Owner: snuffboxfilms URL:http://snuffboxfilms.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:02:23 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A network for Underground Filmmakers, low budget, non-mainstream, inventive, radical cinema hub run by a filmmaker for filmmakers.
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Melbourne Underground Film Festival 2007-08-27 19:06:00 The Melbourne
Underground Film Festival
is currently about to be projected into our hemisphere and Blogsphere again this upcoming September (20Th to the 30Th) and as always it looks to represent the cutting corners and limbo budget makers of cinema. Once again I have a short one minuter screening, 60 Second Relief in the same rhythm as The Film that John Lennon couldn't make, which with its 54
Seven Deadly Cine 2007-09-21 07:25:00 Seven films have been banned from the Melbourne Underground Film Festival by the OFLC,. Here is the list of offensive items; exhibit A.70kSchulmädchen-Report: Was Eltern nicht für möglich halten (aka The Schoolgirl Report)Sex WishThe Farmer's DaughterAshley & Kisha: Finding the Right FitWhore60 Second ReliefAs you can probably surmise just by the titles, many of these films have something to do with sex. The Office for Film, Literature and Classification isn't a very sophisticated body when it comes to damning cinema it declares as unfit for public perusal, its system seems to run by the code that if it fucks, shoot it down.Of course we here in Australia don't really uphold a document of esoteric national ideals. The United States despite its own troubles has a framework of idealism that the people can use as a formative framework for their development as a country and a people, ideals such as freedom of speech, and France under its Declaration of Man has some firm housekeepi Read more:Seven
Trasharama A-Go-Go 2007-09-18 20:20:00 Trasharama A-Go-Go which hails from Adelaide, Australia is a nasty touring festival of trash film. Full of B-Grade Horror, Bad Taste Comedy, Cheesy Sci-Fi and Warped Animations this festival has been running now for 10 years. The premiere night will be held at the Mercury Cinema in Adelaide on October the 6th.Trasharama takes festival participation to sickly new heights and they say "During the last few years we've had nasty circus freaks, trashy preachers, Gothic belly dancers and sexy snake dancers, and this year we'll be having a special guest performer in the shape of Eden: The Exotic Vampire Dancer (insert werewolf whistle)." - so you can take the opportunity to wear that old netting jumpsuit that has been sitting in your cupboard for a rainy fancy dress.My short film, "The Film that John Lennon couldn't make" was actually a highlight in the Trasharama A-Go-Go Festival 2000, it was the event that Dick Dale's suggestion of having the front row shave their nuts in honour of his
Mobile Movie Festivals 2007-09-14 23:04:00 October 31, 2007 is the deadline for the Toronto Mobifest, you can rush over straight to the pdf guidelines and entry form, and submit your film in a variety of formats. Making movies for the smallest of the silver screens is the next generation of portable distribution, alright, it is the current generation, but perhaps we are still too overwhelmed with multimedia technology to draw in a wider enough audience from one type of technology. For instance MP4 players are trying to hit that happy medium of a screen that is big enough for a comfortably pleasurable viewing experience as well as targeting mostly the DVD market, and ipods are coming in from the music side of things, whilst mobile phones are predominately communication based. It's a confusing distribution market at times, and that's why I always recommend doing your distribution plans and trying to cover all areas before you launch your film. The majority of exposure you are going to get can all be garnered with a little foot Read more:Mobile
Sydney Underground Film Festival in review 2007-09-11 19:06:00 The festival trooping, tea drinking, pajama aficionado and Blogger Dale Slamma, was requested by snuffboxfilms to uncover the Sydney
Underground Film Festival
- not being a film expert I suggested she go for it in her own style which I find quite charming as I'm sure you will too. I think we should request Dale write up many events completely ecclectic, everything from children's clown parties to late night Italian poker games. So, this is Dale investigating SUFF from the inside for the outside. ---------------------------------------------------------- The insatiably explorative Dale holding her SUFF security ID.I arrived in a fluster and a tiny bit late due to drinking too many shandies whilst reading Hunter S Thompson books but I was soon swanning about wearing a shiny new media pass. The venue was in the arse end of Marrickville and close to exactly nothing, it was isolated and isolating, a concrete-fronted legobrick of a building facing onto a main road. Inside though it was qui Read more:review
