The Strasbourg Int’l Film Festival News

Hello all you indie film lovers!

First and foremost, we’d like to share the creation of Anthony Pedone happening on March 16th at 9:00pm.

It’s official The Why US Premier will be at The Belmont 305 w 6th St. In Austin tx on march 16th at 9pm. It will be a double feature screening with a film by Jeff Orgill called Junkie Nurse. Come early to catch 4 other films by film makers like Lisa Martin, Elizabeth Speer, Snake Woman Prods and Brian J Morrison. Theae films will screen in the Dakota Lounge at the Belmont from 1p-9p. All sponsored by UV Vodka.

Second, Nomadic Tendencies will be screening at the Beach Theater on St. Pete Beach from August 27th through Sept 5, 2010. We are looking forward to working with this gorgeous historic theater in the beautiful coastal town of St. Pete Beach, Florida! The Beach Theatre is independently owned and operated by Mike France whose writing credits include Fantastic Four, The Punisher, Hulk, GoldenEye and Cliffhanger.

Third and newest to our agenda… We’ve been on the lookout for a little local social atmosphere where filmmakers can gather, look at new work from other independent, emerging filmmakers and discuss their craft. We’ve found this very cool hole in the wall cafe with a lovely outdoor garden area where each week the local Peace Organization, St Pete for Peace, takes over shows films related to peace and talks about their next strategic move. Sounds like our kind of place, huh? Of course, it’s name is Cafe Bohemia! We’re looking at March for our kickoff party and premiere screening. We’re talking about having a monthly screening thereafter.

Wanna get involved? We’d love to have you. Feel free to contact us at info@StrasbourgFilmFest.com for more information or in which way you’d like to join in.

Have a tendency toward indie films? Wanna create a Nomadic Tendencies screening in your area? We’d love to hear your ideas! Email us at info@StrasbourgFilmFest.com.

SiFF and Nomadic Tendencies are filmmaker and indie film centric. We believe that independent voices are pivotal in sharing information between people around the world. Our goal is to help create, initiate and incite local gathers of filmmakers and film enthusiasts with the idea of bringing the people of the world closer together and allowing space for voice of the people to be heard, rather than those of the government, studios or big business.

SiFF and Nomadic Tendencies accept submissions in all genres.

Hello Filmmakers and film lovers!

Welcome. We are having brunch at 10:30am. The directions to the location are on the map under ‘locations’ on the website.

Join us at 12:00noon at L’artichaut for a Panel: “Sell Your Film, Not Your Soul ~ An Independent Approach to Marketing and Distribution” ~~ Panel Members: Jeff Orgill (Boppin at the Glue Factory 2009) , Anthony Pedone (The Why 2009), Rocky Palladino (Waiting at the Gate 2008, Britain Isn’t Working 2009)

Check in at L’artichaut after 12 Noon!

Check out the program and plan your day of fabulous films!

Enjoy!

Our volunteer meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug 26th at 6:00 pm at L’artichaut. If you are interested in volunteering for the Strasbourg International Film Festival come meet up with us to get your assignments and hours!

We’ve had a lot of interest from volunteers and it looks like you’ll be in fine company! We’re looking for friendly, easy-going film-lovers to help out full or part-time during the festival in Strasbourg and Kehl. We’d love to have you on our team!

Below is what we will need from you to know where you will be suited to volunteer with us:
Your name.
Languages you speak.
What sort of schedule you are available to work.
Hours per day?
Days per work?
In what area(s) are you interested in volunteering?
Street Marketing?
Hospitality (greeting and aiding filmmakers/filmgoers)?
Projection?
Transportation (you’ll need a car/license)?
Logistics (getting things from one place to another)?
Brunches?
Etc…

What we are looking for…
Friendly, reliable, film-lovers who want to help put on a really cool, casual (yet, very serious) rather bohemian-styled film festival that happens in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany. Our common language is English so if you speak it great! French, German, Spanish and all other languages are useful as well.

If you are a film student or local filmmaker this is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet other filmmakers and watch incredible works from other new and emerging filmmakers. We have panels and discussions and need volunteers to help us run them. If you’re a film buff then this is a wonderful opportunity like no other in this area and we’d love to have you on our team!

Get in the thick of it. Learn. Become part of the process and enrich your own craft and knowledge at the same time.

We look forward to hearing from you, learning about you, and having you on our team!

View Larger Map

There is a sort of bohemian, easy-going vibe we talk about in reference to the festival? Well, we’re like that with the tickets and passes as well.

