WHO IS BUGGING THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Universal Film

ISSUE
ISSU
IS
SUE
SU
E 1,
1, 2
2012
012
01
2

ISSUE 1 of 2012

The only free film magazine in the world

WWW.UFMAG.ORG

Groucho Club Expos

Putins Kiss
Swashbuckling

SCAM FILM FESTIVALS EXPOSED

INTERVIEW WITH CEO OF FINAL DRAFT
UFFOs CODE OF PRACTICE FOR FILM FESTIVALS

NAZI INVASION

INTERVIEW
ACTOR AND CO-OUNDER OF
LA COMEDY FESTIVAL GARY
ANTHONY WILLIAMS

MAD FRANK

CHRIS ODELL

NEW MOVIE ON CRIME

MOBSTER WHO KILLED
40 PEOPLE

DOP , TALKS ABOUT

CINEMATOGRAPHY

P.11
P.47
P.41

Issue 1 - 2012

Intro UFM
The Universal Film Magazine is
a free magazine that delivers
passionate and creative coverage
about the global film and festival
communities. The publication
differs from the competition
because it is totally free and is a
unique crossover magazine that
connects filmmakers and film festivals with the wider community.
It is the mission of the Universal
Film Magazine to uphold our
uncompromising high standards
in professional journalism with
compelling stories that are unbiased and fact-based.
We are committed to the advancement of the industry by
providing the very best in-depth
features and coverage that will
have a positive impact in the
world. We aim to give our readers
motivational and inspirational
stories that embrace the spirit of
independent film and festivals
and give them a voice in the
media.
editor

Universal Film
Magazine
Editor TYRONE D MURPHY
Creative Director DOM MURICU
Proofing Editor TODD VOLZ
Photographer KEVIN ANTHONY
Advertising Director BERNARD DUNSMUIR
Contributors IVOR BENJAMIN DGGB
CHRIS O DELL DOP
J.R. BEARDSLEY
DANIEL E SPRINGEN
CHRISTOPHER MOORE
EDWARD SUMMER
DAN NUXOLL
MARTHA SHANE
DON AND KATHA CATO
MARGARET DANE
FREDERICK MONTGOMERY
ROSEMARY FEBBO
PAULA BRANCATO
JARED FELDSCHREIBER
T REED
CHRISTINA KOTLAR
SCOTT ROSENBERG
TIM WASSBERG
ZOE MOON

Tyrone D Murphy

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Contents
FEATURES
Final Draft

An exclusive interview with the Maverick and

founder of Final Draft script writing software.

Groucho Club Expos

11 The
Explosive revelations about on of the worlds

most famous celebrity and media club

A no budget movie?
13 An
interview with Philip A McCarthy about his

no budget movie
Tyrone Power IV

15 The Tyrone Power acting dynasty that spans

Iron Sky

P.7

200 years.

is Bugging the Industry

17 Who
Incidents of illegal bugging and hidden cam-

eras in the lavatories of a media club

FILM FESTIVALS

13

The Launch of UFFO

Launch of the Universal Film & Festival Organization and the code of practice for film

scams and stories

21 AFilmlookFestival
at some of the more dubious Film Fes-

tivals around the world

Queen Of Scams

19 New expose Documentary on the Queens

Groucho Club Expose

P.11

Final Draft Interview

P.5

Putins Kiss

P.47

International Film Festival

Cherry picking by the big Film Festivals

27 What
is the cherry picking policy of the big

Film Festivals
LA Comedy Film Festival
37 Interview
with co-founder and artistic direc-

tor Gary Anthony Williams

MORE STUFF

31

VIMEO and Copyright

VIMEO and copyright issues that clearly conflict with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

41 Swashbuckling
J.R. Beardsley talks about Swashbuckling on
the silver screen
6 fatal errors in screenwriting

45 By Paula Brancato, Lecturer University Southern California

Putins Kiss
47Lisa
Birk Pedersens film Putins Kiss reviewed

by Jared Feldschreiber
Time VS Technology
49 Has
digital media content a limited life-span,

by T.Reed

Letters & E Mails

Please send in your letters and stories
anything in relation to film.
editor@ufmag.org

www.ufmag.org
g g

Please Contribute

Universal
JANUARY 2012

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Directors insulting other directors

2. Ingmar Bergman on Michelangelo

Antonioni:
Fellini, Kurosawa, and Bunuel move in
the same field as Tarkovsky. Antonioni
was on his way, but expired, suffocated by his own tediousness.
3. Ingmar Berman on Orson Welles:
For me hes just a hoax. Its empty.
Its not interesting. Its dead. Citizen
Kane, which I have a copy of is all
the critics darling, always at the top of
every poll taken, but I think its a total
bore. Above all, the performances are
worthless. The amount of respect that
movies got is absolutely unbelievable.
4. Ingmar Bergman on Jean-Luc Godard:
Ive never gotten anything out of his
movies. They have felt constructed,
faux intellectual, and completely dead.
Cinematographically uninteresting
and infinitely boring. Godard is a fucking bore. Hes made his films for the
critics. One of the movies, Masculin,
Fminin, was shot here in Sweden. It
was mind-numbingly boring.
5. Orson Welles on Jean-Luc Godard:
His gifts as a director are enormous. I
just cant take him very seriously as a
thinker and thats where we seem
to differ, because he does. His message
is what he cares about these days, and,
like most movie messages, it could be
written on the head of a pin.
6. Werner Herzog on Jean-Luc Godard:
Someone like Jean-Luc Godard is for
me intellectual counterfeit money
when compared to a good kung-fu
film.
7. Jean-Luc Godard on Quentin Tarantino:
Tarantino named his production company after one of my films. Hed have
done better to give me some money.
8. Harmony Korine on Quentin Tarantino:
Quentin Tarantino seems to be too
concerned with other films. I mean,
about appropriating other movies,
like in a blender. I think its, like, really
funny at the time Im seeing it, but
then, I dont know, theres a void there.
Some of the references are flat, just
pop culture.

