with photos and filmmaker comments ASAP, I promise.

Up next is the online ShortFest, with almost every single film from the festival (plus many, many others selected specifically for online screening)! We are delighted to announce that we have now obtained the permission to include online the Best of Festival winner ("El Gran Zambini" from Spain) and the Audience Selection ("The Old Negro Space Program" from California). We'll announce soon the launch of the online library for the TucsonFilm.com ShortFest.

We'll also announce the opportunity for Arizona filmmakers to collaborate on a Super-16mm shoot we have coming up. As we say, we are filmmakers, not filmtalkers. :)

We're ALSO in negotiation with new and additional sponsors and partners to help build the TucsonFilm.com ShortFest. Yes, success does attract attention, lol. Many great surprises are ahead, (he he he), and we will make sure that those of you who have supported us from the beginning will be the first to benefit. :)

More soon, I promise...

THANK YOU, ARIZONA!

OK, I took about 12 hours off on Sunday to recuperate from the incredible high of Saturday's ShortFest. I'm working now on updating the Web site with all the winning films, fest photos and info on the online version of the festival that will go up soon. The ShortFest is just getting started, folks!

The mini-report: The first TucsonFilm.com ShortFest was a huge success by anyone's critical standard. Our humble gratitude to the hundreds of filmmakers and film lovers who came to Tucson from all over the West, and to those who unwavered in their support for the quality of our filmmaker seminar and the film selection itself.

Thank you to all whose vision, loyalty, understanding and passion matched our own. Mike Rom and I have already put many hundreds of hours of work into this fest, and it was so gratifying (and a great relief) to see our efforts embraced by the people whose opinions and input mean the most to us: our fellow filmmakers.

Complete details will be at TucsonFilm.com and on this blog later today!

April 15, 2006 -- The TucsonFilm.com ShortFest is here!

We've poured our hearts and souls into creating a film festival for filmmakers. Today is the day, when we see if Tucsonans will unwrap the present offered to them.

The outpouring of support from our partners, friends and well-wishers is so greatly appreciated! No one but the filmmakers can understand how much of one's being is put into making a film -- and the same goes for this event.

Thank you to all who have embraced the idea of working together, for the benefit of all. And for the rest of you -- you are always welcome to join us.

-- Timothy Gassen

Emmy visits the April 15 seminar

Don't forget about the Filmmaker's Seminar at the Loft on Saturday, starting at 3pm. Your fest pass gets you in to that as well as the screenings that night! We worked hard to create a professional panel to discuss everything practical that's of interest to indie filmmakers: we have an Emmy-nominated writer (Marlowe Weisman), a Sundance-winning producer and DP (Dick Fisher), a veteran actor (Joe Jones) and longtime director and SFX creator (Mike Rom).

I can't remember a seminar in Tucson that offered such a wide-range professional panel, so we hope filmmakers take advantage of the opportunity. We'll take audience questions, too.

Are there filmmakers in Tucson who wish to learn from the best? We'll find out on Saturday...

BTW: There are proud UA alums on this panel who chose to be part of this festival. :)

ShortFest film descriptions part 3 of 3

Here is hour #3 of the April 15 ShortFest. Yeah, that's a lot of films for one day of screening!

14) The Yellow Butterfly: a somber, poetic piece, with a wonderful score. Do you love the look of silver sparkling in b&w film? This one is for you.

15) Looking For My Leopard: a super-silly Flash animation music video from my favorite UK animator. LA LA LA LA -- LA LA!

16) Moving Day: Creepy, creepy, creepy. And some good sound design, too! Kids, sound is half the picture -- don't forget it!

17) Leonardo: a wonderful sensuous look and smooth style make this period piece special. A nice twist end, too. :)

18) The Great Dicktator: A fun homage to silent film shorts, porno stag shorts and well, short silent porno shorts! All in fun (and G-rated, not to worry, lol).

19) Kitty: Great faces on these characters! Modern film noir with a heart.

20) The NoTwist: a wonderfully creative music video featuring a jellyfish floating through Los Angeles. Trouble abounds.

21) The Great Zambini: Magical realism, sumptuous widescreen film, some of the best acting I've seen in years, and a chilling original score. Can you tell that I like this film? You will be REALLY sorry if you miss this one...

OK, I'll write up descriptions for the MANY shorts selected for online streaming -- after the April 15 screening is done and I collapse.

more ShortFest film descriptions

OK, hour 2 of the ShortFest, film by film:

7) HoldFast: a fascinating peak into a true American cowboy. Character studies this sharp are wonderful to behold!

8) The Intervention of Brad: this no-budget comedy has surprises just when needed to take the joke higher and higher. It's not the budget that counts, folks, it's the ideas! Bravo!

9) Andy: a high quality animated personality portrait. Our first animated documentary?

10) 7:35 In The Morning: Yep, this is the Oscar-nominated short that must be seen to be believed. GENIUS!

11) Choque: From the same director, Nacho Vigalondo, this latest short from him might be even better!

