I'm still coming down from the Virginia Film Festival high, but I can say with confidence that it was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. While, as expected, my emotions did run pretty high and I got quite overwhelmed at times, it was overall one of the best experiences of my college career so far. The films were all incredible (except Call Me By Your Name which I despised with the utmost fervor), the city was beautiful, and the people were beyond amazing. Everyone was so nice and welcoming! I really had nothing to worry about. My biggest concern was that I would be too afraid to go to screenings alone, but because practically every screening took place down the street from one another, it was not a problem at all. I was also able to get into every film I wanted to see, even if it meant queuing up in the 20 degree weather for an hour to do so.
As I mentioned before, this was the first film festival I'd ever attended, so basically everything was a learning experience for me as a filmmaker. I learned a lot about networking and its importance, and I saw some really innovative editing techniques and storytelling modes in many of the feature and short screenings I attended. Our group befriended a student from London whose short horror film was featured in the festival (as well as many others around the world), and he gave us a lot of great tips for submitting to festivals.
I think I also learned to have a little more confidence at VFF. This ties directly into my favorite experience; I attended the screening of William H. Macy's film Krystal, which was followed by a Q&A with him as well as his producer, Rachel Winter. It took place in the biggest theatre there and was jam packed with people. (Something else that made this particular experience great was that while I was waiting in line to hopefully snag a stray nosebleed seat for the film, a random woman walked up to me and just gave me her extra fourth row ticket. I almost cried!) At one point during the Q&A, I suddenly felt my hand shoot up completely of its own accord, and heard my traitorous mouth exclaim, "I have a question for Rachel!" Suddenly, I was standing up in front of 1,000 people telling Rachel Winter how inspiring it was for me to see so many successful female filmmakers at the event and asking her if she had any advice to give to an "aspiring successful female filmmaker." Her response was wonderful; she told me not to give up no matter what, and she basically implied that the time for female filmmakers is now and that we have a disposition to try twice as hard because we've had to all our lives. She also said a lot of other great things but honestly the realization of what I had done was setting in at this point and I was just trying not to faint. (I didn't fully stop shaking for two hours.)
I was probably most surprised by how kind everyone I encountered at the festival was. Not once did I get a vibe that the locals there were irritated by the presence of so many "tourists;" the volunteers and staff were all incredibly helpful and willing to chat about UNCW and Visions; attendees, students, and professors alike were constantly striking up conversation with me while we waited in line for screenings. It was such a refreshing, stimulating atmosphere, which wasn't necessarily unexpected for me. I just didn't consider what a difference being surrounded by such friendly people could make. I was also quite surprised by the number of retired people who live in Charlottesville. I thought that's what Florida was for. (Unlike Cevann, I only mean this in a very slightly ageist way (-:)
I think that if I had been a filmmaker presenting at a festival before attending VFF, I would have been a complete nervous wreck. Now, post-VFF me would still be a nervous wreck, but much less so. Having no other festival experience to compare to, I can't say for certain, but VFF was definitely an environment that fostered the creativity and empowerment of the filmmakers. Everyone is there to have a good time, meet some good people, and watch some good films. The worst thing that could happen is you run the risk that some people won't like your film, but so what? Enough people liked it for it to be screening at a festival in the first place, so obviously something is working. Of course, I know that if I ever actually present at a film festival all of these logical statements will fly out the window and I'll be terrified. But that day (if it ever comes) is still very far off in my future.
Overall, VFF was an unforgettable experience that I will treasure forever. It definitely renewed my love for film and the community it cultivates, and it made me all the more excited to actually be a part of running our very own festival next semester. Spring, please come immediately!!
Installation Plans
I'm actually pretty excited for the installation project. It's a very unique assignment and probably something I'd never have the opportunity to do otherwise. I also have a really great group, which always helps. The idea for our installation is to attempt to convey the different affects of mass media (particularly the consequences of overconsumption of it) on the individual. We came up with a lot of bizarre ideas in order to express this theme, and I think if done right they will work out nicely. For instance, we want to show an individual representing the deadly sin of gluttony (stuffing his face on a couch disgustingly) as he watches a film we will project onto a large TV set that Ben is going to build. I think it will look interesting in the end, but my only fear is that our idea may be a bit overdone. Many art projects nowadays choose to direct their focus to the effects of media consumption, but hopefully ours will be done in a way unique enough to allow us to stand apart from the crowd.
VFF Pre-Event Blog
It's a great thing that I'm poor and was waiting until the last possible minute to buy my Cucalorus pass, because due to a series of lucky circumstances, I'm now attending Virginia Film Festival instead! I'm so excited it's consuming my every passing thought. I made my intended schedule for the event and it's packed so full of films I probably won't even have time to eat or maybe even sleep; it's a dream come true!
Let's get down to it!
