Queensland's film culture: The challenges of local film distribution and festival exhibition

Organisations at the centre of the state’s industry, such as Screen Queensland, have undergone substantial and ongoing changes in the last five years. Other organisations funded by Screen Queensland, such as QPIX, Queensland’s only film development centre, have recently closed. The Brisbane International Film Festival has been restructured to become the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival as of 2014. In an uncertain industry currently characterised by limited funding and diminishing support structures, local emerging filmmakers require significant initiatives and a sophisticated understanding of how to best utilise fledgling distribution models as part of a tailored strategy for their content. This essay includes interviews with emerging Brisbane filmmakers who have used a combination of traditional and contemporary approaches to exhibition and distribution thus far in their careers. It argues that for these filmmakers, while film festivals do function as crucial platforms for exposure, in the current digital market they cannot be relied upon as the only platform in securing further mainstream or commercial release. They can, however, be incorporated into an alternative distribution model that shows awareness of the contemporary situation in Australia. The research findings are arguably indicative of the challenges faced by filmmakers statewide, and suggest that further support strategies need to be considered to revive Queensland’s film culture and provide immediate support for emerging filmmakers. Queensland’s film sector is currently in the midst of significant change.

The more things change, the more they stay the same : the 2012 alternative film/video festival

The Alternative Film/Video Festival in Belgrade has historically been one of a triumvirate of critical festivals, with Pula’s MAFAF (1965-1990) and Zagreb’s initiating GEFF (1963-70), servicing experimental, exploratory, avant-garde, personal film in the former Yugoslavia, at Belgrade’s Academic Film Center (AFC) within the Student City Cultural Centre (DKSG). Initiated in 1982 it was resurrected in 2003 with a dual regional and international focus after a hiatus due to the collapse of the socialist states of the former Yugoslavia. As well as a series of curated and retrospective programs each competition program is now split into international and regional halves, selected by Greg de Cuir and Zoran Saveski with production support by Milan Milosavljević. Two film workshops were also available. One on scratch film by Ivan Ladislav Galeta, the other on filming and processing led by Vassily Bourakis. Initiated by de Cuir the first Alternative Film/Video Research Forum was part of the festival this year bringing together research on alternative/ experimental/ avant-garde/ underground film and video. Although I participated in this side-bar I will concentrate here more on discussions from the festival roundtable and contextualise a small number of films, a couple from competition but mainly regional work that I would find difficult to encounter without attendance here.

La traduzione audiovisiva: Doppiaggio e sottotitolaggio di Triple Standard

La tesi analizza il procedimento di doppiaggio e sottotitolaggio in italiano del cortometraggio in lingua inglese Triple Standard

La sottotitolazione interlinguistica in tempo reale: il caso Ericsson Olanda e l'esperimento presso il festival Sedicicorto 2014