www.ufmag.org

9. Nick Broomfield on Quentin Tarantino:

Its like watching a schoolboys
fantasy of violence and sex, which
normally Quentin Tarantino would
be wanking alone to in his bedroom
while this mother is making his baked
beans downstairs. Only this time hes
got Harvey Weinstein behind him and
its on at a million screens.
10. Spike Lee on Quentin Tarantino
(and the n-word in his scripts):
Im not against the word, and I use it,
but not excessively. And some people
speak that way. But, Quentin is infatuated with that word. What does he
want to be made an honorary black
man?
11. Spike Lee on Tyler Perry:
We got a black president, and we
going back to Mantan Moreland and
Sleep n Eat?
12. Tyler Perry on Spike Lee
Spike can go straight to hell! You can
print that Spike needs to shut the
hell up!
13. Clint Eastwood on Spike Lee:
A guy like him should shut his face.
14. Jacques Rivette on Stanley Kubrick:
Kubrick is a machine, a mutant, a Martian. He has no human feeling whatsoever. But its great when the machine
films other machines, as in 2001.
15. Jacques Rivette on James Cameron
(and Steven Spielberg):
Cameron isnt evil, hes not an asshole
like Spielberg. He wants to be the new
De Mille. Unfortunately, he cant direct
his way out of a paper bag.
16. Jean-Luc Godard on Steven Spielberg:
I dont know him personally. I dont
think his films are very good.
17. Alex Cox on Steven Spielberg:
Spielberg isnt a filmmaker, hes a
confectioner.
18. Tim Burton on Kevin Smith (after
Smith jokingly accused Burton of
stealing the ending of Planet of the
Apes from a Smith comic book):
Anyone who knows me knows I
would never read a comic book. And I
would especially never read anything
created by Kevin Smith.

19. Kevin Smith on Tim Burton (in response to I would never read a comic
book):
Which, to me, explains fucking Batman.
20. Kevin Smith on Paul Thomas Anderson (specifically, Magnolia):
Ill never watch it again, but I will
keep it. Ill keep it right on my desk,
as a constant reminder that a bloated
sense of self-importance is the most
unattractive quality in a person or
their work.
21. David Gordon Green on Kevin
Smith:
He kind of created a Special Olympics
for film. They just kind of lowered the
standard. Im sure their parents are
proud; its just nothing I care to buy a
ticket for.
22. Vincent Gallo on Spike Jonze:
Hes the biggest fraud out there. If
you bring him to a party hes the least
interesting person at the party, hes
the person who doesnt know anything. Hes the person who doesnt say
anything funny, interesting, intelligent Hes a pig piece of shit.
23. Vincent Gallo on Martin Scorsese:
I wouldnt work for Martin Scorsese
for $10 million. He hasnt made a good
film in 25 years. I would never work
with an egomaniac has-been.
24. Vincent Gallo on Sofia (and Francis
Ford) Coppola:
Sofia Coppola likes any guy who has
what she wants. If she wants to be a
photographer shell fuck a photographer. If she wants to be a filmmaker,
shell fuck a filmmaker. Shes a parasite
just like her fat, pig father was. (funny
cause you had no problem starring in
Francis last movie)
25. Vincent Gallo on Abel Ferrara:
Abel Ferrara was on so much crack
when I did The Funeral, he was never
on set. He was in my room trying to
pick-pocket me.
26. Werner Herzog on Abel Ferrara:
I have no idea who Abel Ferrara is. But
let him fight the windmills Ive never
seen a film by him. I have no idea who
he is. Is he Italian? Is he French? Who
is he?
27. David Cronenberg on M. Night
Shymalan:
I HATE that guy! Next question.

1. Francois Truffaut on Michelangelo

Antonioni:
Antonioni is the only important director I have nothing good to say about.
He bores me; hes so solemn and
humorless.

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Final

Final Draft CEO Marc Madnick

Draft
by Tyrone D Murphy

The American Dream

CEO of Final Draft Marc Madnick developed the software in 1986 to help aspiring screenwriters because he found as a
screen writer himself the studios rigid
formatting regulations made screenwriting difficult

ts over twenty years since

the launch of Final Draft and
today, the company employes 40 people and has
offices on both coasts, with
headquarters in Calabasas, CA.
Marc Madnick the co-founder
of Final Draft Inc, has served as
the chief executive officer since
1991. He is a native of Philadelphia in the USA and graduated
from the University of Maryland
with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance in 1986.
He moved to Los Angeles in
1986 to follow his dream of
being a screenwriter. Like many
aspiring and professional screenwriters of the time, he found
the process of writing a script
trying and time-consuming. The
problem was not a lack of ideas,
but rather the lack of any wordprocessor capable of automatically formatting a script to Hollywoods stringent standards.

and Lawrence Kasdan,

he could save them time
and money, hed have a chance at
success.
After five years of hard work it
paid off and in 1990 the company
had 9 employees. Just five years
after its inception and Madnicks
aggressive marketing campaign
Final Draft scriptwriting software
had become the entertainment
industry standard for scriptwriting
and the market leader among its
competitors worldwide.
With the company now in its 20th
year and the eighth version of the
software, Final draft, the application and its brand, continues to
grow in popularity and into new
markets throughout the world.

This experience led Madnick and

former partner Ben Cahan to
the creation of Final Draft, a fully
dedicated scriptwriting software
application that automatically
formats your script to Hollywoods industry standards.

In 2001, Final Draft, Inc. released

Final Draft AV, the first software application specifically designed for
writers of documentaries, reality
TV, and commercials written in the
two-column script format.

A very strategic marketer,

Madnick knew that if he could
convince Hollywoods heaviest
hitters (Tom Hanks, Oliver Stone,

Final Draft AV was developed using the Final Draft philosophy of

freeing the writer to write completely uninhibited by formatting
constraints.

Final Draft app

The Final Draft Reader app displays
Final Draft scripts on your iPad
exactly as they appear on your
desktop - perfectly paginated to
industry standards for anyone who
take notes directly in the Final
Draft script on their iPad.
You can import your Final Draft
version 8 scripts into the Final Draft
Reader app to read and annotate
your FDX files anywhere, anytime.
Works on iPad 1 and iPad 2 with
iOS 5.
The app leverages the ScriptNotes
feature found in the Final Draft
desktop application. With ScriptNotes, you can easily add, edit and
categorize notes right on your
iPad. All edits and additions will
be maintained when you bring
your script back into Final Draft
desktop on your Mac or Windows
computer.
The Company now have big plans
for an online version enabling collaborating online

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Marc Madnick on horseback

In the early years in Hollywood Marc
shared a small apartment with his then
writing partner Ben Cahan. According to
Marc, who was then in his 20s
Times were very tough and we were
flat broke. Two young kids went to
Hollywood to find the American dream
and through hard work and determination we succeed. I had a variety of jobs
including guardian to Corey Haines,
a production assistant , a production
managers assistant and as a production
accountant on films such as Back to the
Future Part II and Part III
A produced playwright, Madnick recently saw his musical, Liberty Smith (book
and original story), premiere at the
historic Washington D.C. Fords Theatre
in the spring of 2011.
His other pursuits include owning thoroughbred racehorses -- most notably
Singletary, winner of the 2004 Breeders
Cup Mile and adventure travel, having made annual trips for the past 15
years to such exotic locales as Morocco,
Mount Kilimanjaro, Peru and Thailand.

www.ufmag.org

He is now residing in Westlake Village,

California; he is the father of two teenage sons.

