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Topic: Calgary International Film Festival - Boo!

Dan Bouvier
Film Handler

Posts: 70
From: Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 10-02-2004 09:05 PM

Here is a long, bitter rant...

This summer I email the person in charge of volunteering and tell them that I'd like to help out - I'd do whatever they want, but I do have a booth at my disposal, which means I can help a lot with film building and whatnot. I'm referred to the guy in charge of programming who tells me that he figures he can use me, and to call him back on a certain date. I call back, but no answer. I call the next day - no answer. I email him. A week later I get an email saying, basically, they don't need me for any film help. Okay, that's cool. But the other volunteers (box office, ushers, etc) are already set up, so I guess it's too late for me to help out. No big deal.

So I go to their downtown box office to get tickets (Cremaster 3 and Un Chien Andalou/L'age d'Or). The lady working the box office was the most unpleasant person I've met in recent memory. She was rude and even told me to "stop mumbling" when I said "Un Chien Andalou." Finally I had to spell it out to convince her that it was French, and I wasn't mumbling. I'm sure she was stressed out, but she definitely wasn't suited to working with the public. 4 tickets? $60. No big deal. But then their printer isn't working. The volunteer kids there had no idea how to fix it (but they didn't need me). So the rude lady takes my name and tells me that on the night of the first screening they will have all my tickets. Off I go.

That night my friends and I decided to see "Saw," also part of the festival. Tickets at the door were $10, so why did I pay $15 each at the downtown box office?

In the local paper that weekend was an interview with one of the projectionists involved with the festival. They ask him what movies he plans on seeing, and he replies that he's going to be too busy, seeing as how he's working 16 hour shifts in the booth every day. But they didn't need me.

Sunday night we get in line for Cremaster 3. I tell the person in charge who I am, and that their printer was broken so they should have my tickets waiting at the door. Nope, never heard of me. They DID believe me, though, and give me two passes, which was cool. The guy took my name and number and said he'd call me before the next movie, which was wednesday. The movie was good, but reel four was tail-first, so they had to stop and fix it. I guess the projectionist at that theatre had a lot to do and couldn't pay much attention to individual prints. But he couldn't have used me.

Wednesday night I still haven't heard from anybody. I go back to the theatre, tell them my situation. No, they haven't heard of me. Once again they gave me two free passes, which was cool. I talk to the lady in charge and tell her that I paid $60 for four tickets that I didn't even get. She says to go back to the downtown box office. Well, I didn't have time.

And that's my experience at the 2004 Calgary International Film Festival. I'd say it was a real amateur hour, but hey, I've never organized a film festival, so I'n not saying I'd do any better. But it was frustrating nonetheless.

The End

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 10-03-2004 06:10 AM

Tell the lady who is in charge to call Jeff Joseph (Sabucat Productions); he organized and ran the fabulous International 3D Film Expo last year. They ran upwards of 35 films, three titles a day, and the whole operation went as smooth as a baby's butt, from ordering tickets online, to the hospitality of the house management (hurding a full house nearly every show and still being able to make everyone feel like they were not cattle) to the daunting task of making up and breaking down prints every day -- TWO prints per title, to hosting the guest speakers. It was one of the best run festivals I have ever been to, including New York. So it's not a matter of can it be done, it's just a matter of the know-how of those who are doing it.

The Calgary folks sound like they really didn't have their manure together.

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Dan Bouvier
Film Handler

Posts: 70
From: Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 10-03-2004 02:16 PM

I KNEW it could be done. It's cool that we have a film festival, but not if it's going to be just a wannabe TIFF and no one knows what they're doing. And you said "manure," and Calgary's nickname is Cowtown. Ha, ha.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-03-2004 03:13 PM

Agreed entirely with Frank - a cockup like that (i.e. running a reel tail first) at an international film festival is simply not acceptable if it wants to be taken seriously.

At the only big festival I ever projected at, the prints came in all sorts of state, and AFAIK there was not one significant presentation error during the entire fortnight. We even had one Indian film which arrived in supermarket carrier bags, with all the head leader information written in an Indian language from which we couldn't decipher the reel numbers. Within two hours of the film arriving (and an hour before showtime), we'd tracked down someone who spoke the language and who was able to put the reels in order for us. That sort of thing happens at festivals, and you have to be set up to deal with it.

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Dan Bouvier
Film Handler

Posts: 70
From: Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 10-03-2004 05:30 PM

The part that really bugged me was that I offered to help, and they didn't need me. I guess I wouldn't want some yahoo in my booth either, but that doesn't mean there's nothing I can do. Clearly the people involved were being stretched a little thin.

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Brad Allen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 688
From: Evansville, IN, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-03-2004 06:38 PM

Dan, someone forgot about your kind offer to help, just like they forgot your name when it came to the tickets.

Go talk to someone about it face to face next time. Bet you find a taker then.

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 10-03-2004 08:23 PM

Dan, it could be that since they didn't know you already, they weren't too keen on letting you in on what they knew would be a chaotic booth situation. If there is some way you can meet and work with them in some non-pressure situation prior to the next festival, you'll have a much better chance of getting accepted, provided you fit in well with them of course.

These days especially, people seem to have no compunctions whatsoever about lying or inflating their qualifications in order to get something they want. HR and hiring managers see this all the time now in the stacks of resumes that flood their in-boxes. In situations like this booth managers will always go with what or who they know, or go it alone rather than take a chance on an unknown without some background checking.

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