Al giorno d'oggi l'accessibilità all’informazione e ai prodotti audiovisivi è un argomento particolarmente delicato. Spesso, le categorie più svantaggiate, come le persone affette da disabilità sensoriali e gli stranieri, non hanno pieno accesso alla programmazione televisiva o a eventi ricreativi, culturali o formativi (conferenze, workshop, spettacoli), a causa della mancanza di adeguati servizi di supporto linguistico. Tale carenza rappresenta una mancata opportunità d’integrazione e anche una potenziale perdita, in termini di pubblico e di introiti, per le emittenti e gli enti che organizzano programmi ed eventi di interesse generale. Questa tesi intende analizzare le tecniche attraverso le quali oggi viene realizzata la sottotitolazione interlinguistica in tempo reale. Il nostro obiettivo è quello di dimostrare che approfondendo la ricerca scientifica sul respeaking e su altre tecniche meno costose rispetto alla stenotipia, la sottotitolazione interlinguistica in tempo reale non sarebbe più un miraggio. Il primo capitolo fornisce una panoramica sulla sottotitolazione intralinguistica e interlinguistica e sulla sottotitolazione preregistrata, in diretta e in semi-diretta. Nel secondo capitolo presenteremo il caso dell’azienda Ericsson in Olanda, l'unica a fornire sottotitolazione interlinguistica in tempo reale nei Paesi Bassi, tramite una tecnica che combina un interprete simultaneo, uno stenotipista e un "subtitle keyer" (figura che inserisce i sottotitoli al momento opportuno). La squadra lavora su un segnale dal vivo che viene però trasmesso al pubblico olandese con alcuni secondi di ritardo, permettendo di migliorare la qualità dei sottotitoli. Grazie ad una borsa di studio concessa dal Dipartimento d’Interpretazione e Traduzione di Forlì (Università di Bologna), abbiamo potuto intervistare il responsabile dell’unità di traduzione presso Ericsson, dott. Thijs de Korte, e abbiamo avuto modo di assistere in loco alla realizzazione dei sottotitoli interlinguistici in tempo reale. Il terzo capitolo si concentrerà sulla tecnica del respeaking, dagli ambiti d’uso ai requisiti per svolgere questa professione. Ci concentreremo in particolare sulle somiglianze tra respeaker e interprete simultaneo, che ci condurranno all'esperimento descritto nel capitolo 4. Infatti, date le somiglianze riscontrate tra interpretazione simultanea e respeaking e il potenziale in termini di accessibilità offerto dalla sottotitolazione interlinguistica dal vivo, abbiamo fornito un servizio sperimentale di sottotitolazione in diretta dall’italiano verso l’inglese durante la cerimonia di premiazione del Sedicicorto International Film Festival di Forlì. Dopo aver descritto in dettaglio l’esperienza, analizzeremo i giudizi espressi da ospiti stranieri, pubblico italiano e membri dell'associazione "Sedicicorto", al fine di verificare la qualità del servizio e osservarne i benefici. La conclusione della nostra tesi è che sfruttando appieno il potenziale offerto della tecnologia moderna e approfondendo la ricerca sulle tecniche per la sottotitolazione interlinguistica dal vivo, si potrebbero ridurre i costi dei servizi di supporto linguistico a non udenti e stranieri, incoraggiando dunque aziende ed enti a garantire una maggiore accessibilità all’informazione e agli eventi culturali e formativi.

Searching for a feminist voice : film festivals and negotiating the tension between expectation and intent

International Film Festivals play a vital role in shaping filmmakers’ careers. This paper presents some initial findings from a current major research project, highlighting the significance of particular festival programming of emerging female directors from developing nations. Some filmmakers showcased at festivals actively privilege the voices of women in their films as a means of commenting on pressing cultural and political issues. Ironically, other filmmakers do not subscribe to the label of “feminist” or “woman filmmaker”, even if their respective films represent a strongly coded woman’s point of view. Tensions also arise inevitably when scrutinising women filmmakers from developing nations within a first world film festival context. The expectations of the researcher, the festival, film critics and audiences inevitably must negotiate with the original intentions of the filmmaker. This paper explores the significance of women filmmakers in attendance at the Brisbane International Film Festival (2009) and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (2010).

QUT Architecture Film Studio (Aus)

Research Statement: An urban film produced by Luke Harrison Mitchell Benham, Sharlene Anderson, Tristan Clark. RIVE NOIR explores the film noir tradition, shot on location in a dark urban space between high-rises and the river, sheltered by a highway. With an original score and striking cinematography, Rive Noir radically transforms the abandoned river’s edge through the production of an amplified reality ordinarily unseen in the Northbank. The work produced under my supervision was selected to appear in the Expanded Architecture Research Group’s International Architecture Film Festival and Panel Discussion in Sydney: The University of Sydney and Carriageworks Performance Space, 06 November 2011. QUT School of Design research submission was selected alongside exhibits by AA School of Architecture, London; The Bartlett School of Architecture, London; University of The Arts, London; Arrhaus School of Architecture, Denmark; Dublin as a Cinematic City, Ireland; Design Lab Screen Studio, Australia; and Sona Cinecity, The University of Melbourne. The exhibit included not only the screening of the film but the design project that derived from and extended the aesthetics of the urban film. The urban proposal and architectural intervention that followed the film was subsequently published in the Brisbane Times, after the urban proposal won first place in The Future of Brisbane architecture competition, which demonstrates the impact of the research project as a whole. EXPANDED ARCHITECTURE 2011 - 6th November Architecture Film Night + Panel Discussion @ Performance Space CarriageWorks was Sydney's first International Architectural Film Festival. With over 40 architectural films by local and international artists, film makers and architects. It was followed by Panel Discussion of esteemed academics and artists working in the field of architectural film.