Universal
U
niversal Film
Film
Issue
Iss
ue 1 of
of 2012
2012

Iron
Sky

by T
Tyrone
Tyr
yron
one
e D Mu
Murp
Murphy
rphy
hy

rron
on SSky
ky iiss a sc
scie
science-fi
ienc
ncee-fi
fiction
ctio
ct
ion
n
comedy
comedy
come
dy fillm
m di
dire
directed
rect
cted
ed b
byy Ti
Timo
mo
Vuorensola.
Vuor
Vu
oren
enso
sola
la.. Se
Sett in 2
201
2018
018
8 tthe
he fillm
m
tells
tell
te
llss a story
stor
st
oryy of the
the 1945
194
1
945
94
5 Nazi
Nazi defeat
def
d
efea
ef
eatt
and
an
d a handful
hand
ha
ndfu
full of scientists
ssci
cien
enti
tist
stss wh
who
o fled
to tthe
he M
Moon
oon
oo
n wh
wher
where
ere
e th
they
ey b
built
uilt
ui
lt a fl
fle
e
eet
et
of space craft. They are now ready to
conquer Earth.
The film comes from the makers of
Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning and was
produced by Tero Kaukomaa of Blind
Spot Pictures. Samuli Torssonen was
responsible for the computer generated effects of the film. The film was
financed by Energia Productions, Blind
Spot Pictures, New Holland Pictures
and 27 Films Production.
The cast includes Julia Dietze (112
Ritter), Gtz Otto (Schindlers List,
The Downfall), Christopher Kirby (The
Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions, Daybreakers, Space: Above and Beyond),
Udo Kier (Dogville, Dancer in the
Dark), Peta Sergeant (Satisfaction),
Stephanie Paul (Separation City, Film
School Confidential) and Tilo Prckner
Flscher),
(The
(T
he Neverending
Nev
N
ever
eren
endi
ding
ng Story,
SSto
tory
ry,, Di
Die
e F
Fls
lsch
cher
er),),
screenplay
sci-fi
with
wi
th a sscr
cree
eenp
npla
layy by acclaimed
aacc
ccla
laim
imed
ed ssci
ci-fi
-fi
writ
wr
writer
iter
er Johanna
JJoh
ohanna
ohan
na Sinisalo
SSin
inisal
inis
alo
o (Nebula
(Neb
(N
ebul
ulaa Award
Awar
Aw
ard
d
nomi
no
nominee
mine
nee
e 20
2009
2009,
09,, Fi
Finl
Finlandia
nlan
andi
diaa 20
2000
2000)
00)) an
and
d
Mich
Mi
chae
aell Kalesniko
Kale
Ka
lesn
snik
iko
o (Private
(Pri
(P
riva
vate
te Parts).
Par
P
arts
ts).).
Michael
In tthe
he fillm,
m, a ssec
ecre
rett Na
Nazi
zi sspa
pace
ce p
pro
ro-secret
space
program
gr
am lled
ed b
byy Ha
Hans
ns K
Kam
amml
mler
er aand
nd a
Kammler
grou
gr
oup
p of G
Ger
erma
man
n scientists
scie
sc
ient
ntis
ists
ts make
mak
m
ake
ea
group
German
brea
br
eakt
kthr
hrou
ough
gh in
in anti-gravity
anti
an
ti-g
-gra
ravi
vity
ty rres
esea
earc
rch.
h.
breakthrough
research.
From
Fr
om a secret
ssec
ecre
rett Nazi
Nazi base
bas
b
ase
e in the
the AntAnt
A
nt-arct
ar
ctic
ic the
the group
gro
g
roup
up evade
eva
e
vade
de ccap
aptu
ture
re aand
nd
arctic
capture
dest
de
stru
ruct
ctio
ion
n by fle
eei
eing
ng tto
o th
the
e da
dark
rk side
ssid
ide
e
destruction
eeing
of tthe
he M
Moo
oon,
n, w
whe
here
re they
tthe
heyy es
esta
tabl
blis
ish
h th
the
e
Moon,
where
establish
mili
mi
lita
tary
ry base
bas
b
ase
e Schwarze
Sch
S
chwa
warz
rze
e So
Sonn
nne
e ((Bl
Blac
ackk
military
Sonne
(Black
Sun)
Su
n).. Th
Thei
eirr fien
endi
dish
sh p
pla
lan
n iiss to b
bui
uild
ld
Sun).
Their
endish
plan
build
a flee
eett of advanced
aadv
dvan
ance
ced
d sp
spac
ace
e craft
craf
cr
aftt
space
and
an
d re
retu
turn
rn to
to conquer
conq
co
nque
uerr Earth.
Eart
Ea
rth.
h.
return
The
Th
e Na
Nazi
ziss pr
proc
occe
ced
d to
Nazis
procced
cons
co
nstr
truc
uctt
construct

a flee
eett of spacecraft
sspa
pace
cecr
craf
aftt an
and
d a sp
spac
ace
e
space
fort
fo
rtre
ress
ss.. In 2
201
018
8 th
they
ey rret
etur
urn
n to conccon
on-fortress.
2018
return
quer
qu
er EEar
arth
th w
wit
ith
h an ar
arma
mada
da of
of flyi
ying
ng
Earth
with
armada
sauc
sa
ucer
ers.
ers
ss.
saucers.
27 FFil
ilms
ms
Films
Prod
Pr
oddu
duct
ctio
ions
ns..
Prodductions.