Accent Underground 2007-09-06 23:24:00 Finally the desire and need to build a stronger and more strongly embellished independent cinema scene is spurning enterprise, one such is driven currently by the Melbourne Underground Film Festival and Accent Film Entertainment - the result is Accent Underground. Accent Underground is a distribution arm of Accent Film Entertainment that will "release truly independent films by talented filmmakers whose ingenuity and creativity far exceeds the budgets at their disposal. Many such features are made without conventional funding and imposed restrictions. As a result, they tend to be more dynamic and daring genre-driven films exhibiting raw production vitality which their conventional counterparts avoid." as stated in their official press release.Will Accent Film however be able to handle what will surely become a flooded in-tray of films all vying, crying, and trying to be represented by what many will see as the answer to their dreams? Who will walk away saying, "My god, even Accent Unde
Sydney Underground Film Festival 2007-09-05 19:00:00 The Sydney
Underground Film Festival
is about to buck into the cinema pit this Friday and here at snuffboxfilms we'll be covering it thanks to the festival organisers and Blogger Dale Slamma, who'll be guest Blogging her impressions and possibly her expressions (If she takes a camera along). The festival runs from Friday the 7th of September until Monday the 10th, tickets will be almost slim pickings at the rate they are being gobbled up by film aficionados, so if you want to squeeze in then click over to the festival pass page.Other festival news to hand is the extended deadline for Redfest the Redland Film Festival which is now pushed forward to the 30th of September. The guidelines and entry information can be directly accessed here. The festival runs out of Moreton Bay in Queensland.Another short film competition is being run by Free Range TV in association with Northern Access Television. The theme is "What makes your local community unique?", so making a five minute short film
Filmmaker Profile: James Chean 2007-09-04 23:46:00 James Chean kicking back at the Asian Film Market in Korea.A few reasons why we need to listen to the tales of woe to go from our fellow filmmakers is to keep our creative lives in perspective, to be inspired, to reconfigure our own strategies, to troubleshoot and learn from those who have broken molds or may be able to give us tips, if not more importantly hope, in producing our own scripts.James Chean has been busy making films for the last thirty years. Ten years ago James had a script, "Silent Scream" he was shopping around for funding, but no-one was giving him a break, so James came to that inevitable conclusion that if no-one was willing to pick up his idea and run with it, he would produce it himself. That is why he started up KYC, a self contained production company that housed a 35mm camera, HD camera, and HD editing gear. That is the very basic tools of production, from which he could then concentrate on all the other fiddly bits of filmmaking.James didn't have enough fundi Read more:Filmmaker
, James
Not another student video competition 2007-09-04 00:14:00 Yep. The only difference is that this one also allows submissions from filmmakers who are not students. Sadly I am not eligible for this prize as I am 31 years of age, and to prove it I may just turn up on the cover of a special edition Ansell Condom packet, you can vote for my picture which is me standing in the shower holding a broken umbrella - the significance? Well, I was aiming for an analogy of not being protected against the spray of the shower - okay but enough of that unusual stuff I find myself doing whilst not making films. When I say that I am not eligible I mean that this competition
is for filmmakers in the 15-19 years bracket, I am to understand that there are younger people than myself so if you read this Blog or know of anyone who fits that age, and is an Australian resident, then it might be just the thing to do - why? Well, the prize is $5000 worth of editing systems, digital cameras etc. For a filmmaker in their formative years, winning this would be invaluable.The Read more:video