BIFF to BAPFF: considering 'festival memory' in the face of innovation and change

As an art form, film has arguably always functioned as a stronghold for memory. Memories unfold in the stories told on screen, and remain preserved in the experiences of the audience viewing the film, at a particular time and place. The environment of a film festival further alters the viewing experience and its relationship to memory. The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) was founded in 1992. After considerable disruption due to economic and socio-political changes, it took place for the last time in 2013. The change in BIFF’s leadership and programming agenda significantly impacted the festival’s image and its position on the wider festival circuit. Through an examination of cinema and memory) it will be argued that film festivals operate as (temporary) sites of memory, through the programming and screening of films, engagement with local audiences, and promotion of film culture. This specific and unique ‘festival memory’ inextricably links to the audience and the venue, and is curated by the festival programmers and staff, who carry a wealth of knowledge (not necessarily recorded), of past festivals, successes, and failures. The people involved, the festival staff and audience, act as caretakers of this ‘festival memory.’ This essay will therefore examine how the BIFF and its home, the Regent Theatre, have functioned as crucial ‘sites of memory’ for film and film culture in Brisbane, Australia.

Farewelling the regent: Considering 'festival memory' in the face of innovation and change

The rapid expansion of the international film festival circuit has included the loss of smaller, but well established festivals, often due to the perceived need for constant innovation and change. The Brisbane International Film Festival was founded in 1992. After considerable disruption to the festival’s leadership, programme and location due to economic and socio-political changes, it was held for the last time in 2013. Nafus and Anderson cite the term ‘lieux de memoire’, meaning ‘sites of memory’, as a place of “remembrance that exist(s) in a social world that constantly seeks to get ahead of itself, to “innovate” (Nafus and Anderson in Cefkin 2009, 141). The concept of ‘festival memory’ has not yet been explored in any depth, but such significant shifts in festivals such as BIFF are arguably sites where festival histories and identities, and film knowledge itself, can be irretrievably lost.

Le "Festivable" ou conceptualisation de l'expérience des festivals de cinéma : exemple du Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Festival de cine + Latina : Proyecto Pap

El Festival de Cine + Latina se concibe como un espacio vital para fomentar, rescatar y permutar las múltiples prácticas culturales y realidades; brindan un escenario de convergencia, articulación y difusión del cine creado, realizado y producido por mujeres. La finalidad del festival es realizar una compilación de materiales audiovisuales que puedan ser difundidos y expuestos a una gran cantidad de personas para que queden grabados en el tiempo, el espacio y memoria de los espectadores. Es así, como de esta manera se construirá una herramienta de comunicación educativa que nos hará pensar con otras sensibilidades.

Exploring 'Samoaness' in the Samoan language film The Orator (O Le Tulafale)