1. Intentions
This experience is going to be infinitely invaluable to me not only as a filmmaker, but as a future member of Visions, as well. First and foremost, seeing the work of others in my field is always inspiring and serves to influence a surge of creativity in my own work, which is something I desperately need right now. I'm in one of the worst artistic slumps of my life, and I'm really holding out hope that attending VFF is going to improve that significantly. In terms of my upcoming role in Visions as Registration Coordinator, I'm going to be paying special attention to the way a much larger festival manages to organize their attendees in an orderly fashion. Aside from this, though, I have to admit something: I've never attended a film festival, ever, in my entire life. Terrible, I know, for someone who 1) has lived in "Wilmywood" for 12+ years and 2) is about to be working for an actual film festival. I think VFF is going to be a great first experience for me in that regard; it's not significantly huge so I (hopefully) won't be too incredibly overwhelmed, but it's big enough that I'm probably going to be walking around with my mouth hanging open 90% of the time. Way to look like a tourist, future Ryan.
2. Plan of Action
We're supposed to give ourselves three actionable challenges and I would like to declare here and now that my first is to obtain a fake ID by Thursday so I can attend the social events at VFF. I mean, come on people, 21+ for everything? Really? This is a travesty for my 20-years-and-7-months old-self. I don't even want to drink; I just want to network with drunk people! But I'll survive, I guess :-(
Besides, the real fun is going to be attending the screenings I've lined up for myself. As I briefly mentioned earlier, there are...a lot. Perhaps my second actionable challenge should be to not die from exhaustion this weekend. On Saturday I plan to be attending screenings and panels from 11am-11pm. I won't list my whole schedule on here because it really is A Lot, but the screenings/panels I'm most excited for are Call Me By Your Name, A Fantastic Woman, Stalker, and all the short film blocks.
Honestly, the biggest challenge for myself this weekend is going to be forcing myself to attend a lot of the screenings I'm going to alone. Some of the things I'm most excited to see appear to only interest me out of all the people I know who are going. I know after the first day it'll be a piece of cake figuring out where to go, etc., but there's going to be an adjustment period where I'm permanently terrified and just want to hide in my room for the whole weekend (thanks a lot, social anxiety!) I'm really going to have to step out of my comfort zone and be independent while I'm there, because I don't want to let my fear of doing things alone stop me from seeing some of the coolest things I'll probably have ever seen in my 20 years and 7 months.
Anyway, this is significantly longer than 300 words but I'm so excited I just wanna talk about it forever and all my friends are really sick of me doing just that so I'm glad I was able to express all my feelings here instead. Thank God for blogging!
Let's get down to it!
1. Intentions
This experience is going to be infinitely invaluable to me not only as a filmmaker, but as a future member of Visions, as well. First and foremost, seeing the work of others in my field is always inspiring and serves to influence a surge of creativity in my own work, which is something I desperately need right now. I'm in one of the worst artistic slumps of my life, and I'm really holding out hope that attending VFF is going to improve that significantly. In terms of my upcoming role in Visions as Registration Coordinator, I'm going to be paying special attention to the way a much larger festival manages to organize their attendees in an orderly fashion. Aside from this, though, I have to admit something: I've never attended a film festival, ever, in my entire life. Terrible, I know, for someone who 1) has lived in "Wilmywood" for 12+ years and 2) is about to be working for an actual film festival. I think VFF is going to be a great first experience for me in that regard; it's not significantly huge so I (hopefully) won't be too incredibly overwhelmed, but it's big enough that I'm probably going to be walking around with my mouth hanging open 90% of the time. Way to look like a tourist, future Ryan.
2. Plan of Action
We're supposed to give ourselves three actionable challenges and I would like to declare here and now that my first is to obtain a fake ID by Thursday so I can attend the social events at VFF. I mean, come on people, 21+ for everything? Really? This is a travesty for my 20-years-and-7-months old-self. I don't even want to drink; I just want to network with drunk people! But I'll survive, I guess :-(
Besides, the real fun is going to be attending the screenings I've lined up for myself. As I briefly mentioned earlier, there are...a lot. Perhaps my second actionable challenge should be to not die from exhaustion this weekend. On Saturday I plan to be attending screenings and panels from 11am-11pm. I won't list my whole schedule on here because it really is A Lot, but the screenings/panels I'm most excited for are Call Me By Your Name, A Fantastic Woman, Stalker, and all the short film blocks.
Honestly, the biggest challenge for myself this weekend is going to be forcing myself to attend a lot of the screenings I'm going to alone. Some of the things I'm most excited to see appear to only interest me out of all the people I know who are going. I know after the first day it'll be a piece of cake figuring out where to go, etc., but there's going to be an adjustment period where I'm permanently terrified and just want to hide in my room for the whole weekend (thanks a lot, social anxiety!) I'm really going to have to step out of my comfort zone and be independent while I'm there, because I don't want to let my fear of doing things alone stop me from seeing some of the coolest things I'll probably have ever seen in my 20 years and 7 months.
Anyway, this is significantly longer than 300 words but I'm so excited I just wanna talk about it forever and all my friends are really sick of me doing just that so I'm glad I was able to express all my feelings here instead. Thank God for blogging!
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