Jumungo 2007-09-02 19:04:00 I'm all for supporting video hosting sites that are genre, target audience, and mission statement specific. When we think about putting our films on the net, the first place that probably springs to mind is YouTube, then we might consider Atom Film's free to net public site. The only issue is that these mass video streaming sites are flooded with videos, they don't offer a demographic portfolio that allows us to maximise our film's viewership, and often restrictions in content leaves some filmmakers with a strike against their account.The way to get around this is to upload your films on sites that don't just leave your films to sink or swim, sites that endeavor to work for your films, and sites that want an exclusive outcome for their content. The first site we will feature here on this Blog is Jumungo. So what is Jumungo? Here is what the Jumungo Team has to say about Jumungo ...Jumungo is an artist showcase geared towards the promotion of talented filmmakers, musicians, actors
CUM2CUT 2007-09-27 20:57:00 From a few banned films at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival to Berlin where it seems sex is not a subject of which can be punishable by the government.The CUM2CUT Indie-Porn-Short-Movies Festival is happening in Berlin. The background behind the festival reads "Unlike mainstream porn, the event CUM2CUT in Berlin focuses on the activities of the international independent and countercultural queer movement and presents a platform where artists, filmmakers, djs, actors and everyone interested can collaborate."They have two concepts running, one of which is Porn and the other is Pr0n, the first being pretty self explanatory but requires the filmmaker to create their work with a few items in mind such as having an "@" symbol displayed in the film, the Berlin city map must be shown, and a few others of which can be looked into here. Pr0n however is not necessarily human based pornography, its theme is technology, and to have a better understanding of what they mean, you can view the d
Film Annex 2007-09-24 18:05:00 Film Annex is an Online distribution channel for independent filmmakers. Their mission statement says, "Art and independent films (in particular when of foreign language) are often hugely popular at film festivals, but suffer at the distribution level to the point where they often remain undistributed or barely available with low revenues." So what Film Annex offers is a channel where filmmakers can specify the price of their film, the media format (i.e. type of player), the quality (file size). You structure your sales so that your audience has options to choose from when purchasing your work. There are two variable formats that Film Annex offers for download, one is High Resolution and the other for ipod. The purchaser either pays directly for the film or may get it free/discounted through a sponsorship program. As for promoting your work they say, "Film Annex partners with private and government agencies for promotion of the website. Film Annex has established an affiliate program t
MUFF 8 WINERS 2007-10-01 01:28:00 The winners have been announced for the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Even though Tony Comstock's Ashley and Kisha did not screen, nor did 70K, they picked up awards. I really thought though that my film being a challenge to the OFLC should have won the most "Effective Film For Social Change" category, but there you go. I can't believe the Victorian Police Force sent a couple of detectives along to Mini MUFF to monitor the screening - that is really unwanted bullying, ridiculous to have armed officers patrolling a film night in case sixty seconds of relief is had by the audience. I wonder if the police thought to check people's mobile phones for potentially x-rated WAP downloads on them. Maybe next time.MUFF 8 WINNERSBEST FILMA NocturneDir: Bill MousoulisBEST DIRECTORDavid Nerlish and Andrew Traucki – BlackwaterBEST MALE ACTORLech Mackiewicz – Left EarBEST FEMALE ACTORVanessa De Largie – A NocturneBEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTORBlake Ryan - Taber CornBEST SUPPORTING FEMALE A
Nice Shorts 2007-09-28 23:29:00 Nice Shorts
