Falstaff International Film Festival is a brand new festival which will be hosted at  Stratford-upon-Avon between November 16th – 22nd.

The festival will comprise of various programmes including educational seminars, panel discussions, workshops, screenings, the Midlands Shorts Competition, the FIFF Student Film Competition and the FIFF Awards Ceremony.

If the following list of awards are anything to go by the festival should be a pretty big affair:

Best UK Feature, Best UK Short, Best UK Documentary, Best UK Animation, Best Feature, Best Short, Best Documentary, Best Animation, Debut Feature, Best Director, Best Music Video, Midlands Shorts Competition Award, Student Film Competition Award, Special Achievement Award, Best Actor, Best Actress.

Submissions are free to enter and the deadline is open until September 15th. Send your entries on DVD to:

Falstaff International Film Festival, PO Box 5114, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 1JA

You can get in cantact at: info@fiff.org.uk

And you can keep up to date with them at www.fiff.org.uk, MySpace and Facebook.

Here’s a re-post of Dave Allen’s Animation Forum WM article:

A couple of events for animators and scriptwriters looking to hone their writing (and perhaps meet new collaborators) take place in July.

SCRIPT will be running a course tailored towards writing for games and online drama with the handsomely titled ‘3D to 3G Storytelling: New Narrative Structures and Opportunities for Writers and Drama Practitioners’ on Saturday 11th July 2009 (10am-5pm).

The one day course takes place at Gateway Education & Arts Centre, Shrewsbury and will be delivered by TV and film producer Claire Ingram and novelist, screen and games writer, Graham Joyce, who will be discussing “new ways of telling dramatic stories across screens of all sizes.” The course costs £50 (£45 concessions) and can be booked via this link, as part of the ‘TENacity’series of events.

Slightly further afield, Hollywood screenwriter William Akers, author of Your Screenplay Sucks!, 100 Ways To Make It Great, is giving a ‘two hour intensive’ at the MET Film School at Ealing Studios, London, on Thursday 2nd July (6.30pm-8.30pm). Among other things, he will discuss “How to tell if your idea is good enough to be a “movie,” the crucial importance of the Opponent, making the Opponent the Hero’s agent of change, why a One Line outline is crucial” and much, much more that can be found in full here.

Tickets are £15 on the door and can be reserved by contacting beka@metfilm.co.uk.

Media Evening is a cool networking night, this time hosted by Clusta at The Vaults on Newhall Place from 6:30pm. We met some good people there at the last one. It’s free but you have to register here first: http://me0609.eventbrite.com/

Here’s what they say about it:

People of the media unite! Whether you’re in the creative, digital, marketing and PR world, here’s your chance to regularly network with movers and shakers and new talent from broadcast, print and online media.

Thursday, June 25
From 6.30pm

The Vaults Restaurant and Bar

Newhall Place

Newhall Hill

Birmingham

B1 3GH

Everyone is welcome but remember, registration gets you a free drink, so don’t forget to print your Event Brite ticket – you’ll need it to get your tipple.

You can follow Media Evening on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/MediaEvening

Oliver Jones of BetterFeelingFilms has put a call out for a DP and some one for sound for a feature film that he’s shooting over the summer. The film is a comedy drama that focuses on an up and coming faux rock band from Birmingham. It follows their trials and tribulations and their relationships with one another and those around them.

I would love to have someone on board who I can work closely with. It’s collaborative, not paid, but we might able to sort something out. We also need someone for sound.

We have a weekend shoot on the 11th /12th July zombie shoot (a film within the film) then the main shoot is from the 4th-22nd August. So it’s quite intense but we are only doing 6-7 hr filming days. The shoot also involves music videos and short zombie/film and TV segments (it all makes sense).  So it should be a fun shoot.

If you’re interested and would like to get stuck into a project over the summer get in touch with Oliver at:

oliver_jones_37@hotmail.com

Matt Rebeiro has posted an interesting message:

2008’s Virgin Media Shorts winners, Phil and Olly, won with a film called ‘Black Hole‘, which has since gone on to be included in this year’s Cannes festivities. They’ve had quite a year since winning the Virgin Media Shorts competition (judged, amongst others, by Kevin Spacey) and if you’d like to ask them a question about their journey – i’m offering you that chance!