The Am
The
Amer
eric
ican
an astronaut
ast
stro
rona
naut
ut James
Jam
ames
es WashWas
ashhAmerican
ington (Christopher Kirby) lands his
At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Iron
Lunar Lander a bit too close to the
Sky signed a co-production agreesecret Nazi base. The Moon Fhrer
ment with Australian production
(Udo Kier) realizes that the glorious
company New Holland Pictures who
moment of retaking the Earth has
brought in Cathy Overett and Mark
arrived sooner than expected. WashOverett as co-producers of the film.
ington claims the mission is just a
publicity stunt for the President
Filming began in November
of the United States (Stephanie
Paul), but the Nazis believe
Worldwide 2010, location in Frankfurt
in Weseler Werft or Tauthat the astronaut is a scout
theatrical
nusstrae, and in January,
for an imminent attack by
release in
2011,
in Australia for studio
2012
Earth forces. The Fourth Reich
shooting.
must now act!
Two Nazi officers, the ruthless Klaus
Adler (Gtz Otto) and the idealistic
Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), travel
to Earth to prepare for the invasion.
When the Nazi UFO armada darkens the skies, ready to strike at the
unprepared Earth, every man, woman
and
an
d nation
nati
na
tion
on , m
mus
ustt re-evaluate
re-e
re
-eva
valu
luat
ate
e th
thei
eirr
must
their
prio
pr
iori
riti
ties
es..
priorities.
Pr
Prod
oduc
ucti
tion
on o
off Ir
Iron
on SSky
ky b
beg
egan
an iin
n ea
earl
rlyy
Production
began
early
2006
20
06.. Th
The
e pr
prod
oduc
ucti
tion
on ttea
eam
m to
took
ok a
2006.
production
team
teas
te
aser
er trailer
ttra
raililer
er tto
o Th
The
e Ca
Cann
nnes
es
teaser
Cannes
Film
Fi
lm Festival
FFes
esti
tiva
vall in M
May
ay 2
200
008
8
2008
seek
se
ekin
ing
g co
co-fi
-fin
nan
anci
cier
ers.
s.
seeking
nanciers.
They
Th
ey ssig
igne
ned
da
signed
co-p
co
-pro
rodu
duct
ctio
ion
n
co-production
agre
ag
reem
emen
entt
agreement
with
wi
th

Iron Sky was filmed in Red camera

format. On 6 February 2011, the filming of Iron Sky concluded in Australia
and entered a 10 week post-production process.
The film premiered on 11 February
2012 aatt th
2012
the
e 62
62nd
nd B
Ber
erlilin
n In
In-Berlin
tern
te
rnat
atio
iona
nall Fi
Film
lm
ternational
Fest
Fe
est
stiv
ival
aal..
Festival.

Universal
U
niversal Film
Film
Issue
Iss
ue 1 of
of 201
2012
2

Fan
Fa
n Participation
Part
Pa
rtic
icip
ipat
atio
ion
n
The
Th
e fans
fans ccan
an ttak
take
ake
e part
part in
in ma
maki
making
king
ng IIro
Iron
ron
n
Sky th
Sky
through
thro
roug
ugh
h a co
collaborative
coll
llab
abor
orat
ativ
ive
e film m
mak
makak-ing
in
g platform
plat
pl
atfo
form
rm called
ccal
alle
led
d Wreckamovie.com
Wrec
Wr
ecka
kamo
movi
vie.
e.co
com
m

Finland - 3.972.720
Germany - 1.704.956
Australia - 1.823.503
Total
7 501 179

52,96 %
22,73 %
24,31 %
100 %

The financing includes 1 million

from the Iron Sky Fans, from which
40% is cleared and 60 % gapped by
the Finnish bank Nordea. The rest is
coming from sources such as Finnish
Film Foundation, Hessen Film Invest,
Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond,
Screen Queensland, Media development, several pre-Sales and spend
related financing like DFFF in Germany
and Australian tax-offset (Qape). What
makes Iron Sky special is the active
collaboration between the film makers
online
community.
and
an
d th
the
e on
onli
line
ne ccom
ommu
muni
nity
ty..
The
Th
e Ir
Iron
on SSky
ky
team
te
am is
is
in

si
site
tes,
s, Facebook,
FFac
aceb
eboo
ook,
k, TTwi
witt
tter
er,, Yo
YouT
uTub
ube
e an
and
d
sites,
Twitter,
YouTube
help
he
lp tto
o spread
spre
sp
read
ad the
the word
wor
w
ord
d about
abou
ab
outt the
the
movi
mo
vie
e through
thro
th
roug
ugh
h their
thei
th
eirr ow
own
n so
soci
cial
al ccir
ircl
cle.
e.
movie
social
circle.

An iint
nteg
egra
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Universal
Universal
Film
JANUARY 2012
Issue 1 of 2012

Gtz Otto (Klaus ) - A German actor most famous for his portrayal
as Mr. Stamper in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.
His roles include films such as Schindlers List, Der Untergang and
the UK comedy Alien Autopsy.

Julia Dietze (Renate Richter) - An up-and-coming German actress

and model. She recently appeared in the medieval comedy 1
Ritter and has appeared in several German films and tv series.

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Get ready
the Fourth Reich is here..

www.ufmag.org

10

The Dark Side of the Moon, Nazi military base

Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun)..

Universal Film

www.ufmag.org

12

Issue 1 - 2012

Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

UFFO

Universal
Film &
Festival
Organization

UFFO launches the good business code of practice for film

FEST-COP
ADOPTED BY
OVER 120 FILM
FESTIVALS

festivals to strong industry support... by Tyrone D Murphy

Maureen OHara

Every once in a while

there is something that
stands out and compels
us to notice it; I think that
is what struck me most
about UFFO when it was
rst brought to my attention. I am so tremendously
honoured and proud to be
the President of such an
international organisation that promotes ethics
in an industry I love so
much.

ince the launch of

UFFO on the 1st
July 2011 and the
organizations good
business code of
practice for film festivals it
has been adopted by over
120 international film festivals and has gathered strong
support from organizations
all over the world
With stories being published
on almost a daily basis
about crooked film festivals
something had to be done
to protect filmmakers from
fraud and to assure that honest festival organizers hardearned reputations were
protected. At this stage it
was just an ideal. Sometime
later I attended an international Film Festival in the UK.
I discovered that the festival
organizer and

Tyrone D Murphy is the

founder and CEO of UFFO, he
was responsible for creating
and implementing the Code of
Practice (Fest-COP). Through his
hard work it has been adopted
by over 120 international film
festivals around the World.
He is an award winning film
producer and director, a festival
director and now dedicated his
time to benefit the filmmaking
and film festival communities
through UFFO.
Tyrone Power JR, is the Chairman of the UFFO committee
USA. He is an acclaimed actor in
his own right and follows in the
footsteps of his famous father
Tyrone Power Senior.
The promotion of ethics and
standards is a noble and worthwhile goal in any walk of life.
To be able to help do so in an
industry I love and admire is truly
a gift and an honour. I am proud
to be a part of the UFFO organization which fosters and promotes
the dedicated, passionate work
of lmmakers and lm festivals
around the world. Tyrone Power.

his partner, a film director,

had a film in competition in
their own festival. (Nothing
illegal about that; a number
of festival organizers regularly promote their own and
even their friends films.) The
screening programme was
set up with their own film
taking prime position in the
lineup. In addition the film
was nominated in 7 of the
10 categories. Although the
film was slated by many of
the UK critics it managed
to win an award in every
category. Almost 400 other
filmmakers submitted their
films to this festival and paid
$50 for the privilege.
What was very apparent
was that there needed to be
something in place to stop
this from happening. There
was no code of practice
anywhere in the world that
was fair to both filmmakers
and film festival organizers.
We wrote a very basic code
of practice and published it
on social networking sites
LinkedIn and Facebook
to judge the reaction. The
response from both communities was phenomenal. We
were inundated with e-mail
from all corners of the globe,
telling us horror stories, and
why the code of practice is
needed.
The whole idea behind a
code of practice was to
improve the relationship
between industry professionals and acknowledg the
importance of enhanced
cooperation between filmmakers and film festivals. It
led to a heated debate over
many months by festival directors and filmmakers. Both
communities had very strong
opinions about what should
and should not be included.