If seating is available anyone can attend a screening for free in Strasbourg. With that in mind, some people might want a little more of a safety net to ensure they get a seat. Those people should buy tickets!

There is also a hierarchal structure to seating. Press and filmmakers have priority seating over the free ticket going audience. Our filmmakers are flying in from all over the world. We want them to know what other filmmakers are doing, so we want them to have easy access to each other’s films. It’s a great way for new and emerging filmmakers to learn about what is happening right now in the film world. Paid tickets and passes have priority over filmmakers (if it’s not their film).

Early day screenings – 2:00pm, 4:00pm & 6:00pm – are less likely to fill up than 8:00pm & 10:00pm screenings. We haven’t screened at midnight yet, so those times could go either way.

Ff you want to try to make sure you get entry into screenings for free try earlier in the day or maybe the late night screenings.

All of our films are worth seeing otherwise they wouldn’t be in the festival in the first place. Our shorts and docs are fantastic. We had a lot to choose from so we were able to be very picky and not able to bring in all that we wanted. As a general rule, shorts and docs screenings are generally not as full as feature film screenings. But quite honestly, the French really like shorts so we tend to get a very nice number in attendance for those screenings.

Even some evening screenings aren’t going to be totally full, so risk it! …or you can buy a ticket if you want to feel the comfort of knowing you will definitely be able to see what you want to see. Our tickets range from cheap to very affordable. A pass for the entire fest – which would guarantee you could see anything whenever you wanted – is only $200 for 10 full days and nights of fantastic films!

Ticket Prices
Individual Movie Pass $5.00
All Day Movie Pass $12.00
Week Long Movie Pass $50.00
10 Day Movie Pass $80.00
Platinum – All Inclusive+Gift $200.00

Tickets help ensure your priority seating but it’s always a good idea to arrive 15 minutes early!

An individual ticket can be used at any screening. So you might want to keep a couple on hand just in case you realize the film you want to see might fill up.

Hope that helps!

Best,

SiFF

Hi to all the potential volunteers!

We love that you are thinking of us and want to become part of our team. When contacting us please give us a little information about yourself.

Your name.
Languages you speak.
What sort of schedule you are available to work.
Hours per day?
Days per work?
In what area(s) are you interested in volunteering?
Street Marketing?
Hospitality?
Projection?
Transportation?
Logistics?
Brunches?
Etc…

What we are looking for…
Friendly, reliable, film-lovers who want to help put on a really cool, casual (yet, very serious) rather bohemian-styled film festival that happens in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany. Our common language is English so if you speak it great! French, German, Spanish and all other languages are useful as well.

If you are a film student or local filmmaker this is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet other filmmakers and watch incredible works from other new and emerging filmmakers. We have panels and discussions and need volunteers to help us run them. If you’re a film buff then this is a wonderful opportunity like no other in this area and we’d love to have you on our team!

Get in the thick of it. Learn. Become part of the process and enrich your own craft and knowledge at the same time.

We look forward to hearing from you, learning about you, and having you on our team!

volunteer@strasbourgfilmfest.com

The Strasbourg Int’l Film Festival is proud and honored to announce the following filmmakers from both past and present SiFF festivals as 2009 jurors:

Rocky Palladino
Rocky, 1st time UK director and writer of SiFF’s 2008 feature film French Premiere Waiting at the Gate (2007) will bring his new politically thought-provoking short film, Britian Isn’t Working, to our 2009 festival. As an independent filmmaker who has had to fight for his film, Rocky knows what independent filmmakers must endure, struggle through and overcome. His background and experiences in the independent arena will be an insightful addition to our jury.

Ava Lanche
Ava is a short filmmaker coming out of Germany. Her artistically-inclined, political short film, Silence, screened at SiFF 2008 and has since screened like wildfire around the world. Souls just don’t come more independent and free-thinking than Ava. She will be a pillar of her own as a juror.

Jeff Orgill
Jeff premiered his feature film in France at our sister festival, Tregor Film Fest, where we all had a rockin’ good time. Boppin’ at the Glue Factory is Jeff’s first feature film. Jeff is a true lover of film. He wants to learn as much as he can about it so that he can become better at his craft. Case in point, for several years (8, I believe) Jeff volunteered for Sundance in the Print department. This volunteer job allowed him the ability to watch film after film, in effect schooling him. He spent several years making Boppin’ at the Glue Factory which played to a very receptive audience not only at TFF where it won Best Film and Best Director but also has picked up awards at other fests. It is both a joy and an honor to have this filmmaker back with us. Jeff is an editor by trade and will be an attribute as both a juror and filmmaker as Boppin’ at the Glue Factory is one of only four feature films which has already screened in France (two premieres were lost to our own sister fest, TFF).
Meet Jeff