is an Australian Online streaming site that works in a magazine style format with News and Interviews plus of course short film streaming. To submit your film you must register. The layout is clean and the videos are not given sharing facility, but you can choose your player and leave comments. The problem with some video hosting sites is that they begin with such verve and then come to a grinding halt. Take Upstart Films for example, they had a ridiculous system of charging an acceptance fee to have films screened on their site, if your film was chosen that is. Of course charging filmmakers to have their work screened on the net is just not going to work with so many free sites available that have a much broader audience and functions available on the site. I feel sorry for the filmmakers who pumped $35 of their limited cash resources into Upstart Films - they would have been better off buying a pair of headphones and uploading their work onto YouTube or Atom, but there yo
Green Screen 2007-10-14 23:58:00 There are a veritable filmic forest of environmental film festivals around the globe so I thought for Blog Action Day I'd list a few of them here on snuffboxfilms. Even if your films don't have a significant environmental message, they might be in some way green themed. Artivist Film FestivalBig Sky Documentary Film FestivalBlack Maria Film and Video FestivalCharleston Environmental Documentary Film FestivalCornell Environmental Film FestivalDC Environmental Film FestivalEarthDance: The Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival EarthVision Santa Cruz Environmental Film & Video Festival EcoFILMFEST & EXPOGlobal Visions Film FestivalHazel Wolf Environmental Film FestivalInternational Wildlife Media Center & Film FestivalJackson Hole Wildlife Film FestivalMarin Environmental Film FestivalOkomediaPlanet In Focus: Toronto International Environmental Film & Video FestivalUndercurrents: BEyONdTVVermont International Film FestivalWild Spaces Environmental Film FestivalWildscreen Festi Read more:Green
Filmaka 2007-10-13 09:32:00 Filmaka has just brought to my attention their website which brings into competition films judged by filmmakers and an external jury, the latter of which, if wins, is promised a Feature Film deal with Filmaka. So what, how, where and why is Filmaka? Based in Los Angeles Filmaka seems to be a project with a bit of gusto behind it, stating some of its jurors as Bill Pullman, Paul Schrader and Wim Wenders - they state in the guidelines that "Entry Level contest occurs periodically, up to 20 winners are selected and each is given $500 cash prize. They then move into the jury level contest." The next stage is as they state - "At the Jury level contest, all winners from the Entry Level are given a $1000 to make a second clip on the same subject. Two winners are selected. The first winner is given $3000 cash prize and a runner-up is given a $2000 cash prize. The winner and runner-up move into the final level. A special Jury prize will also be announced at the Jury level which wins no cash but
Mobifest and Cyprus Short Film Festival 2007-10-13 00:14:00 The deadline is fast approaching for Mobifest in Toronto, it is the 31st of October. They say "Great Awards! This year $5000 in cash, Treo smartphones and many other cool prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Best Animation, Best Canadian Film, Eye Weekly Best Toronto Filmmaker, Caught on Treo and Best of Festival
."The CyprusShort
Film Festival is also now calling for entries - the deadline is January 30Th 2008. Only films produced after January 2006 are eligible. It is free to enter, hooray for that. It seems pretty mad that festivals cover both ends with filmmakers paying one way and audiences paying the other, why can't they just make up their bloody minds. If the filmmaker pays then the audience gets in for free, if the audience pays then the filmmaker submits for free, you can't always have your cake and eat it too. The awards are:The awards are:Best fiction short film Best experimental short film Best fiction short film scriptBest experimental short film scriptBe
Angry Film Festival 2007-10-12 02:49:00 Despite its name, Tom Vogel who runs the Angry Film Festival
is the least angry man you are likely to meet which is all good reason to submit your work without fear of being snarled at during the ceremonies. Entries are now open for the 6Th Angry Film Festival. Tom is also a keen supporter of the local film industry and keeps up to date with current events so it is worthwhile subscribing to their newsletter, his two films The Angry Penguin and The Good Samaritan have been around the industry circuit a few times. The entry fee is a measly ten bucks so that should make submitting unstoppable, and the festival is always held in the heart of a happening area so is packed with film hungry audiences.
