The Great Film Festival ‘Audience Award’ Hoax – A Piece of Advice for Moviegoers #indiefilm

A moment in my day (2012): At a screening of "The Last Fall" starring Lance Gross.You’ve seen the movie posters, read the newspaper reviews and website listings, looked at the DVD covers that are all toting badges of honor for a film that won the Audience Award at your local festival.

Guess what – those laurels don’t mean the title you're looking at was the most popular film playing there (although this could still be a possibility, so don’t count it out).

The award indicates that there were people in attendance who actually took the time to vote for this movie.

So, here is some sound advice for men and women who attend film festivals: Participate in the voting process during screenings where you are asked to vote on films!

Your vote counts – and I know you’ve heard these lines time and time again from political campaigners that spew them out on television, on the sidewalk, on Obama/Romney (whoever’s camp you’re with) T-shirts, buttons and baseball caps, etc. – but voting at film festivals makes a HUGE difference where Audience Awards are concerned. Most, if not all, other main awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Documentary, etc.) given out are selected by a jury of people with a myriad of expertise and interests including (but not limited to) festival staff members, seasoned directors, television & film producers, university professors, screenwriters and even corporate executives that have nothing to do with making movies (but are probably sponsoring the event).

The Audience Award is a whole different ballgame because festivals use the votes tallied from people who sat in the theater (or lawn, rooftop, bar, etc.) watching all of the movies that are competing for this particular honor. This includes people who are not affiliated with the festival or the films playing on screen, in any way shape or form. If you ever bought a ticket or pass to attend a film festival and if you ever plan on visiting one in the future – YOU are among these people – the audience members who festivals (and filmmakers selected to screen at the event) rely on for votes.

A moment in my day (2011): The Q&A for "The Casserole Club" directed by Steve Balderson; At Tribeca.Audience Awards provide the kind of bragging rights that indicate moviegoers at the festival enjoyed a particular film the most, compared to other films in a given category.

Since filmmakers, cast, crew, newspaper journalists and related workers are the ones mainly filling up the seats at some of the festival screenings that take place each year, it can be difficult to gauge who likes what and more importantly – where the Audience Award is going to go.

All voting methods and tallying of those votes are not created equal. I’ve worked at festivals where paper ballots are given to attendees and I’ve also attended a film screening where the voting was done electronically. Some festivals are better at organizing the voting process than others, regardless of what form the ballots are dispersed in and collected. That said, it’s easy for almost any film to win no matter how well or how poor the audience received it when, under the right circumstances, the director’s parents put in that winning ballot that put their kid’s movie over the top.

Since indie pictures need all the support they can get, my call for more active audiences is not meant to discount the votes of family and friends who have showed up to back their favorite movie in every way that they can. That is awesome! There is an equally, if not more, important side to that, however, when a lot of independent films are at slight disadvantages because audience members who just came to check out new movies that they are curious about stop at the roll of end-credits. You can’t stop there. You must get involved in the voting for movies that you watch at film festivals.

If you don’t vote, then you make it easier for your favorite films to fall by the wayside while other movies get to win laurels in their place – including flicks that may not even be that good. It is a reality that occurs far more often than you may think at festivals. You can watch two films that are like night and day when it comes to entertainment value but it won’t matter if Film A plays better than Film B – festivals are counting the votes.

Film A is considered to be Great but received 12 votes from the audience

Film B is considered to be Ok but received 17 votes from the audience

Film C is considered to be Poor but received 9 votes from the audience

Which film do you think won the Audience Award? -- It surely isn’t Film A!

As you can see, voting matters when it comes to independent films. It doesn’t matter if you attend a festival with the intention of watching one movie, or several that are playing there – Make sure your participation at these screenings include a vote for the films that YOU enjoyed watching!

Today’s post is a mash-up of two prompts from Jenni who is hosting the Blog Everyday in May Challenge. She encourages participants to share a piece of advice for others, as well as a moment in your day via photography.

Countdown to Couch Fest #5 - Tess Martin Goes Swimming with Whales #indiefilm #2012CFF #animation

Quick, tell all of your friends...the 2012 Couch Fest Film Festival is tomorrow! I’m excited to meet and hear about the movie-loving strangers who will gather and chat about shorts all day long -- shorts they love, shorts they hate and shorts they don’t quite understand.

'The Whale Story' - Animator Stefan Gruber, Animator Webster Crowell, Director/Animator Tess Martin and actor DK PanAnimator Tess Martin’s experimental tale ‘The Whale Story’ will be representing the U.S. alongside Kumar Satkunarasa’s ‘Life and Stuff’from Europe.

In just three minutes, ‘The Whale Story’ evaluates whether a fisherman’s connection with a female humpback whale is an example of inter-species communication or a mysterious fluke.

Earlier this month, Martin told me about her hopes of opening up a wider discussion about how fascinating the ability to communicate with animals could be and how shooting birds might not be the best solution for saving a group of endangered species.

Madlab Post: What are some of the challenges that you faced while making ‘The Whale Story’ and how did you overcome them?

Tess Martin: Well, ‘The Whale Story’ was animated frame by frame on a 16x32 foot wall in a public park in Seattle. I had use of the wall and a cadre of volunteers for two days. So immediate challenges were time and sunlight. We had to move quickly, but luckily I had four experienced animators helping me, and a very patient actor, and we managed to shoot all the wide shots in those two days. 