Dee Wills
Dee’s film, Jane’s Paradise, is her first feature film which we are thrilled will have it’s World Premiere with us. Dee is an artist, the kind of artist that can’t help it. Art runs through her veins and owns her thoughts. It is the eyes she sees with. The air she breathes. Jane’s Paradise is art on film. It is delicious chocolate melting slowly in your mouth as you yearn for nothing more in complete satisfaction. While Dee has categorized her film as a docu-drama due to it’s documentational/dramatic style, I tend to think of it as pure art in the form of an experimental film. Either way, you end up with a juror who will consider your work through the eyes of an artist first and foremost.

Sophie Scott
Sophie’s short films, Obsession and Cannibal Jane had their French Premieres at SiFF 2008 in the Under 18 category. Sophie is in her second year as a Programmer for SiFF, is the Festival Director of our sister festival, Tregor Film Fest, and has translated several films from English-to-French. Sophie represents the voice of the next generation. She is our touch point there. Sophie has a strong and solid background in film which has proven immeasurable during programming. She is my counterbalance. I was watching a film and couldn’t figure out how to describe it. She said, ‘it’s like early John Waters’. I was like, “Yeah, mixed with Nora Ephron” The film, Herbeast Comes to Life, has since been accepted into SiFF. Sophie is a stickler for story, strong acting and production quality. She’s a fighter for films she loves.

(en français en-dessous)

The Strasbourg International Film Festival is a 10-day international film festival held from August 28th to September 6th, 2009 in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany, focusing on the works of new and emerging filmmakers. Creatives. Non-conformists. Original and independent voices from all genres, notably experimentals and avant-garde pieces as well as more traditional themes like dramas, thrillers, romantic comedies, innovative documentaries and unique animated works.

The festival’s goal is to create an ideal location for the audience and filmmakers without omitting the industry.

Several directors will be presenting their films at this year’s festival followed up by a question and answer period. Some of our filmmakers will be participarting in innovative panels which are open to the public and free of charge. Remember to keep in mind our filmmaker brunches where director and audience alike can benefit not only from great French food and culture in one of France’s most beautiful destinations but also enjoy benefiting from meeting other film-goers and filmmakers and keeping up-to-date on what is going on in today’s independent film circuit.

The festival also encourages networking between filmmakers for the overall goal of international filmmaking and open eyes to the new possibilities modern-day technology has created for the film industry and the independent filmmaker.

Projections are held either for free or at very reasonable prices in order to permit more people to see the work, from students, to artists, to professionals thus engaging the community and creating a very laid back, creative and open-minded atmosphere.

The Strasbourg International Film Festival plans to show over 180 films this year, from features to shorts, from documentaries to animation. Screening films in Strasbourg and Kehl thereby making this international film festival, quite literally, international.

Join us!!! From the 28th of August to the 6th of September 2009. Ten opportunity-filled days to support independent, emerging and out-there filmmaking! 10 days of new experiences because, let’s not forget, a festival is also there to learn from and share with others, a chance to explore your passion!

…

Written by Damien Prudent, translated into English by Sophie Scott

————————————–

Le Strasbourg International Film Festival se déroule du 28 août au 6 septembre et a pour mission de montrer le travail de réalisateurs nouveaux et émergeants,créatifs, non-conformistes, originaux et indépendants dans tous lesg enres, notamment dans le registre des films expérimentaux et avant-gardistes ainsi que des films plus traditionnels : drames, thrillers, comédies romantiques, documentaires originaux, films d’animations uniques.

Le but de ce Festival est de créer un lieu idéal pour le public et les réalisateurs, sans omettre les professionnels de l’Industrie du Cinéma.

Certains realisateurs présenteront leurs films suivis de questions-réponses du style “Quiz”, relayés par des débats, projections hors-compétition … Avec Brunchs en compagnie de ces mêmes réalisateurs.

L’ensemble sera tourné vers le Networking de l’industrie et fonctionnera comme un tremplin pour favoriser la participation de même que l’investissement de la Communauté du Haut-Rhin et bien au-delà.

Le Festival propose par ailleurs, malgré son champ d’action plutôt large, un réseau de liens étroits associé à un cercle de familiers du milieu, sous-couvert d’événements spéciaux en faveur des étudiants et de la collectivité, et ce, de manière fort étendue.

Sachons que le Festival du Film International de Strasbourg a pour objectif de projeter 180 films : longs-métrages, courts-métrages, documentaires, films d’animation.