Have a read of the following message from Olly and Phil (VMS winners) documenting what they’ve been up to this past year and if you’ve got a question for the two of them post it to this thread – I’ll then collect up all your questions and pass them on to Olly and Phil to respond to before posting them back here for your reading convenience! -You might be interested to know how they’ve spent their £30,000, what help The UK Film Council and Virgin Media have provided, what lessons they’ve learned – anything! I look forward to recieving your questions!

Since winning last years Virgin Media Shorts Competition, we have been busy working on our next film. Supported by the UK Film Council and Virgin Media we have been developing numerous ideas and discussing the best type of film to try and achieve second time round. The Black Hole was pretty much a silent movie so this time we really wanted to tackle some dialogue.

Initially we spent some time just thinking about what kind of films we actually enjoy and the kind of movies we would eventually want to make as features. Its harder than you think to try and decipher all the influences, themes and interests that inform the work you do, but eventually we knew it would have to involve something surreal and dark that allows deeper character / relationship exploration with a slightly twisted sense of humour in it.

After preliminarily drafting seven different ideas as short, single paragraph synopses, we slimmed the list down to three that everyone liked and from there spent a few more weeks in a coffee shop hammering out the finer points, eventually settling on one. It’s hard to develop several ideas at once, as you become deeply involved in every detail of the plot and characters in order to keep the action believable and the story watertight.

We found we naturally began to gravitate towards one film in particular and have let that become the focus of our attention over the last couple of weeks. We have written the first draft of our script and will be picking through it with the Film Council and Virgin over the next week or so. Getting other peoples point of view is an important part of the process, especially as we have never written dialogue before.

Although £30k is a lot of money, we still need to have a tight rein on the purse strings as crew, cast and location costs can mount up pretty quickly and we need to be clever about maximising the production value. . 1 location, only a couple of characters, that kind of thing – we find that setting limits on what you are working with often forces you to focus more on the quality of what’s on screen as opposed to how much.

We never really imagined The Black Hole would do so well, or notch up quite so many hits on youtube – it was our first ever film attempt and it was all done so quickly. It’s great this time to know we have time and money sorted, so the focus is really on the writing. It’s a great opportunity so thank you to all of you who voted for us, we hope you’ll enjoy our next offering.

Matt Rebeiro
(working on behalf of Virgin Media Shorts )

Hello everyone,

Film Forum’s latest social get-together (and informal networking night) will be held on Tuesday 7th July at the Victoria Pub on John Bright Street in Birmingham from 6pm.

For those that haven’t been to a meet-up yet, here’s the low-down. We meet up each month to get people from all aspects of filmmaking in the Midlands together to chat and start building networks of friends and contacts. It’s very informal and is really up to you if you approach it as a casual drink or an opportunity to make new contacts and get projects off the ground.

Contacts made through the social evenings have helped film projects to flourish and the variety of creative types attending has been very encouraging.

As for the location, The Victoria is fast-becoming Birmingham’s most-exciting venue, mixing a creative style with a chilled-out atmosphere. We like it.

So, come on down, say hello, tell us what you are up to and hopefully we’ll all benefit from some interaction.

Here’s the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=202451205206

Here’s the address: The Victoria Pub, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham, B1 1 BN

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Screen WM are seeking Production Trainees to work on the new series of major BBC drama series Hustle, shooting across Birmingham this summer. Amy Newbery gives all the information below.

Screen WM, the West Midlands regional screen agency are seeking production trainees from the West Midlands to assist in a variety of departments working on the new series of the hit BBC show Hustle which will be shooting in locations in and around Birmingham from July to October. These positions are ideal for new entrants to the television industry or for crew who would like to try working in a different production department.

Screen WM’s Production Placement Scheme was launched in Autumn 2007 to assist people wanting to take the first steps into Film & TV Production, the scheme provides on-the-job work experience for those looking to get into the industry. Placements offer paid employment, usually for the duration of a shoot and are allocated to Screen WM invested projects which will be shot in the West Midlands. So far the scheme has supported over 30 trainees who have worked across a range of departments including camera, art and costume.