Blog Action (Lights, Camera) Day 2007-10-09 06:54:00 This Monday 15th of October 2007 is Blog Action
Day and the theme is the environment - here at snuffboxfilms I have decided to post possibly on some themes of nature in films, what kind of nature I am not sure but it might be Triffids, it might be giant singing venus Fly Traps, or it might be juniper bushes ... whatever it is ... it will be projected on the green screen of snuffboxfilms. Read more:Lights
, Camera
Online documentaries 2007-10-05 06:13:00 Next week I'll be having an ogle at Online TV and seeing what is going on around the net there but this post is aimed at that genre of filmmaking that seems to pickle the serious bone ... documentary.I failed documentary studies twice at University and narrowly scraped through the third time. As with animation, documentaries were something I just never got into, and I guess it took a couple of years sitting through the explanations of the forms, and watching a variety of documentaries to understand the thoroughness and interest capable from such a medium. Now Online documentaries have tinkered my fascination for getting information across that surpasses regular news and current affair journalism. I have had a peek around the net for places to host Online documentaries and here are a couple of the sites I've come up with ...On the Mini Movies site you'll see a preview for the Second Life documentary by Douglas Gayeton called "My Second Life" which I think is a pretty interesting idea
Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn 2007-10-18 06:36:00 Tasmanian Devil
: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn aired tonight on the ABC not long after it had finished its post-production, and been screened in the Melbourne International Film Festival. The writer stated in an interview on the Victoria University website that "I started thinking about Flynn's potential as a subject for a television documentary. Not surprisingly, this had been done before, but not by an Australian production team." - quite true. Only problem with an Australian production team having made a documentary about Errol Flynn, it would have perhaps been better had they not. There were a few precious gems of footage but so what? It doesn't warrant a regurgitation of same old ideas on Errol Flynn. It wasn't fast and furious even, talking heads, terrible archival photo zoom outs, and being that I've read almost every book on the subject of Errol, and articles galore, it misses out on so many racier and more adventurous tales to spin (not to mention more interesti
Free Range TV 2007-10-15 20:45:00 Free Range
TV is currently still open for submissions (the deadline has been extended), and entry is free - they are seeking films that reflect the theme of tuning into your community with a duration length of five minutes or around abouts. If you have already made a film that fits into this theme then pop over to their website and print out the entry form. Even though this competition runs out of Melbourne, International entries are welcome.So let your filmmaker friends know about it. It isn't a huge festival but it is certainly going to be fun down at the pub slurping beers and watching films. Read more:Free Range
Underground Film Festival 2007-10-23 01:34:00 I haven't been posting so much due to much of my time taken up doing work and homework. Last night I attended a private screening of a feature film of which I had a cameo role in called "How to change the world" written and directed by Leo Berkeley. The film at the moment is still in the tweaking stages and having the screening was a tool used for the director to gain feedback, and for the cameo role people like myself to get drunk and babble rubbish all night.Anyway, those of you who aren't aware of Underground Film the film hosting site then it is about time you were. Underground Film is dedicated to works that are independent and their mission statement is extremely positive towards filmmakers working in the fringes of the film industry. Recently they have just developed an Undergroundfilm - Maker Festival
with a grand prize of $5000. The screenings and awards to be held in December at the Roxie Cinema in San Francisco. I can't go because our Melbourne tram service unfortunately
Writing for digital 2007-10-25 10:22:00 "Hey, who wants to be chained to a keyboard sweating to strengthen a character arc or imposing a three-act structure on a screenplay when you could be out there waving a camera in the streets with cool people and actors that amazingly ... make up their own dialogue.Too much digital stuff looks more like an acting workshop from a first-draft screenplay, shot by whoever could borrow a camera - and it is giving digital production a bad rep."Vincent Monton - cinematographerI'm about to embark on a Digital Feature and I thought I might examine some of the fundamentals when approaching this lucrative creative style. What does it mean when we say digital? Well I guess these days it represents the non-analogue technology that is used when shooting, in post, and in broadcasting our ideas. The closest thing we have to our minds which are Über digital in the way they handle and manipulate information. So when we say digital we mean everything is datafied, it is all streamed through chips, it is
