Christopher Nolan (director of Oppenheimer), Ridley Scott (Napoleon, Blade Runner, Gladiator), Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride), and Taika Waititi (2 x Thor movies) are among the huuuuge film directors who have shown their films at niche, independent film festivals. OK – their early films, that is.
My point is, some super talented people have shown amazing films at lesser-known film festivals.
I myself personally have been to Film School graduation festivals and seen some great films, with real emotion up there on the screen. The music has been awesome, the acting has been awesome, the editing, cinematography and all the elements needed to make a great film have been excellent!
Granted, I have also seen some projects that didn’t work AT ALL: they needed some heavy editing if not a complete recut (the main issue), different music, a different cast, better sound, better lighting, different camera lenses, better locations, and maybe a change of director/producer (as that’s where the buck stops).
But the filmmakers are learning their craft and some mistakes will be made – that’s how we learn. My point is: don’t dismiss the smaller film festivals as being full of toe-curling dross.
A lot of the young people make beautiful films… but they can’t get anyone to see them, so they go to these thousands of film festivals.
Francis Ford Coppola on the power of film festivals
With that in mind, a film festival is coming up in London that I want to shout about. It’s £8 a day! for a pass to watch ALL the screenings – plus Q&A’s afterwards with the filmmakers (for students it’s just £6 a day, or £12 for 2 days :-). There are networking opportunities – you can chat to producers and directors. If you want to work in film (or already work in film, as I do) maybe you’ll find your next job there, next investor, or collaborator.
There’s food, there’s WiFi, there’s great coffee – pick out the films you want to see and spend the whole day there: take your laptop and work in between the screenings, hang out – it’s a nice venue! And the good news is – it’s across TWO DAYS so you can do it all again the next day.
The MiraBan UK Film Awards 2024 are on 7th and 8th December 2024 at the Ealing Picture House in west London – the screening timetable is yet to be announced. And if you want to enter your film, see the categories here.
Honestly, anyone would think they’re paying me to say all this 🙂 and in fact, I did host the Miraban Film Awards in 2022: I watched all the finalists’ films and interviewed them all on Facebook Lives, along with the founder Jay Manari. Side note: the winner of Best Diversity Short and Best Actor that year went to “Conflict” by Chozy Ayub, about the Israel/Arab conflict – so, very prescient. Also Gaza Still Alive was a fantastic documentary from the 2020 edition.
The British, London-based, IMDb Qualifying MiraBan UK Film Awards 2024 have a ‘diversity and inclusion’ angle, but any good films will be considered – so (a) enter your film and (b) book your place to hang out there and have a great time. As an added incentive, MiraBan UK is a winner of the BFI Film Exhibition Fund, which sets it apart from some of the other independent festivals.
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