Today i did my second film forum at the International Women’s Film Festival, The Jan Miller Mini Pitch Session. Jan Miller is a world renowned ‘pitch specialist’ and president of Lowenbe Holdings. Her pitching seminars have been held at such festivals as the Toronto International Film Festival, Hot Docs, The Banff Television Festival, and the Atlantic Film Festival, and now, of course, the IWFF. Today’s session was called ‘mini’ because typically the workshop runs 6 hours and she whittled  it down to just under 2. Ms. Miller used to be a clown, and I tell you what, this isn’t lost in her animated demeanor. What could have been a pretty dry ‘communications’ seminar actually ended up being very entertaining, engaging, and of course, informative. She managed to get 4 brave volunteers to pitch their ideas to her in front of everyone (with a 3 minute time limit), then gave them feedback and took questions and suggestions from the room. I tried to scribble down some sort of pitch on my notepad during the discussion but I wasn’t quick enough so I had to content myself with just being an observer. I tip my hat to the 4 ladies who got up, especially those with absolutely no preparation. You’re braver, and quicker, than I.

So, what’s a pitch? You’re selling something and you want them to buy. Sort of. For those of you who missed today’s forum but plan on going to the one-on-one networking open house on Saturday, here’s your mini mini pitch session.To use Jan’s words, a pitch is a conversation. You need to listen, and always remember to speak with, not at. Breathing is key. Not only does it keep you from, y’know, losing consciousness, but it also allows the person you’re meeting with to keep up. If you just sit down and blurt out a 3 minute run on sentence, you’ve lost them by word 15. You’re painting a picture in the other person’s mind, you’re telling them a story. Don’t be afraid to give away the ending. They want to know how it ends so they can tell if it’s any good. And while you’re at it, having a clear beginning and middle helps too. You’re also telling them about you. Never be afraid to brag. Talk about yourself and your ‘package of pluses’. This includes awards you may have won, why you should be the person to tell this story, your history, your track record, or even your lack thereof. People are always on the lookout for new, emerging artists so don’t consider your lack of experience a handicap.

It would have been nice to sit on a full length session but the two hours were certainly well utilized. I wasn’t considering going to the one-on-ones on Saturday before today’s session, but now I think I just might. C’mon b’ys, gives a few bucks. Don’t be so tight.

I’ll admit it, this was my first time attending anything at the Women’s Film Festival. Why you may ask? Well, I’m not entirely sure. I will tell you one thing though, now that I see what kind of seminars, forums and workshops are offered, I will be a regular attendee from now on. I might even go see a FILM. Apparently they have those too. Go figure.

I lost my festival virginity at the panel discussion Three’s Company, where six writers/producers/directors from the 3 features at this year’s Festival (Love and Savagery, Grown Up Movie Star, and Crackie) discussed the highs and lows of big budget and low budget film making. It turns out ‘big’ and ‘low’ are fairly relative terms. The ‘big’ of these 3 is Love and Savagery which cost $6 million. The ‘low’ is Crackie which cost $600,000. Grown Up Movie Star falls in between the two, the figure eludes me, but it’s closer to the Crackie end. Being someone who hopes to make his own foray into the film industry soon I kind of laughed to myself when $600,000 was called ‘low budget’. I would probably wet myself if someone threw six hundred grand at me to play make believe. That’s when I realized that this panel isn’t for guerrilla-style, indie film making. This is about how to do it right, with funding, financing, distributors, etc.

As informative as the session was, there was a lot of it that went clear over my head. I’m just trying to get something written that I can edit on my laptop and throw up on YouTube. I can’t quite relate to the woes of trying to find an international distributor for a film. It was interesting to see the different viewpoints on the creative process of getting a script written though. Those of the ‘big’ budget world said to not worry about budget when writing. Just let the creativity flow and deal with the money part later. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the ‘low’ budget folk said the very opposite. You could end up getting stuck with a scene that’s simply impossible for you to shoot when the time comes because the money just isn’t there. Then you have to change it, which can be a very hard thing after envisioning it the same way for months, maybe even years. Both sides had very valid points and I guess those of us in the audience are left to take the best from columns ‘a’ and ‘b’, or at least that which best relates to our own situations.

