Re: [Frameworks] remembering a pre-screening and response process

[William Basquin]

Bernie,

I miss those kinds of pre-screening meetings!

Those conversations made the process something I looked forward to.

And, for myself, I can say that many of the films that have stuck with me over the years are films that were not screened by the festival for which they were being pre-screened.

I love that you all passed on written feedback or a note of appreciation to the filmmakers.

That seems rare and special these days - the True/False Festival seems to be one of the few who (still) does it.

Thank you for sharing these thoughts!

-- Bill Basquin

-----Original Message-----
From: Bernard Roddy
Sent: Jul 23, 2020 5:59 AM
To: Experimental Film Discussion List
Subject: [Frameworks] remembering a pre-screening and response process

It's 1997 and I'm sitting in a pre-screening meeting with 8 or 9 people at the Irondequoit High School. We have met to decide on the works to be screened at the Rochester International Film Festival. Each of us has a stack of evaluation forms on which we complete rankings for each work on several scales. There is also space at the bottom of the sheet to compose written feedback to the filmmaker. After the meeting, the forms completed for a particular film are gathered together and taken home. I have volunteered to write up the results of our discussion of some particular film. The next day I sit at a coffee shop and read over the comments others have recorded for the work in question. I am most intent, however, on providing my own thoughts. In many such cases, the work has not been selected. Among the incentives for writing well is to share with the filmmaker the enthusiasm generated by the work, despite the decision. My enthusiasm was often in response to a short work little appreciated among the other members of the committee.

Bernie

_______________________________________________
FrameWorks mailing list
FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com
https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks