Festival Week in Full Swing

St Kilda Film Fest is in full swing and although all the staff are funning flat out, everyone is having a blast. Here's a quick run-down of what's happened and what's happening tonight. Plus a quick preview of Saturday's highlights...

YESTERDAY:
Under the Radar was well attended by filmmakers, alongside their family, friends and the general festival-going public. The winner of the youth program will be announced on Sunday night.
Annecy: 1997 to 2004 drew in animation buffs with its eclectic showcase of shorts.
Session One of the Top 100 gave everyone another sample of what's to come throughout the week.
Pitch Clinic and From Longs to Shorts! filled up Forum Hall with crowds of intrigued film practitioners, keen to soak up every bit of advice from leading Industry figures.

TONIGHT:
Sessions Two and Three of the Top 100 will play at The Astor from 6pm, these programs include:

Opening Night star 'The Globe Collector'
A revealing documentary about the Bali 9 'My Brother Andy'
Another intriguing character-documentary with 'It's Him Terry Lim!' 
The visually stunning 'Ten Quintillion'
Magical animation 'Polo's Robot' 
Tragi-comic meditation on being dumped 'The Human Fog' 

A drama about dealing with tragedy 'Shelling Peas'
The good, bad and ugly of Indians living in Melbourne 'In My Skin'
Everything can change in a 'Millisecond' 
Polly wants to map a lost city in 'The Cartographer' 
Intense study of PTSD 'Toy Soldier' 
Inspiring documentary 'On Her Shoulders' 

Making a Music Video 

Before heading over to SoundKilda, you might want to see how the music videos are made. All the elements of effectively merging imagery and melody are pulled-apart and studied. 

From 6.30 to 8pm at Forum Hall 

SOUNDKILDA 

Music video for 'Against the Grain' 

The much anticipated return of this festival favourite starts at 9pm, at The Astor.  The fabulous clips featured are from renowned artists such as Gotye, Miami Horror, and Kate Miller-Heidke, and directed by acclaimed auteurs including Darcy Prendergast, Natasha Pincus, and Krozm.

$3,500 in prizes is given to the most outstanding clips and an audience choice winner.

Come to soak up the atmosphere and hum along to some great tunes if you've not already bought tickets.

SOME THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
Industry Open Day 
Are you looking to enroll in a film school? 
Are you searching for the perfect equipment for your next shoot? 
Then come to the free 'Industry Open Day' to be held from 12pm to 4pm in The Astor's foyer on Saturday afternoon. With a wide range of aspects of the Industry catered for (post-production, camera equipment, film schools and more), exhibitors will have desks set up with experts and educators there to help with queries and/or inspiration!

Exhibitors include: 
Lemac
Music & Effects
RMIT University
Open Channel 
Australian Directors Guild 
... and many more!

Blaze of Glory 
The unofficial festival party is on this Saturday night at The Astor from 10.30pm.
Hosted by the SKFF staff joker Paul Shea, it'll be a night of drinks and nostalgia, set to the music of Duran Duran and Madonna, among others superstars of 'movie music'.
It's ONLY $5 too, so come along and be merry!

For all festival, program and ticketing information visit stkildafilmfestival.com.au

Pitch Clinic Update

As you (hopefully) know already, there's a great opportunity for filmmakers to learn the art of successfully 'pitching' screen projects to financiers at this year's forum 'Pitch Clinic'. Paul Harris talked to Forum panelist Pamela Wilson-Endrina on his RRR show, a former entertainment lawyer who spent ten years working in the USA, helping to operate a film investment arm of a larger banking company.

Paul: Do you have any view on how films are produced in Australia? 

Pamela: When I came back to Australia, one thing that struck me was the lack of formal education in the packaging and understanding of screen business... as opposed to actually making [films]. 

What makes a pitch attention-worthy? 

(1) As a financier the most important thing is whether you like the person... If you don't like them, don't work with them... (2) Be interested in what they're pitching... (3) [The pitcher] needs to demonstrate their understanding of their audience and how commercial their proposition. 

How long does the ideal pitch take? 

I wouldn't go any more than ten to fifteen... at the ten to twelve minute mark you see their eyes to glaze over... If you haven't got them asking questions and being active in the first five minutes, you're in trouble.  

In response to Wilson-Endrina's anxieties about the state of Australian screen pitching, she's established a short course at Victoria University's Sir Zelman Cowen Centre which not only includes information for successful pitching, but everything in screen business -- from international co-producing to understanding the paradigms of marketing and distribution. 'Pitch Clinic' will be a snapshot of the business of filmmaking with Endria-Wilson alongside a panel of Industry experts who will give invaluable advice for emerging to established practitioners, looking to find funding for their screen dreams.