On the one hand the majority of festival directors

run legitimate operations,
provide a great service and
want to play fair; on the
other hand the filmmaking
community had a gut full of
the fraudulent activity that
was taking their hard-earned
dollars. The few bad apples
in the barrel were blighting
the entire film industry.
The UFFO good business
code of practice has ten
guiding principles. The
successful implementation
of this code was largely
dependent on its acceptance by the film festival and
filmmaking community as a
whole. The code is completely voluntary and has helped
define the obligations and
responsibilities that film festival organizers have towards
the filmmaking community
It has a pragmatic approach
to implementation that is
based on rational and transparent working methods.
It promotes good business
practices and assists in the
development of relationships between film festival
organisers and the filmmaking community. The Universal Film and Festival Organization was later formed to
monitor the database of
accredited film festivals.
Membership to UFFO is
completely free and is open
to all creative individuals,
filmmakers and film festivals.
It is completely voluntary
and easy to implement, in
addition its also a blueprint
for filmmakers in deciding
which film festivals to do
business with.

13

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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

Good Business Code of

Practice for Film Festivals
No 1: Film Festival organizers should operate a transparent selection process and
publish details of the selection process
and the names of the Jury/selection committee (publication can be after a festival
concludes)
No 2: Film festivals organizers should provide full contact details for the festival
offices including address and telephone
numbers and the names of the festival
directors and or committee
No 3: A Film Festival should publish its legal
status as a company, charity or non-profit
(this only applies to a registered entity)
No 4: Film festival organizers should not
share filmmakers financial data with any
third parties
No 5: Film Festivals should publish a year
by year history of festival winners and films
officially selected
No 6: Film festival organizers, committee
and or jury should not show or demonstrate any favouritism to any film submitted
to the festival or attempt to influence other
members of the jury or selection committee
No 7: Film Festivals should declare the
number of films sought and/or invited by
the festival organizers to participate in the
festival prior to and before the general call
for submissions is sent out
No 8: Film Festivals should provide the
names of the selection committee and/or
jury members who viewed the submitted
film screeners to the festival (this could be
after the festival has concluded)
No 9: Film festival organizers should view at
least 5 minutes of all submitted films

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14

No 10: All Festival organizers should declare any conflict of interest that may arise
from any film submitted to or invited to
participate in the festival

Universal Film
JANUARY 2012

Tyrone Power IV
The Powers The acting dynasty that spans 200 years

Tyrone Power Snr

yrone Power is a
name we are all familiar with and many
of us have seen his
movies.

His great great grandfather

was the first Tyrone Power
(1795-1841), a famed Irish
comedian. His grandfather,
known as Tyrone Power
Sr., was a huge star in the
theatre and film in both classical and modern roles. His
grandmother, Patia Riaume
(Mrs. Tyrone Power), was also
a Shakespearean actress as
well as a respected dramatic
coach.
His father, Tyrone Edmund
Power Jr. (also called Tyrone
Power III) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1914. He is now
remembered as one of the
great romantic swashbuckling stars of the twentieth
century. Tragically, he died
halfway through shooting
Solomon and Sheba,

by Tyrone D Murphy

after he collapsed of a heart

attack.
On January 22, 1959, just
a couple of months after
Tyrones death, Tyrone Power
IV was born at Cedars of
Lebanon Hospital in Los
Angeles.

More recently Tyrone (Ty)

Power IV has taken on the
role of Chairman of the
UFFO committee USA.

Tyrone Power II

Tyrone Power Jr was educated at Pomona College in

California. He inherited his
fathers striking good looks
and followed in his fathers
footsteps as an actor. Ty
Power began his own acting
career when he landed a role
in a Shakespearean play in
college and caught the acting bug. He went on to be
a stage actor for seven years
before he began his movie
career.
He landed his first movie
role in Cocoon (1985). He
returned three years later for
the sequel to Cocoon. He has
continued to make movies
through the years in a variety

Tyrone Power III

15

www.ufmag.org

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
JANUARY 2012

16

Tyrone Power IV

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

WHO IS B

UGGING T

A US court handed
down a one-year prison sentence
to Hollywood director John McTiernan for having his producers phone
tapped and then lying about it to the
FBI. This is just one of a number of
bizarre criminal case that highlight the
mistrust in the film industry.
John McTiernan was one of Hollywoods most celebrated film directors. He shot action films such as Die
Hard, The Hunt for Red October, and
The Last Action Hero. He worked
with stars like Bruce Willis, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Sean Connery.
His movies grossed more than $1 billion at the box office.
This bugging incident may well have
remained a mere footnote but for the
fact McTiernan hired private investigator Anthony Pellicano who worked
regularly for the Hollywoods elite.
Pellicanos previous clientele included
names like Michael Jackson and Tom
Cruise. What McTiernan didnt know
at the time was that he was involved
in one of the biggest wiretapping affairs in US history.
The McTiernan case began in 2000
while he was directing a remake of the
1970s Rollerball in Montreal. The production became embroiled in a row
between producer Charles Roven (12
Monkeys and City of Angels) and
McTiernan. The director wanted to
make a modern Spartacus, in which
a slave rebels against an inhumane
system. But Roven insisted the movie
be an action adventure.
Shortly after shooting began a fire
broke out and destroyed the set,
and the movie went completely off
the rails. The films main producer
was the MGM studio, but McTiernan
was worried Roven wanted to take
control by buying up the studios.
He also suspected the fire had been
started deliberately. McTiernan hired
Pellicano, who used a hardware-and
software-based system that secretly
records telephone conversations.
FBI agents discovered a recording of
a conversation between McTiernan
and Pellicano during a search of the
private investigators offices.
In December 2008, Pellicano was
given a 15-year jail sentence for 76
counts of illegal wiretapping, and in
October 2010 McTiernan was sentenced to one year in prison.