The trainee’s role will be to shadow a member of their assigned department, and perform trainee duties as necessary to understand and support the workings of their allocated department. Production trainees are required to observe and where possible have direct experience of the role and area they are assigned to during the production period.

The areas that the trainee must experience are linked to Skillset – the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries National Occupation Standards and/or their job profiles. Where possible, these contribute to the standard required to obtain a Level 3 qualification or equivalent by a suitable awarding body: for example NVQ/City and Guilds. For more information on Skillset and to view the job profiles go to http://www.skillset.org/tv/jobs.

We are seeking trainees to work with the following departments:

Camera

Sound

Art

Script (specifically applicants who are interested in Script Editing)

Editing (cutting room trainees)

If you would like to apply for any of the positions please send a copy of your CV and a covering letter stating which positions you are interested in, your availability and any relevant experience to crew@screenwm.co.uk. Due to the volume of applications only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Guidelines

• All applications to the scheme will be considered, but we are particularly keen to receive applications from individuals who have some experience of working in the industry.
• Please only apply to the scheme if you are based in the West Midlands. If you are based outside the region please contact your local screen agency to enquire about opportunities in your area.
• All trainees will be paid a basic rate of pay (national minimum wage or above) for the duration of the shoot.
• Please note that we will only accept CVs from individuals over the age of 16.
• All placements are for the duration of the 6 episode shoot which stretches 11 weeks, July 13th-October 10th 2009. If you have holiday booked or you are unable to work immediately before the shoot begins or just after it ends please flag this up in your covering letter.

Please send in applications by WEDNESDAY 17TH JUNE. Please contact Amy Newbery (amy.newbery@screenwm.co.uk) for applying after the deadline.

If you have any queries about the scheme please email crew@screenwm.co.uk or ring 0121 265 7120 and ask to speak to the Production & Development Coordinator, Amy Newbery.

Screen WM is the regional agency which supports, promotes and develops a sustainable and thriving screen media sector in the West Midlands. Screen WM will:

• promote the West Midlands region by raising the profile of its diverse locations
• promote the West Midlands by highlighting the abundance of talent within the region’s screen media sector
• support businesses through skills development and financial assistance
• develop talent, from new entrants to professional freelancers and employees, within the West Midlands through skills development
• support the region’s moving image heritage and develop access to it
• develop and inspire audiences across a broad range of screen media
• promote and develop the cultural diversity of the region through the moving image

Screen WM is supported by the National Lottery through the UK Film Council, the European Regional Development Fund and Advantage West Midlands.

Ian Price is getting the Redditch Film Festival ready to be hosted at the Redditch Palace Theatre in Spring 2010. They’re looking for loads of great local films from filmmakers in and around the Redditch area

If you’re interested get in touch at info@redditchfilmfestival.com. All films will be considered for the festival.

http://www.redditchfilmfestival.com

Filmrats will be hosting it’s multimedia evening again on Wednesday 24th June at 8pm at the Bristol Pear in Selly Oak. 

Whilst we didn’t manage to make the their opening night, it seemed to have a great atmosphere and turn out. We’ll definitely be making this next one as it looks like a great chance to take in local talents and have a nice time.

A provisional line up has been posted, but there’s always room for more Filmmakers, Singer/Songwriters, Bands, Poets, Comedians and Performance Artists. They accept all films and music videos and will play all submissions granted that the subject matter is not offensive.

Send your short films in DVD format to Filmrats, Flat 3, 889 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6ND and email any stills, posters, trailers and provide a brief synopsis and production credits.

Email: filmrats@hotmail.co.uk

They’re also social media’d up to the eyeballs:

Myspace page: www.myspace.com/filmrats 

YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/Filmrats

Twitter: http://twitter.com/filmrats

So get submitting and get some exposure.

As part of Screen WM’s fantastic news that they will be bringing BBC’s Hustle to Birmingham, they have also called out for crew and members involved in the West Midlands film and Televsion industry to register with them.

Working with Kudos Productions, Screen WM has secured joint approval over it’s crew, meaning that jobs generated in the region will be kept local.  Recruiting is starting NOW with filming already scheduled for this summer.

To register, send an email with the subject title ‘Hustle’ to crew@screenwm.co.uk, with your CV and link to showreel.

GO!