Ivan's Tribulations.: Clermont Ferrand Film Festival (part 1), Journey of a Filmmaker (part 7)

Clermont Ferrand is the biggest short film festival in the World. This year they had 149000 people attending. The city looks like this. A massive black cathedral in the middle.


Spooky

I made a short film for my parents, " A Bitter Sip Of Life" (yeah you can guess I didnt have a very happy childhood). I really like this film, it has been my best work so far. It made me realize that when you make a film and there is something that you REALLY WANT TO SAY, and that you KNOW FROM THE BOTTOM OF YOUR HEART... the film will be good. (At least for yourself). Here is a trailer of the film

However the judges of Clermont Ferrand, Slamdance and Hong Kong International didn't share my idea... I have submitted to another 5 festivals and still waiting. I hate rejection letters.

However I entered the film into the short film market that runs along the film festival, It's suppose to be the main market for adquisition and distribution of short films in europe. They have a pavillion with stands where the different countries and distributors showcase their shorts, catalogues etc. They also have forums where the buyers and mainly TV channels talk about what they are looking for. Overall it was a great learning experience. There was no Australian distribution rep or films. There were 2 Australian films selected for the International Competition (out of 81) 'The Kiss' (MIFF winner) and 'Minnie loves Junior'. There was also the Australian Animation 'The Lost Thing'.

When I finally found the 'Maison du la Culture' , the main building of the festival, I was really surprised I have never seen so many people queing up and buying tickets to see short films. I guess it really is a different type of audience. There were whole classrooms of highschool students going to watch the shorts.

It was also a surprise that most of the shorts were OVER 10 minutes and under 25. rather than the usual 7 to 15. You can see the whole official selection in the online catalogue HERE

Before I get into the details of the festivals, Some photos of the city. I will write later about the films that I saw and the experiences on the market.