HE INDUS

TRY?

by Tyrone D Murphy
Goldcrest
Offices Bugged?
A few years ago Goldcrest Film & TV
had serious concerns that their offices
in central London were being bugged.
A counter surveillance sweep team was
brought in to sweep the building at the
Dean Street in Central London.

Hidden Cameras in Lavatories?

This story is far more repugnant:
recently, hidden cameras were discovered in the lavatory of a well known
media club in the heart of London. The
miniature wireless camera was hidden
in an everyday smoke detector and
was discovered by a former surveillance specialist who was at the famous
celebrity club on a night out.

After an extensive sweep of the building, the Sweep Team discovered a covert transmitting device hidden inside
a common household UK-style mains
adaptor. The device was found in the
directors boardroom.

DB said, I noticed a rather cheap looking smoke detector on the ceiling in

the toilets on the second floor. I immediately recognized the smoke detector
as a type that I had sold previously as a
wireless smoke detector with a hidden
camera built in.

A covert listening device is commonly

known as a bug and is a combination
of a miniature radio transmitter with
a microphone. The use of bugs, called
bugging, is a common technique in
surveillance, espionage and in police
investigations.
At the time, Mr. John Quested, the chief
executive of Goldcrest Films and TV,
had been charged by Londons Serious
Fraud Office with conspiracy to cause
loss to others by falsifying documents
made or required for an accounting
purpose.

Smoke Detector/ Hidden Camera

According to sources the covert

listening device was a UHF transmitter
device, ultra high frequency and very
sophisticated. It is not known if the
perpetrator was ever found.

This type of cheap smoke detector

import would not have had a COC
(certificate of compliance) as a smoke
detector DB goes on, I opened the
cover and there was the miniature
camera. In disgust I pulled the wires
from the camera and left the lavatory.

Technology has changed much in recent years with cellular networks being
utilised to listen in on conversations. A
miniature device can be disguised and
contain a camera or listening device
and can be hidden in anything.

DB, the surveillance specialist who

made the discovery was immediately
accosted by security after leaving the
lavatories and a heated exchange
ensued outside the club in front of
many witnesses. The security officer
later denied that the conversation ever
took place.
Although this incident was reported to
the police, no investigation ever took
place. Apparently, installing hidden
cameras in lavatories is legal in the UK!.

Transmitter disguised as an mains adaptor

17

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Whither
Film Festivals
and Wherefore?
There are no easy answers to the
Film Festival Question. Not one.
There are now so many film festivals
that, if one could teleport, it would be
easy to spend 24/7/365 in a theatre
somewhere on earth watching movies
without eating, sleeping, or relieving
oneself.
Even if I had mastered teleportation, I
wouldnt attend that many screenings.
But the opportunity is clearly there. So
what are we to do? And what, really, is
the question?
The question has, vaguely, to do with
how to make your own film festival
successful and, at the very least, pay
for itself. Thats not easy, especially in
the second decade of the 21st Century
where the economics of the world
have transmogrified into a surreal playing board worthy of Alices Wonderland.
In the United States, especially, the film
festival landscape -- long supported
by charities, foundations, and the attendance of interested viewers -- has
become barren and dodgy.
Add to that formula the general collapse of theatrical motion picture
exhibition in Europe and, especially,
North America because of the rise in
ticket prices and home theatres, and

by Edward Summer

you have a concoction sure to turn the

most innovative programmers into
babbling idiots. Our own festival has
seen a drop -off in both attendance
and entries. We have very, very low
entry fees, and our admission prices
are extremely reasonable (and heavily
discounted if our audience just pays
attention and orders early).
We find a way to show almost every
film thats entered each year. Its not
hard, with a little care, to find a slot
for the majority of short films, and
we dont receive all that many independent features (as compared to the
number of shorts sent to us).
One thing that would benefit us, and
perhaps many others is reciprocity and
cooperation among and between various festivals. Our region has just over
a dozen film festivals, all of them of
varied and non-competitive content.
Yet it is nearly impossible to find out
everyones scheduling in advance with
an eye toward spreading events generously throughout the year to maximize
audience interest, and it is just as
difficult to get our associates to share
promotional costs that could benefit
everyones bottom line.

as a charitable event is remarkable, yet

that festival seems to be the most difficult to collaborate with. If one speculated, it might be easy to surmise that
they are most dependent upon their
bottom line to survive, whereas charities potentially have other options and
fewer commercial expenses.
Nonetheless, the benefit to a community from both commercial and noncommercial film festivals is immense
and grows with both the local and
international appeal of the events in
the aggregate throughout a year. One
supposes that this is true all over the
world.
So, lets all consider:
How do we -- collectively -- improve
and refine the film festival climate?
How do we help each other to survive,
expand, encourage better movies,
and make the world a better place -- if
only by entertaining our fellow human
beings for a few joyous hours? I have
no idea.
Let me know what you think.
Ed

The fact that at least one film festival is

run as a commercial venture and not

www.ufmag.org
www.ufmag.org

18
6

Edward Summer
Executive Director
Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo and Western New York State,
United States

Issue 1 2012

Universal Film

Film Festiv
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY...
by Tyrone D Murphy

ome film
festivals are
set up solely
to con and rip off the
filmmaking community.
With the recent explosion of film
festivals all over the world it was inevitable that the scammers would consequently follow. This was highlighted
recently with a number of film festivals
around the world including the Swansea Bay Film Festival in the UK. The
Swansea Bay Film Festival was set up
by Binda Singh, a charismatic character
with a silver tongue by all accounts. He
managed to secure the patronage of
actors Catherine Zeta Jones/Douglas
and Michael Sheen for the festival and
he was raking in the cash.
All seemed to be going well for Singh
who had expanded his operations and
was now running up to sixteen film
festivals through the AMRISTA organization Academy of Media, Recording,
Interactive, Television & Stage Arts
a grandiose name I am sure you will
agree, but grandiose in name only?
AMRISTA was operating film festivals in
countries such as Australia, Egypt, USA,
Ireland, Thailand, the Caribbean, South
Africa and many more. Business was
booming for Singh. If a film-maker submitted their film to a festival throught
the AMRITSA organization, they would
also be accepted into 10 other AMRISTA festivals. How good can it get for
an aspiring filmmaker?

