The Importance of Film Festivals for Young Filmmakers
Highlighting the experience of 3 filmmakers from LCC – Sara Massieu, Sheida Kiran and Soham Kundu along with Festival Co-ordinator Mary Davies, who spent one week in the city of Munich attending the FILM SCHOOL FESTIVAL MUNICH which took place from 13th – 19th November 2022.
The 3 LCC films selected for the international program consisting of 40 films from 21 countries were :
- I Was Attacked (Animation), directed by Sara Massieu
- Harvesting Our Tea (Documentary), directed by Sheida Kiran
- Love Death and Everything In Between (Fiction), directed by Soham Kundu
Sara Massieu’s ‘I Was Attacked’ was honored with a special mention for the PRIX INTERCULTUREL AWARD and Soham Kundu’s ‘Love Death and Everything In Between’ was honored with the Prix Interculturel Award at Film School Festival Munich.
You can read the Jury’s Statement HERE
Before we jump into the experience of the attendees, here are some facts about Film School Festival Munich, which has been a culturally significant festival for young filmmakers in Europe.
Earlier known as INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FOR FILM SCHOOLS, on its 40th anniversary the festival was renamed to FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH, hosted by film school – HFF München, which was founded by Wolfgang Längsfeld. Diana Iljine, who also heads FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, is the director of the festival.
Over time, FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH has developed into one of the most renowned festivals and owing to its homey atmosphere, one of the most popular for emerging talent. Time and again, the festival has hosted talented young people who later went on to have international careers after completing their training.
One of the films screened at the first edition of the festival in 1981 was the short film NOCTURNE by a young man from Copenhagen named Lars von Trier, who was studying film directing. Von Trier’s film about a young woman who dreams about some terrible things on a hot summer night received the Special Jury Award. Shortly afterward, von Trier returned to the festival, but this time with his graduation film BEFRIELSESBILLEDER (1982). Once again, the Danish director was honored for his directorial achievement.
Other young festival guests who later caused a sensation include celebrated German directors such as Caroline Link, Marcus H. Rosenmüller, Maren Ade, Detlev Buck, Rainer Kaufmann, and Florian Gallenberger as well as such international greats as Thomas Vinterberg, Lone Scherfig, Mathieu Kassovitz, Jan Svěrák, and the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, Nick Park.
THIS FESTIVAL WAS THE FIRST TO INVITE ONE OF MY FILMS. AND I RECALL WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE IT WAS FOR ME TO PARTICIPATE. ON TOP OF THAT, THE FESTIVAL JURIES WERE EXTRAORDINARILY KIND TO ME.
– Lars von Trier, 1982
If you want to geek out on the history of the festival, you can read more about it HERE
This Year the FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH screened short films, animations and documentaries from all over the world. 40 films were selected from 21 countries. 10 programs from the International Competition were curated, consisting of a colorful mix. In addition to these programs, there were also two HFF Specials with a selection of the best student films from last year at HFF Munich including Student Academy Award-winning ROOMS. Furthermore, three historical films from the Steve Tisch School were screened in order to celebrate their 50th birthday!
We had the chance to speak with 2 of the filmmakers Sara and Sheida along with festival co-ordinator Mary Davies about their experience at Film School Festival Munich
1. Can you tell us a little bit about your film?
Sara – ‘I Was Attacked’ is about Gender-based violence from a worldwide contemporary perspective; Women’s voices need to be heard.
Sheida -My film ‘Harvesting Our Tea’ follows the journey of three rural women who face up to the challenges confronting Turkey’s tea industry, as they work to shape the future for generations to come.
2. Can you tell us about your experience at Film School Festival Munich?
Sara – It was a very special experience, very fulfilling. I’m not sure I have all the words to express all my feelings regarding this experience, but I can say that for sure it was amazing. I felt safe, happy, excited, nervous, passionate and mostly just a bit more of myself being surrounded by amazing and sweet filmmakers.
Sheida – It was incredible! I met talented filmmakers from all around the world and learned from them and their films in so many ways. Having a space to discuss the challenges of entering the film industry, and sharing tips with each other was also really useful.
Mary – The festival was well organized with screenings only in the evenings so that there was time for networking and other activities during the day, including a tour of the film school building and its facilities for staff from other schools, and a chance to see some art as the festival took place in the city’s museum district. It was very interesting to hear how other film schools’ courses are arranged. They can be quite different. Also, in many countries in the EU, tuition is free for students and courses can be longer.
