The film festival

Werner Herzog recommends in his MasterClass not submitting to film festivals -- unless of course you are Werner Herzog and the festival is Sundance or TIFF. The same advice might be applied to volunteering for film festivals, but yet again, it depends upon the experience of the individual.

In 2020, I was able to help out and document the one installment of the BonDance International Film Festival, held at a ninja village park in a resort town near Nagasaki. The theater in which the films were shown was unique and cozy with its lanterns, tatami floor and sofa seating; however, the park goers, mainly parents and their children, had planned a day of amusement outside, not sitting indoors watching films.

In 2021, I was asked to be a judge for the newly formed Golden Harvest Film Festival, Tokyo. Eager to put my film knowledge to work, I agreed. Some of the documentaries that I voted up were Le Film Intiatique and The DS King. Some fictional films I liked were False Teeth, nominated for 2021 Best Narrative Short at Cannes, and Lemon Milk, nominated by Venezia Shorts.

Shocked to learn that Golden Harvest operates on a rolling basis (as a sort of award mill since the films received no public showing), I declined to continue as a volunteer judge. In 2021, there were four installations of the festival, with admission fees anywhere from $15 to $35. As a poet who has paid to submit to magazines and book competitions, as well as film festivals, I am wary of being part of such schemes, but I understand creators' need for an outlet -- as they do not otherwise exist as creators.  

Not all film festivals are equal, and one should first put the effort into the filmmaking, not for the festival but for the drive to make the film. The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, which has no fees and keeps a copy of all submissions on file, was the most appropriate festival to which I have submitted. Even though my film was not selected, it was important enough, I thought, to be included in their vaults. I would not have submitted otherwise.

YIDFF often holds monthly screenings, such as of Red Persimmons (2001 Icarus Films), which was a painful reminder of Japan's fading culture, accelerated since the 2011 Fukushima accident. Yet even YIDFF has its shortcomings, namely it is at times politically motivated. This year it is holding a series with the Taiwan Film & Audiovisual Institute called Sharing Air, Living Time: "Programming films from past editions of Taiwan International Documentary Festival and YIDFF through monthly events, the project investigates the importance of sharing space and time during the pandemic, which pushes us to socially distance and isolate from each other." The elephant in the room here is of course China.

In the end, Werner Herzog, despite his own inconsistencies and failing at his own advice, may be right. As for my own part, I enjoy the excuse to connect with people, which is what film is all about.



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