After receiving the fantastic

news that 10 international
film festivals just simply loved
your film that was a labour of
love, you now had to pay 30
for the submission of your film
into each AMRISTA festival. 300,
not bad considering you are now going to be the next Tarantino! And now
you have gone and told all your family
and friends.
Now, the hard truth. Most of the festivals were nothing more than a screening normally held in a small room with
a couple of chairs. All profit and literally
no outlay for Binda Singh. Actors Catherine Zeta Jones/Douglas and Michael
Sheen had also attached their names
to a backstreet operation that gave tin
cans out as awards.
In comes the heroes of the story: two
American filmmakers - California filmmakers Steve Rosen and Terri DeBono
- arrived at the Swansea Bay festival.
It didnt take them long to work out
the Swansea Bay Festival was a sham.
They were so infuriated at the unprofessional way the festival was run they
decided to make a documentary about
the now notorious festival.

The documentary is now available on

YouTube, titled Looking for an Audience. The film details their arriving in
south Wales to discover that their film
had no screening time and the main
audience was other film-makers with
entries at the event.
Another maverick film-maker, Paul
OConnor was the first to highlight his
concerns over Singhs festival activities,
on his Undercurrent blog.
Singh had a considerable amount of
public authority support; local politicians are now asking where public
money went. It would seem that is all
they are doing.
We spoke to Singh and he blamed the
bad management of the film festival on
the volunteers, volunteers who were
never paid!

Be on the lookout for scam festivals

While we all love film festivals and they are crucial to screening filmmakers work and recognising talent there are a few bad apples in every
barrel that give the rest a bad name. We are committed (UFFO & UFM)
to routing out the criminal and shady operators and bringing about a
fair and transparent way of doing business. This can only benefit the
whole community and we ask you to be vigilant and look out for possible scam festivals. please e mail us editor@ufmag.org.

19

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Universal Film

Issue 1 - 2012

val Stories
Another festival
that has been a
cause of concern
is LALIFF, which
is directed by Edward James Olmos.
every filmmaker who submitted a film to his festival
telling every one of them
that they were nominated for
an award.

The Famewalk Film Festival is another

festival that is a complete farce. The
festival was set up and run by Andrew
Hughes AKA Andrew Von Gregor, a guitarist. He frequently tells people that he
is from Miami FL but our investigation
has shown he is originally from Steelton, PA and last we heard he was living
in a studio apartment on sycamore
Avenue in Hollywood, CA. The festival
is just very a basic website, and he has
been charging $50 for submitted films
with all mail going to a mailbox. Von
Gregor sent out the odd e-mail stating
that awards nominations would be announced soon, but nothing ever came.
There is no jury, no selection process
and he cannot be contacted. Efforts
were made many times by filmmakers
but he has ignored all contact to date.
When Von Gregor found out that we
were on his case he sent an e-mail to

He also sent us an e-mail stating that Andrew Huges is being

replaced by Andrew Von Gregor. He is
however one and the same.
We believe this is an attempt to
appease the filmmakers who had
concerns about the way the festival
was operating, or should we say, not
operating at all.
When all is said and done this is the
typical type of festival that sets up
overnight, takes in as many submissions as they possibly can and then
ignores all contact from filmmakers.
Is this festival for you? Have you submitted a film to this festival? If so, here
are the details.
Andrew von Gregor
www.andrewgregor.com
Birthdate, October 19, 1971
AKA
Andrew Hughes
Famewalk Films
Info@FamewalkFilms.com

The official selections

were made for the 2011 Los Angeles
Latino International Film Festival,
which kicked off on July 17 and held
at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
Among the selections was the movie
America, which stars (you got it)
Edward James Olmos own wife, Lymari
Nadal. Mr. Olmos is also in the film
alongside a Latino star-studded cast .
It gets better; Mr. Edward James Olmos
is an executive producer of the movie
America.
Now this may all be very respectable,
but does it not seem strange that Mr.
Olmos, a co-founder of the Latino International Film Institute which organizes the festival each year, is using the
film festival as a vehicle to promote his
own and his wifes films?
Is this a clear case of a conflict of interest?
Did other filmmakers submit films to
this festival in this category?
The festival has declined to comment.
Surprise surprise!

The Topanga Film Festival ripped off

Topanga Film Festival, a non-profit organization reported losing $20,000
in funds when Pacific Palisades-based International Humanities Centre
(IHC) closed its offices suddenly. IHC is now under investigation for nearly
$1 million in missing funds. The IRS and the FBI may also get involved. IHC
Executive Director Steve Sugarman is apparently missing, the offices are
closed, the companys telephones cut off and the website taken down.

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20

full story in the next issue:

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Queen of Scams

Documentary on the Queens International Film Festival by Dan Nuxoll & Martha Shane
She has been sued countless times and
accused of fraud under many different
names, relating to four different film
festivals in three different cities. There
is an elderly egg farmer who claimed
he gave Marie and her husband his life
savings to make a gangster movie, and
there is a single mom who says Marie
took her last dime. And all that is just
the beginning. Everyone we spoke to
said that Marie could be charming,
sweet, vulnerable, and captivating.
Yet everywhere we looked there were
accusations of fraud, piles of unpaid
bills, and people whose lives had been
left in disarray. The deeper we dug, the
more we wanted to know.

Marie Castaldo being interviewed for the documentary

ver since 2007, we have been chasing the enigmatic Marie Castaldo,
convicted criminal, alleged con artist
and proprietor of scandal-plagued film
festivals. Directed by Martha Shane
(Producer and codirector of Bi The
Way) and Dan Nuxoll (Program Director of Rooftop Films, coproducer of
Kiss My Snake), The Mystery of Marie
Castaldo and the Queens International
Film Festival will take the audience on a
voyage of discovery from Africa to Paris
to L.A. to Queens to Rikers Island, and
finally to the small apartment in London
where we finally met Marie face to face.
In the end, we hope to come to a better understanding of what truly drives
Marie Castaldo.
The Story
My name is Dan Nuxoll, and I am the
Program Director for Rooftop Films, an
outdoor film festival in New York. Its a
great job and I really enjoy it, but right
now I would like to tell you about a different sort of project that I am working
on. In 2007, a festival director named
Marie Castaldo called me up and said
she was looking to rent some equipment for her Queens International Film
Festival. We rented her some gear, but
never got a deposit, and after the festival was over, Marie disappeared without
paying a dime. A year later, when I discovered that Marie was presenting the
festival again, I decided to take action.
I called the festival, left a message, and
was subsequently contacted by Marie,
who threatened that if I showed up at
the festival, there would be men there
who would make me regret it. As I soon
learned, however, Rooftop Films wasnt
the only company that Marie hadnt
paid over the years.