St Kilda Film Festival 2008 2007-11-05 06:22:00 I am no stranger to the St Kilda Film Festival
having had a film I shot and lit many years ago accepted in called "Break-Up International", directed by Adam Zwar (Rats & Cats, Wilfred) but ever since I have flung my plucky short films their way and have had them bounce every time - next year may be no different as I'm submitting "Errol Flynn's Pianist" for their rejection just to keep the routine consistent. However ...You may want to have your film rejected by the St Kilda Film Festival 2008 because right now they are accepting entries all over again. The deadline is February the 1st 2008, and the prize as usual is the whopping big $10, 000 of which to put mildly could keep any filmmaker off the streets for a few months. There are a whole heap of entry conditions so you might want to zip along here and get reading.Otherwise the website is looking pretty slim pickings at the moment considering they are celebrating their 25th birthday but who knows, their website developers might have
Screenwriter's Blues 2007-11-02 21:44:00 The Bluecat screenplay competition is now open for entries. The major prize is $10, 000 with four runner up prizes of $1, 500, the fee for entering is $50 which is probably part of the prize pool, so if you win you can thank all the hundreds of want to be screenwriters who didn't. Bluecat also offer an analysis for your script, they hold screenplay writing workshops and state that they offer genuine support to all writers.It is up to you if you want to submit but read on if you would like to enter a discussion about scriptwriting and some of the entrapment's set off by modern enterprise.I have never entered a screenplay writing competition so this post is as neutrally sided as can be but I tend to think that a writer should know the quality of their own work from instinct without having to have it picked apart by industry folk looking for some extra cash between jobs analyzing other writer's labor. Other writing fields have similar opportunities thrust their way for a fee and the mo Read more:Blues
All things kinky 2007-11-08 20:15:00 Keeping with the kinky theme this week Video Inferno presents Amsterdam Alternative Erotica Film Festival 15-18th of November at the Cinema QT301 in Amsterdam for those who'll be either traveling there or live there. New York film festival Cinekink is closing in on its deadline (November 15th) for those who have films that represent sexuality in some way.I see independent filmmakers being compared to bands like The Kinks and The Troggs, whereas the mainstream fits with bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Being on the edge allows for a somewhat more flexible approach to ideas and concepts in film - sadly though independent filmmakers can't just lay their films down on a four track and canvass it 'round the record shops. Read more:things
Destfest 2007-11-08 00:55:00 A friend of mine is curating or programming a brand new film festival at Carriageworks in Eveleigh, apparently Sydney's most amazing new art space. I have not been there but Megan Spencer, the programmer says it is "a little slice of Berlin", and considering that my short film after having been banned by the OFLC from MUFF just won second place in the Pr0n category of Cum2Cut a partner program of the Berlin Porn Film Festival, I tend to be a little biased towards loving the Germans right now. Anyway I may just pluck up the courage again to ask Dale when she is feeling better to go and meet Megan because I think they would get along.Okay, so this film festival is called Destfest and the premise behind it is to present film in a cultural way, that is from my own interpretation, not just as a vehicle to hit the mark and pick up a prize, but something involved in our lives, something that inspires, or even perhaps helps fertilise our natures, our characteristics, our attitudes, as individ
Raw Nerve 2007-11-11 19:16:00 The press release for Raw Nerve
below.OPEN CHANNEL is pleased to announce that entries for Raw Nerve 2008 are now open!Raw Nerve 2008 will give up to five new filmmakers, who have never previously produced or directed a film with full or part financing from a government film financing agency, the chance to move from no-budget filmmaking to a more professional approach with the help of a small budget, and equipment, technical support, advice and guidance from the Australian Film Commission and OPEN CHANNEL.OPEN CHANNEL is looking for projects that exhibit a strong authorial vision, a compelling story, and fresh, interesting characters. Directors, or director / producer teams with vision and ambition are invited to participate in Raw Nerve 2008. Aspiring filmmakers with very little, or no experience, are also welcome to apply.The deadline for entries is Monday 19 November. The finalists, selected by a Panel of representatives from OPEN CHANNEL and the AFC, will be announced on 17 Decembe
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