The discussion ran a little long so there wasn’t much time for Q & A. Yours truly managed to squeeze in the only question and it was pertaining to soundtrack, marketing, and how much thought goes into these (rather expensive) things in the beginning stages of writing a script. At least, that’s what i think I asked. I don’t know what it is about microphones that makes me so nervous.  Either way, the reason for the question was that no matter where the discussion went, it almost always came back to marketing, which would include things like trailers and music aimed at the target audience. Adrianna Maggs of Grown Up Movie Star had mentioned working with Elliott Brood (who are really good and if you don’t go see them on the 14th at the Rock house you’re a fool). John N. Smith of Love and Savagery talked about the time he worked with Jerry Bruckheimer on Dangerous Minds and the thought process behind using Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise, which is just effing awesome. The Cole’s notes from what I gathered from everyone is that you should pretty much use whatever you want, in as many ways as you want, for as long as you legally can. After that, there’s no hurt in asking, but be prepared to look for a cheaper alternative that conveys the same mood.

The 90 minute session flew by and I wish I could have stuck around afterwards to have a chat, but alas, I had to bolt directly for work. I’m looking forward to sitting in on my next forum tomorrow and I strongly encourage any film enthusiast to get out to as many of these things as you can. If this one was any indication they are well worth your while.

[image via]

There was a full house at the Masonic Temple this evening for the screening of Rhonda Buckley’s third documentary, The Real Matriarch. For the matriarchs in attendance and the audience as a whole, it was truly a family affair.

The Real Matriarch, much like the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, is a celebration of just how far women have come in the arts. Four women: Lois Brown, Edythe Goodridge, Barbara Doran and Sara Sexton share their lives in this film. All four earning their place by being culturally inspired and strong willed (not to mention talented storytellers and part-time comedians).

Following the film, Barbara Doran, Sara Sexton, and filmmaker Rhonda Buckley answered audience questions in a panel discussion.

The informal talk ranged from what the women thought of their appearance on film to how the times have changed for emerging artists. Sexton, the mother of adored CODCO comedian Tommy Sexton, commented “I hope something I said will help someone along the way to overcome obstacles; as I have had many in my life.” The Real Matriarch had the audience in both guffaws and tears, and left them no confusion as to why Buckley was inspired to make this film.

With great food (too fancy for descriptions), engaging conversation and a superb film, the evening couldn’t be anything but a success.

If you missed this screening of The Real Matriarch, I’m told it’s set to air on CBC. You can still catch Barbara Doran’s Playing the Machines and Lois Brown’s Sweet Pickle on Friday at the Majestic Theatre. Also, closing this year’s festival, Rhonda Buckley is back as producer of Crackie, playing at the Arts and Culture Center on Saturday, 8PM.

Visit The St. John’s International Film Festival online for more information and a complete list of featured films. Become part of the community and take in some of these wonderful events. It continues until Saturday, October 24^th.

Being a festival volunteer is not all fun all fun and games, and there’s always the worry that someone important, someone you might be hoping to ask for a job, just saw you pick your nose — but there are perks.  For a couple hours of putting badges together, and a couple more sitting at a table selling tickets the festival is now my oyster.  Screenings, workshops, coffee, you name it, and I’m there.

Today I used my pass for the first time, to get in to the highly popular Career Advancement Module with a rockstar panel of high-ups in the Canadian TV industry.  Maybe four dozen women listened with rapt attention to the life stories and career advice of the panelists.  I did notice a couple journalists yawning, but if you were looking to get into writing or producing TV — you missed out on a good session.

Tips from the day:

“In the freelance world you have to hear ‘no’ from a lot of people”

It’s completely normal to go through “a painful birthing process trying to find a career.”

Good breaks are hard to come by, but they are also essential.

Ultimately, “you have to go work for someone else [before you can write your own show].”

“Clarity of Vision,” and “A good story, well told”  will rule the day in the end.

Good stuff to know.

-martin

The 9th anual Nickel Independent Film Festival capped things off Saturday with a big day and night of films followed by a boisterous party and awards show at The Gypsy. Patrons, producers, organizers and volunteers rubbed elbows and raised glasses to another successful festival gone by.

While we all look forward to what Nickel #10 will have in store for us next year, here’s a look back at Saturday and the final hours of Nickel #9.

The day got underway with a special children’s matinee, replete with balloon animals!

Saturday night’s final screening was followed by a quick dismantling of the festival gear, then off to the awards show and party at The Gypsy.

The awards went as follows:

Best Drama: Desert Trains

Best Animation: Elephants

Best Music Video: Throw Me To The Rats

Emerging NL Filmmaker: Christian Sparkes (Ten Days)

Audience Choice: Jordan Canning (Countdown)

Best Performance: Lead Actor in Land Gewinnen

Special Jury Award for The Spirit of Independent Filmmaking: Magritte Moment

Best NL Film: Heartless Disappearance Into Labrador Seas

Congratulations to all the award winners, and to everyone who screened at this year’s Nickel.