The Pacific nation of the Independent Samoa (formerly Western Samoa)  is not known for having a developed film industry.   In 2011, a Samoan languge film called The Orator (O le Tulafale) placed the spotlight on Samoa, its people, and the Samoan culture when it became the country’s first ever film to be accepted into major international film festivals such as the 68th Venice Film Festival.  Samoans the world over have embraced the film for its richness, compassion, and authenticity. Yet at times, the film portrays the Samoan culture as harsh and cruel.   Samoans are usually quick to criticise negative portrayals of their culture but the thousands of comments on the film’s official Facebook page show otherwise.  From April 2011 to March 2012, there were only 11 comments criticising the film on Facebook, and these criticisms were denounced as ‘un-Samoan’. This raised the question as to why Samoans did not react to the unflattering portrayals of their culture, but instead react against legitimate criticisms of the film.  By using Foucault’s concept of heterotopia and the Samoan narrative structure of fāgogo, a heterotopia space and a utopia space are created in which past memories confirming Samoan cultural identity and bonds to the culture are evoked and are (re)experienced by Samoans while viewing the film.  Thus the film’s ability to encourage this is what Samoans praise rather than the actual film.  

Film Screening: ‘The Barber of Birmingham’

Time: 6 PM – 7:30 PM | Location: Page Library, Room #100 | RSVP via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1562714160720394/ Synopsis: In this 2012 Oscar-nominated short film, Alabama barber and civil rights veteran James Armstrong experiences the fulfillment of an unimaginable dream: the election of the first African-American president. An Official Selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Produced in association with American Documentary | POV. A co-presentation with the National Black Programming Consortia.

'Saying things without appearing to have said them': politics and protest in Jafar Panahi's this is not a film (2011)

This article considers how Jafar Panahi's This Is Not a Film represents an artivist intervention in the landscape of Iranian censorship, working as both a form of personal testimony and of political protest in the act of its making. The (not)film, made while Panahi was under house arrest and banned from film-making and secreted out of Iran for release at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, is structured as a day-in-the-life video diary of Panahi's experience of house arrest, focusing on the personal frustrations and everyday consequences of living as a creative artist in an authoritarian society. Turning the camera on himself, Panahi self-reflexively considers what constitutes a film-maker and what constitutes a film, exploiting the blurred line between his presence in the frame as a (censored) author and as a (political) subject to make a film while simultaneously disavowing his authorial hand. Considered in terms of Hamid Naficy's analysis of contemporary Iranian films 'saying things without appearing to have said them', this article argues that Panahi's seemingly simple video diary enacts both a testimony of his specific experience of censorship and a protest against the terms of his sentence, forcefully linking personal experience and social politics through the act of film-making.

High fashion

High Fashion is a practice-led research enquiry that examines the processes involved in producing a no-budget film of high aesthetic standards that can confidently compete in the global film festival market, and to reflect on the production techniques tested during the making of the film. The practical outcome of the research is a twenty-five minute short drama. It incorporates a large cast and crew, original designer clothing, extravagant sets, and a popular soundtrack. The thesis considers how over one hundred professionals volunteered their time, expertise, and equipment to help produce the film. The thesis also examines the many obstacles encountered while producing the film and how these were overcome. It is written for the student filmmaker as a guide to "learn by doing."

In Interaction

The field was the design of cross-cultural media art exhibition outcomes for the Japanese marketplace. The context was improved understandings of spatial, temporal and contextual exhibition design procedures as they ultimately impact upon the augmentation of cross-cultural understanding. The research investigated cross-cultural new media exhibition practices suited to the specific sensitivies of Japanese exhibition practices. The methodology was principally practice-led. The research drew upon seven years of prior exhibition design practices in order to generate new Japanese exhibition design methodologies. It also empowered Zaim Artpsace’s Japanese curators to later present a range of substantial new media shows. The project also succeeded in developing new cross-cultural alliances that led to significant IDA projects in Beijing, Australia and Europe in the years 2008-10. Through invitations from external curators the new versions of the exhibition work subsequently travelled to 4 other major venues including the prestigious Songzhang Art Museum, Beijing in 07/08, the Block, QUT, Brisbane and the Tokyo International Film festival. Inspiration Art Press printed a major catalogue for the event extensively featuring this exhibition. This project also led to the Sudamalis (2007) paper, ‘Building Capacity: Literacy And Creative Workforce Development Through International Digital Arts Projects’ (IDAprojects) Exhibition Programs And Partnerships’.