12) The Old Negro Space Program: Ken Burns move over, there's more violin and earnest voice-over here than you can shake a stick at. lol

13) Hammerhead: this is my short (shown out of competition -- I didn't gather all the prizes to give to myself, lol). It's short, it's insane, and has a little surprise, too. Shot on actual film, by the way. :)

Hour three next time...

advance ticket orders & free passes

Advance tickets for the Sat April 15 ShortFest are now available from The Loft Cinema via phone at (520) 795-0844. (The Loft adds $1 is added to phone orders). Tucson is a notorious last-minute walk-up crowd, but getting advance tickets will ensure those (especially from out of town) that you'll get in for the festival! As all with free festival passes have been/will be told, the first 500 people to the door get in, so come early to at least pick up your tickets or passes to ensure entry!

We finished shooting the film intro clips, and we're in the final edit of the 3-hour screening reels now!

ShortFest film descriptions, part one

OK, in the next few posts I'll go through the films that will be screened theatrically next Saturday, with some informal thoughts about them. Then I'll do the same for the films selected for the online festival (which will go up after the Loft screenings).

1) Anna & Manuel: A charming romantic comedy from Spain, where a lady buys a dog and names him "Man." HA! Great acting and sumptuous production value...

2) Pantomiming: a b&w comedy from Arizona that offers surprises, just when you think you know what is happening. No dialogue -- it takes good filmmakers to pull off a film like this!

3) Gold: Mike Rom's very short supernatural tale includes some of the best of the local Tucson indie film scene, both in front of and behind the camera. (Shown out of competition.)

4) Flat Tire: Shorts work best when a single incident reveals character, and this is a perfect example. From Arizona. Yes!

5) American Cowgirl: Ever see a woman who is about 150 years old ride horses and look like she could kick ass for another 150 years? Here she is! This doc has great western feel, and is all about people, not things. Hmmmm....detect a theme with these films? ;)

6) Shutter: a wonderfully sophisticated and moody b&w short (our longest of the ShortFest at 16 min.) Made up completely of still frames, with icy narration that creeps me out just thinking of it! This is a challenging film, one that has many rewards within it...

More film descriptions next time...we have 21 shorts in all screened April 15...

ShortFest films are selected!

Now we know what the NCAA basketball committee felt like when deciding if George Mason should get in the tourney. So many great films, so little screen time available.

We'll e-mail all entrants on Friday, April 7 -- and then post the big list(s) on the Web site later in the day. Whether you got in or not, you should hear from us soon (if we have your e-mail address.) If you don't get an e-mail from us by Saturday, then e-mail us, OK? (And for god's sake, actually READ the Web site. There is actual info there! HA!)

I need a beer or three. Show up at the Loft Cinema on Friday night and buy them for me, eh? :)

real friends

Just a note of appreciation to Mike Rom, who helps the ShortFest in so many ways. He just figured out how to convert a pesky PAL-NTSC DVD entry we were having trouble with, and it's just the latest in a long list of contributions he quietly makes. I'm the loud one, he's the quiet one -- so we should all give him some props!

There are still so many films to judge, so the final screening list will be posted on Friday!

Tucson films vs the world?

An interesting challenge is for the ShortFest judges to balance the inclusion of Tucson and Arizona films with the best we're receiving from around the world. Other fests tend to artificially inject local films, simply because they are local (or for personal reasons), rather than because of their merit. We think that doesn't help a film community become more proficient -- so the Tucson and Arizona films that make it onto our final screening slate will be as good and better than those they compete with from the rest of the world! That said, I am delighted to say that Arizona films will dominate the fest, though in some unexpected ways. ;) More on that later. Back to the mountain of films...

more and more and more great films!

Hard to explain the joy at popping an unknown film into the DVD player and seeing magic come out the TV screen. We just watched an entry all the way from Spain titled "El Gran Zambini" that is everything a truly indie short should be -- moving, beautiful, emotional, about PEOPLE. Can't wait to see people's faces light up when they see it! Yes, it is selected -- yahoo! Three hours won't hold all these great films -- now what!?!?

judging starts

Judges for the ShortFest just went through another slew of new films. Our goal is to give the best showcase of short films ever seen in Southern Arizona -- and we're confident that will happen! Wow, so many first-rate films will make this VERY difficult to whittle down to 3 hours for screening. The films from Spain alone are among the best we've ever seen. And Phoenix filmmakers have done a great job, too...

Back to the DVD and tape pile for us. What great surprises will get here before Weds?

deadline extension

Ah, as usual for fests, we have had lots of last-minute queries about getting short films to us by our April 1 deadline. So many that we've extended the deadline to Weds April 5. I've been there many times myself, right at a fest deadline, worrying about getting my film there in time. Our goal is to see and share as many great short films as possible, so my hope is that a few great films that we wouldn't have seen otherwise will take advantage of the extended deadline...

We're looking at submitted films now,too. Man, some great stuff has found its way here. Makes all the crap worth it to see such talented filmmakers work. More about THE CRAP next time. ;)

Countdown to April 15

OK, it's just 2 weeks until the TucsonFilm.com ShortFest here in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Over the next days I'll share my thoughts on the trials and ridiculous tribulations that go into making a truly indie film fest. Fasten your seat belts, boys and girls, the gloves come off here. ;)