Special thanks goes to Jamie Lewis for continually providing us with an insiders look at the festival with his fantastic photography, and to the organizers of the Nickel for granting Signal an all access pass to all the screenings and events. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’m already looking forward to doing it again next year.

Night two of the Nickel Independent Film Festival was another big crowd pleaser and a huge success.

From their early evening show, featuring the highly acclaimed Countdown, by local lovelies Jordan Canning and Laura Churchill (pictured below), to the late-night Short and Giggly show, featuring an eclectic mix of strange and strangely compelling shorts, The Nickel has kept the bar high heading into their third night, tonight.

It was almost a full house again last night, with people lining up all the way to the elevator doors to get in — and another great mix ranging from patrons to producers.

The volunteers at this year’s festival have been doing a fantastic job. The festival would never happen without them, but they’re so much more than just the grease on the wheels — they manage to strike a perfect balance between professionalism and fun, making them as important an aspect of this year’s festival as any of the films projecting onto the screen.

And a big shout out has to go to Jamie Lewis, The Nickel’s official photographer extraordinaire, for all these fantastic shots. Would you like to see some more? Wish granted.

Finally, here’s the schedule for tonight’s two shows. See you there!

Thursday, June 25th, 7:30 PM

01 All This Way

02 Travel Anywhere

03 Bark

04 Desert Trains

05 Strays

06 Out of the Blue

07 Wisemen on the Rock

08 Mr. Brooklyn

10:00 PM Late Night Horror Show

01 Crystal

02 Pelley

03 X-Mess Detritus

04 Sapsucker

05 Date With The Dead

06 Treevenge

07 Deadspiel

08 Remote

Kent Foran is a volunteer with The Nickel Independent Film Festival. Here’s his five cents worth (get it?) on last night’s show:

Held at the shiny new Inco Centre, with a capacity almost twice that of The Hall, opening night saw a full house comprised of all ages. It was professional but relaxed, with film-makers and other industry names mingling with the crowd.

The Nickel Independent Film Festival opened to a packed house at the INCO Innovation Centre last night.

Organizers Ruth Lawrence and Janelle Hickey, who have been incredibly busy with the preparations for everything happening this week, were forced to wing it on their welcome speech last night, giving everyone a great laugh and setting the tone for a fun night of films.

Some really strong films came out of the gate last night. Shame of the North Atlantic was a fun way to get the Nickel rolling, Interpretation had the crowd cheering, while Cut from the Same Cloth stood out as the audience favorite.

There are two screeenings tonight, the second being a late show titled Short & Giggly (shameless plug: my – by which I mean everyone who worked on it – music video is playing there tonight).

Here’s the lineup:

Wednesday, June 24th, 7:30 PM

01 Words! Words! Words!

02 Vulnerable Heart- She Plays

03 Rewind

04 The Morning Party

05 Questions

06 Countdown

07 Melting Lands

Late Night–Short & Giggly, 10:00 PM

01 I Always Fall in Love

02 The Legend of Ol’ Goldie

03 I Was the DJ

04 Sleep Lab

05 A Gentlemen’s Guide to Kidnapping a Lady

06 Throw Me to The Rats

07 Shuya Show

And here are some photos featuring filmmakers, organizers and audience members from last night’s opening, courtesy of The Nickel’s official photographer, Jamie Lewis (thanks!).

Screenings for the 9th annual Nickel Independent Film Festival get underway this evening. Here’s the schedule for tonight’s show:

Tuesday, June 23rd, 7:30 PM

01 Shame of The North Atlantic

02 Baby Boots

03 Gokh-Bi System “Rap Tassu”

04 Interpretation

05 Record

06 8MM Films

07 Whatever Turns You On

08 Cut From The Same Cloth

09 Reach

10 Gone Fishing

Screenings this year will be at the INCO Innovation Centre, located within the MUN campus. Not sure where that is? Check out the map:

View Nickel Film Festival in a larger map

See you there!

After watching hours worth of films scheduled to screen at next week’s Nickel Independent Film Festival, The Scope’s Adam Clarke and Michael Collins have presented us with a list of their faves.

Among that list are an encouraging number of local films, including 10 Days (Christian Sparkes), Change It: The Rooms Animation Series (Jason Sellars), Countdown (Jordan Canning), Date with the Dead (Justin Madol), and A Gentelman’s Guide to Kidnapping a Lady (Harbourside Studio).

You can see their entire list here.

Neil Butler in Jordan Canning's "Countdown"

[image courtesy of Jordan Canning]