At the end, though, it did start raining, and the paint that were re-applying to animate the whale and water movement started streaking, and we had to stop the shoot. You can still see a bit of the streaking in the film if you pay attention. I went back to the wall with the actor and filmed all the close ups the next week. You can see a time-lapse of the making of the film: WATCH HERE.

In August, authorities in Argentina launched a 100-day plan to shoot seagulls that have been attacking the whales at sea; Eenvironmentalists disagree with the plan. Do you agree with the The Authorities or The Environmentalists -- or would you try an alternative approach?

Gosh, I don't know. I'm not really an expert on this type of thing, and am not familiar with this particular situation. It sounds like there's an unusual amount of seagulls, and that this method of feeding is new to them, in which case, it makes sense to contain them to save the whales. But shooting them out of the sky sounds a little weird, and like it would cause other unintended consequences, like lots of bird carcasses.

'The Whale Story' - Animator Britta Johnson, Animator Amanda Moore, Animator Webster Crowell, Director/Animator Tess Martin and Animator Stefan Gruber.Do you have any goals for ‘The Whale Story’ with regards to reach or audience impact?

I'm hoping that as many people as possible see the film, whether in festivals, or online, and are inspired by the story. I think of it as a starting point for conversation about animal consciousness, and human-animal communication. How can we know for sure whether the whale was saying thank you? Is it possible to ever really know for sure what an animal is thinking? What about our pets, the animals we feel we know very well? How different would the world be if we could communicate effortlessly with other species?

If you could only protect one group of endangered species, which animal would it be?

I look at the animal kingdom from the perspective of a fascinated layman, and thankfully, I do not have the power to make such a decision. I have my favorite animals, of course - I've always liked cats and felines, but I also find whales and other water creatures so fascinating precisely because their environment is so different from ours. But asking which species you would save is like asking which of your children you would save - obviously, you would just try to save all of them.

The Whale Story is playing tomorrow, Saturday, November 10^th at the 2012 Couch Fest Film Festival. Check the “Attend” tab on the festival’s website for showtimes.

Can YOU communicate well with your pets?

This post is a continuation of my Countdown to Couch Fest campaign -- a selection of brief, yet, randomly outrageous and sometimes insightful interviews that I conducted with many of the directors behind the films playing at this year's Couch Fest lineup and will be publishing semi-daily between the regularly scheduled Monday Movie Meme and King Dong programs until Saturday, November 10, 2012!

Countdown to Couch Fest #4 - Quebec’s own Martin Thibaudeau Conquers Prudes, Extreme Sports in 48-hour Film #2012CFF #indiefilm

Seattle, WA is shaping up to be among the busiest of Couch Fest 2012 locations -- prepped and ready to showcase everything this film festival has to offer. One of the things that I like about Seattle’s lineups are the fact that there are multiple showtimes at each location. 

l-r 'Parachute' director Martin Thibaudeau, cinematographer François Gamache, actor Louis Tremblay and actress Christine Beaulieu.

So, those of you who are in the area can really pack in most, if not all, of the short films by traveling from one house to another. Of all the shorts playing in Seattle, I highly recommend watching ‘Parachute,’ a movie Couch Fest describes as being about a couple that discovers a particular parachuting club where you probably won't die.  

I recently spoke with Canadian filmmaker Martin Thibaudeau who wrote, directed and produced this six-minute comedy -- in France.

Thanks to Thibaudeau, I found another example of how good movies CAN be made in less than 48 hours and why it serves the human race well to get out of our comfort zone, for that is where adventure rests.

Madlab Post: Is this movie more about facing fears in general, or is it about the vulnerability that couples face when trying to salvage something that they could possibly lose?

Martin Thibaudeau: I hope people will interpret the film in their own way, but in my mind, it's about prudence versus temerity, comfort versus adventure. Two ways of life, two qualities that oppose themselves in our minds all the time. How do they affect our relationships? What effects do they have on our happiness, on our survival?! Which is better?

It's also about bad customer service ;-) 

Have you ever been in a parachute?

I've never done parachuting. I'd like to try it but it's not on top of my priority list. There is something trendy about these extreme sports, isn't there?

'Parachute' director Martin ThibaudeauCan you tell me something that I don't know about the making of this film?

It was shot in the Trouville, France Short film festival by a French and Quebec (Canada) volunteer cast and crew -- in one day and screened in front of the festival audience 48 hours later. The young French actress [Kenza Laala] playing the parachute company reception girl was doing her debut in this film. It was her first shoot. Not bad eh!  

What is more valuable to human beings -- security & peace of mind or adventure?

I personally identify more with adventure but I also indulge in some security and peace of mind. We all need both. It's a question of dosage.
 

PARACHUTE is playing on Saturday, November 10th at the 2012 Couch Fest Film Festival. Check the Couch Fest website’s “Attend” section to find showtimes in your area.

What is the most adventurous activity that YOU have ever participated in?

 

This post is a continuation of my Countdown to Couchfest campaign -- a selection of brief, yet, randomly outrageous and sometimes insightful interviews that I conducted with many of the directors behind the films playing at this year's Couch Fest lineup and will be publishing semi-daily between the regularly scheduled Monday Movie Meme and King Dong programs until Saturday, November 10, 2012!