A vos postes !!! Du 28 aout au 6 septembre 2009, 10 jours d’opportunité pour soutenir des réalisateurs indépendants, innovants et expérimentaux dans tous les genres ! 10 jours de rêves car ne l’oublions pas, un Festival, c’est aussi rencontrer l’Autre”, “les Autres” avec la possibilité de partager “sa”, “ses” passions !!!

…

Ecrit par Damien Prudent

The Strasbourg International Film Festival has Nomadic Tendencies and it’s time to spread our wings. Since our film festival is one of an international nature we thought it only fitting to take the plunge into international venues.

SiFF offers two partner venues in Kehl, Germany, this year, as well as our loyal friend, L’artichaut in Strasbourg. Kehl is that very cool town Obama recently visited while he was galavanting around the world spread good cheer and warm vibes in this part of the world and a mere 15 min car ride from Strasbourg – give yourself 40 mins if using public transportation. Google Map says you can walk it in 1 hr and 4 mins. So close and so international!

Kehl has two cool locations to watch films. First is the Kino Kenter which is known as the local art house theater. We are very pleased to have created this partnership as the owner is quite keen on independent film and happy to build an alliance.

The second venue is the Movie Cafe which is housed in part of what used to be the grand old theater in times past. While old molding and charm can still be experienced the Movie Cafe has been completely redone and is ready to embrace our festival with open arms, a big screen, plenty to eat and a full bar! And of course, it is conveniently located right around the corner from the Kino Center!

We are very excited about our Nomadic Tendencies and expect you will be, too!

There are only five days left to submit your film to the Strasbourg International Film Festival.

If you are an independent, new and emerging filmmaker who does not have a distribution deal in place we strongly encourage you to submit your work now as the majority of our films fit into this category!

Strasbourg International Film Festival is a Discovery Festival. I’ve been very reluctant to use that phrase (Discovery Festival) previously because it is thrown around so much and seems to be the latest catch phrase. Nonetheless, there is no better phrase that truly and honestly states what we do.

It is our mission to help independent, new and emerging filmmakers gain (further) recognition and build a global community and audience. It is also our mission to bring films into our community (both our local and global communities) that our audience has not had the opportunity to experience.

One of the things we’ve learned is that many films that deserve to be available to audiences have simply fallen through the cracks due to reasons other than the quality of the work. This is perhaps a failure on the side of the industry and definitely a shame for audiences seeking innovative film experiences that simply are not currently available to them.

Our goal is to help independent filmmakers reach their audience. We focus more on films that need a helping hand, than films that already have the machine behind them. Our favoritism goes toward quality work that can use the exposure. We prefer films that work outside the system. We believe filmmakers should profit from their work and there are a lot of conversations that need to happen and few places that truly facilitate such communications without alternative motives… such as pleasing industry people, governmental entities, sponsors, etc. or simply by putting such people on their panels hence hindering true change which can benefit independents.

The Strasbourg International Film Festival is free and easy to do as we please and what we choose to do with this liberty and freedom is to promote the works, values and ideas of independent filmmakers to the best of our ability.

While we do not favor films with star casts over films without names, we also don’t deny them. We pick the best films. If the best film has a star, fantastic! But honestly, we’re in our second year so those films are probably already in a situation where they might not be coming to us (although we are so pleased with the ones we have received and grateful to be considered worthy of consideration). This is wonderful for the filmmaker who has a fantastic film without stars because it means you have an honest and true shot at being chosen for our festival based on the quality of your work! It also allows fantastic new talent to be discovered!

Our thoughts on stars… we want filmmakers and those who work on films to make money. We want the cast to make money. We strongly support an economically viable film industry which directly supports filmmakers financially! We believe independent filmmaking can and should be financially viable for filmmakers, their cast and their crews. This model may be a new conversation, but the industry – particularly distribution models – are changing. It is time to have a new conversation. Join us in being part of the process!

The Strasbourg International Film Festival considers each film on it’s own merits. There are no hard and fast rules that apply to all films therefore we work within a flexible framework. Why? Because we don’t want quality films to fall between the cracks!

The time is coming when we must shut down our submission process for 2009. Our final submission deadline is June 8, 2009. We have tried our best to put the Strasbourg International Film Festival name out there and are very pleased with the response we have received to date. If we haven’t received your film, feel free to submit now! There is no time to wait! If you have questions, ask! We are here for you and want to hear from you.

Kindest regards,

Christine Scott, Festival Director
Strasbourg International Film Festival
Christine@strasbourgfilmfest.com
StrasbourgFilmFest.com
Final Submission Deadline is June 8th!