Also on the panel is John Endrina -- who worked with his wife in the screen investment firm while they were based in the USA -- and Alan Finney, the esteemed chair of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) who formely acted as Vice President and Managing Director of Bueno Vista International (now Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures).

An opportunity to have access to such experienced Industry experts is very rare, so we recommend you come along and make the most of it!

'Pitch Clinic' is the first Filmmaker Development Forum, and will be held at Forum Hall on Wednesday, May 23rd -- 6pm to 7.30pm   

Kthxbai
Intern 101

FIVE DAYS plus FORUM FEVER (Last one)

With only five days to go, Opening Night is quickly approaching the SKFF office's front door. Final preparations are being made for the week, with the bells being polished and the whistles being cleaned. 

For your festival news fix, here are a few tidbits of forum info:  


DISTRIBUTING AND MARKETING SHORT FILMS
Presented by Open Channel and Shaun Miller Lawyers 

So you've spent years developing a film that you're finally happy with: the writing is snappy, the acting is powerful, the shots are spliced expertly, and the score is compelling. All there's left to do is show people your masterpiece. Simple? Only if handled in the right way...
     Shaun Miller moderates a panel of marketing and distribution experts who'll guide the forum's audience through the journey to get your film out there. The panel includes Steph McKenna -- Roadshow Films, Simon Britton -- MediaWaveTV, Katherine Thornton -- Sharmill Films, and Jannine Barnes -- Happening Films.

Forum Hall12.30 to 2pm -- Saturday, May 26th  

FOCUS ON EDITING 
Presented by the Australian Screen Editors Guild 


The standard of its editing can make or break a film, and knowledge of how to master this complex craft truly is powerful for any editor, producer or director. Each panelist will exhibit a piece of their work and deconstruct the elements which make the scene effective, due to its editing. The panel of editors includes Megan Voevedin (Into the Sun from 2012's Top 100, The Accident), Cameron Nugent (Spider Walk from 2012's Top 100, The Honeymoon) and Sasha Dylan Bell (Lemonade Stand from 2012's Top 100, December Boys).

Forum Hall 
2.15 to 3.15pm -- Saturday, May 26th 




ACT. WRITE. DIRECT. 
Those who do it all. 


Damian Walshe-Howling. Matilda Brown. Damon Gameau.
What do they all have in common?

They've all made the leap from in front to behind the camera. Learn how they did it in their forum, where the actor-writer-directors talk about the differences and similarities between directing and acting.

Damian Walshe-Howling's acting credits include Underbelly and The Secret Life of Us -- he's directed/written 2012 Top 100 film Suspended.

Matilda Brown's acting credits include Offspring and The Chaser -- her directing and writing credits include short films How Things Work and (2012 Top 100 film) Am I Okay.

Matilda Brown

Damon Gameau's acting credits include Balibo and Love My Way -- he directed TropFest winning short film Animal Beatbox.  

Damian Walshe-Howling

Damon Gameau

Moderated by Festival Director and occasional actor, Paul Harris (Love and Other Catastrophes and Dogs in Space).

FORUM FEVER: Update #2

From Shorts to Longs 

Wednesday, May 23rd 

8pm to 9.30pm

How does a filmmaker make the transition between making short and feature films? Can I use my short film as a trailer for my feature? Find out the answers to these confounding questions with a series of anecdotes and helpful hints from some of the freshest film industry talents.

Making a Music Video --

Everything You Need to Know 

Thursday, May 24th

6.30pm to 8pm

'Thriller', 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and 'Single Ladies'... What do all these songs have in common? They all have very memorable music videos. Not only is it a great marketing tool -- it's another level of artistic expression. Learn tips for effective music video production from industry pros like Natasha Pincus, who directed Australia's most-viewed online video, Gotye's 'Somebody That I Used To Know' (nearly 200 million views). Darren Middleton, from seminal rock band Powderfinger, will also be talking about his experiences with both film and music.

'Making a Music Video' will be the perfect lead-up to SoundKilda music video competition -- which follows straight after, at The Astor.  

Get Animated -- Annecy and Beyond

Friday, May 25th

6pm to 7.30pm

Join Oscar nominee Anthony Lucas (The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello),Oscar winner Adam Elliot (Harvey Krumpet, Mary and Max) and advertising and stop-motion guru Glen Hunwick in their discussion of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the ever-expanding world of animated cinema. This forum is moderated by Robert Stephenson, who teaches at the VCA and has a film in this year's Top 100 -- the satirical animation Paris Lakes (which was screened at Annecy last year).