3. How was the response for your film at Munich?
Sara – I believe that it had a good response, some of the attendees told me that they engaged with it and that they felt very touched by it.
Sheida – I was happy with how people engaged with the film and story. Most people did not know that there were tea-picking communities in Turkey or that gendered discrimination existed in land ownership. I received comments on the film soundtrack and questions on how I shot this myself over a month on rainy steep mountains!
4. Why do you think film festivals are important for young filmmakers?
Sara – Because they can help you build up your career, confidence, and of course also for networking for the future. Film festivals are a very good introduction to some parts of the filmmaking industry.
Sheida – I think film festivals are a perfect opportunity to step outside our comfort zone, and see how other filmmakers around the world are approaching topics artistically and narratively. I was really impressed by the different mediums used to tell stories, such as breaking the fourth wall and blending science fiction with documentary.
Mary – This is a question that could have a very long answer! In short: opportunities for exposure of films to the industry, festival programmers, other filmmakers and audiences; if it’s a festival recognised by the industry, you can use the festival’s laurels in your publicity material; f you can go to a festival, attendance at panels and masterclasses and networking events; potential for making contacts for future work; prizes – sometimes small festivals have worthwhile prizes of cash or goods and services.
5. Do you have any tips for students submitting films for festivals?
Sara – Yes, don’t lose confidence if you get rejected by many, it’s normal and it doesn’t mean your film is not good, sometimes they are many factors such as the program they have planned with the other films, length, topic, the number of submissions, etc. So I’ll advise you to do good research on the festivals and submit them even if you are facing rejection from others.
Sheida – My tip would be to find student festivals and festivals that cover topics that are relevant to your films.
Mary – Know the level your film can play at. Can it compete against films made by professionals with much higher budgets? Think about why you are submitting to any particular festival – what benefit will there be to you and film if the film is selected? Do your research thoroughly to find suitable festivals – look at websites to see what kind of films they programmed last year. Be strategic, don’t submit in a scattershot way, and keep a record of your submissions in a spreadsheet. Make your submission fee budget stretch as far as possible by submitting to festivals at the earliest and cheapest deadline. Always read a festival’s rules, they are not all the same. Clear (license the rights to) any copyrighted material that appears in your film before you submit it anywhere. Take advantage of all the resources available to you, including me. Send me a link to your film and arrange a one-to-one meeting if you would like to discuss your festival strategy. Don’t give up if your film is rejected from the first few festivals you submit to. There are many niche and smaller festivals and there will be a home for it somewhere, and once you have been selected by one or two festivals and are on the programmers’ “radar”, it’s likely that there will be more chance of being selected for other festivals.
6. How important is it to meet other filmmakers to foster a sense of community?
Sara – For me it’s very important. I think that the shared experiences in different countries, schools, tips, advice are crucial for a person in developing their career. Also, for all kinds of support and future collaborations. I think the friendship, the loving people from all over the world we meet and of course being able to see some of the amazing films.
Sheida – Filmmaking can become quite lonely, specifically documentary filmmaking when you are doing everything by yourself. So surrounding yourself with other people from the film world who you can talk to is really important in my opinion. It is also great to be inspired by each other’s work, and form friendships for possible future collaborations!
7. What were some of your favorite picks from Film School Fest Munich?
Sara – Love Dad, Talk To Me, Silent One, The Siene’s Tears, Will My Parents Come to See Me.
Sheida – Liquid Bread, Silent One, Will My Parents Come To See Me, The Forgotten, I Was Never Really Here
Mary – I like all the LCC films, of course. I thought Will My Parents Come to See Me, about a young man facing the death penalty, was striking, and as I love stop motion animation, I enjoyed the Student Academy Award winner An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It and the Zoom Q&A with the filmmaker afterward.
Sara Massieu’s ‘I Was Attacked’ will also screen at the UK Film Festival on Wednesday 23rd November at 19:00 in Close Up Cinema, Shoreditch.
You can see it on BIG SCREENS!!! Book your tickets HERE
The Trailer of the 3 selected films can be seen below
- I Was Attacked (Animation), directed by Sara Massieu
- Harvesting Our Tea (Documentary), directed by Sheida Kiran
- Love Death and Everything In Between (Fiction), directed by Soham Kundu
Harvesting Our Tea by Sheida Kiran is available to watch on BBC iPlayer