Around this time, I met a filmmaker

named Martha Shane. Martha and I
started to do a little research, and bit
by bit, we began to uncover a trail of
unpaid bills and allegations of fraud
that covered Maries twenty-plus years
of working in the New York and Los
Angeles film industries. Finally, Rooftop
Films, along with a number of other
people who claimed they had been
defrauded by the Queens International
Film Festival, brought Maries actions
to the attention of the Queens DA. But
for many months, the case rested there,
as Martha and I continued to learn of
increasingly bizarre allegations against
Marie. Finally, just as we were beginning to think that no action would ever
be taken by the Queens DAs office,
there was a shocking turn of events.
Marie was arrested on multiple counts
of animal abuse in upstate New York.
While she waited in jail there, the
Queens DA was informed of her arrest,
and Marie was transferred to Rikers
Island. It was nearing the end of 2010
when Marie plead guilty to multiple
counts of fraud and animal abuse and
was deported back to France.
When we started investigating Marie,
we quickly became enthralled by the
wild scope of her life. She has been
married multiple times on multiple
continents, and she claims that two of
her exes threatened to kill her. Weve
heard stories from past associates
describing bizarre scams and shady
deals that they claimed Marie or her
ex-husbands had pulled - from--run-of --the mill bounced checks, to small
town Ponzi schemes, to an attempt
to sell Q-Tips off the back of a stolen
pharmaceutical truck.

Who is this woman?

Marie was a fascinating enigma to us,
and we dove headfirst into our research. We tried to find out everything
we could about Maries life, combing
through old articles, interviewing
many of the people who have worked
with her in the past, speaking with
ex-boyfriends and alleged victims, and
compiling a tremendous amount of
raw information and footage. But the
most fascinating part of this investigation came a few months ago when
we finally met Marie face to face and
interviewed her in London. The thing
that still troubled us as we headed to
Europe was that we couldnt understand why Marie had gotten involved
in all of these unusual situations. If she
was simply a run-of-the-mill con -artist, then some of her actions, such as
giving fee waivers to filmmakers who
submitted to her festivals, just didnt
make sense. But at the same time, she
had been accused of so many different
schemes by so many different people,
it also didnt seem possible that she
was completely innocent of blame as
she so often claimed.
Our interviews in London cleared up
some of our confusion, but our time
with Marie created as many questions
as it answered. After spending more
than 25 hours with Marie in a blacked
out apartment in London, poring over
the details of her life and crimes, we
realized just how difficult it can be to
parse out the truth about someones
life. In many ways, we have more
information, but will we ever know the
truth.
For information on The Mystery of
Marie Jocelyne documentary Contact : mysteryofmarie@gmail.com
We (UFM & UFFO) support the efforts
of these maverick filmmakers who
are making a difference.

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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

Caramel Popcorn from

Mama Roses kitchen
Honey Rosemary Caramel Popcorn
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup popcorn
12 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoon rosemary leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Place corn kernels and oil in a large pot over medium to high heat. Once the kernels start to pop,
start shaking pot to ensure all kernels get popped.
Hold a few inches above the flame and shake until
no popping sounds remain. Remove from heat and
transfer to a large bowl.
Cook butter and honey in a medium saucepan and
stir constantly until the butter is completely melted
and the mixture is very hot (250 degrees if you have
a candy thermometer).
Remove from heat and stir in the rosemary, salt and
baking soda. This combination of ingredients will
bubble up slightly. Pour over popcorn and toss to
coat.
Spread popcorn on a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 45 minutes until somewhat dry. Allow
to cool then break into small chunks before serving.
Rosemary Febbo
Mama Roses Kitchen
www.roseskitchen.com

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22

KZFR 90.1 FM
http://www.kzfr.org

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

A NO BUDGET MOVIE?
by Tyrone D Murphy

The Vein Within

INTERVIEW WITH WRITER AND

DIRECTOR PHILIP A McCARTHY...

Graveyard and have been refused

permission. This was due to too much
bureaucratic red tape and a complete
lack of support for up and coming
filmmakers from all quarters in local
government. They are far too busy
chasing up parking tickets to be
bothered with filmmakers. However,
we simply did it guerrilla style and had
to apply the same methodology to the
rest of the film. A phrase that has been
attached to the film is low budget,
this is no budget. Whats driving this
production is the passion of the actors
and the crew. Its not an easy road. Ive
been knocked many times and been
put down, but you need to hold your
head up high, brush off the dust and
carry on.
Shooting on location in and around
Cork City, Ireland, the film stars Don
Baker, best known for his co-starring
role in the film In the Name of the
Father. The film, The Vein Within, is
scheduled to be released in 2012.

was told that Id never do anything

with my life, and that this film would
never be made says Phillip A. McCarthy as he sits in a cramped recording
booth, chewing gum intensely, jumping at the chance to speak about his
new film.
That film is the new independent
Irish feature The Vein Within which
is currently shooting in Cork City. The
subject of the film is one McCarthy
knows all too well, addiction. He is a
recovering heroin addict who decided
to use his knowledge of drug addiction
and recovery to make the film.
McCarthy said, I want to raise awareness about the drug problem in Ireland

and in particular, Cork; a city which is

being ravaged with drug addiction.

UFM will keep you posted on developments.

The film tells the story of Mick Barrett, a drug addict in his 20s who is
caught in the world of crime and the
consequences of his addiction. Unlike
the dark seedy world portrayed in the
film, where the majority of the characters are taken to the edge by heroin
and never come back, McCarthy has
escaped that faith and has used his
experience to create The Vein Within.
The person who inspired McCarthy to
write the screenplay was a young man
who he had met while in recovery, who
helped McCarthy overcome his demons, but, sadly couldnt overcome his
own. The struggle he had fighting the
heroin addiction just blew me away,
said McCarthy.
The production is about as far from a
big budget film as you can get; and as
such, the production has faced a great
number of setbacks, particularly when
it comes to securing filming permits
and locations to shoot in. McCarthy
explained the struggle he faced with
getting past the red tape: Well to be
honest, were still in that position now.
Were planning shooting a scene in a

23

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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Basic $ Considerations
for Filmmakers
When an independent film is successful, it is the
result of the creative, networking and business
abilities of all those involved. It is important for the
filmmaker to receive sound legal advice and be
aware of how and why distributions are made.
Most films pay participants a flat fee. These payments are usually apportioned based on the
planned number of weeks for production. Except
for those production members actively involved
in pre-production, payments will not begin until
principal photography.
Cast and crew members may be paid per diems,
as well as salaries. These Per diems are modest
payments based on the number of days worked
and are designed to assist with personal expenses
(such as food and travel).
When shooting an independent film, cash flows
are a major issue. By deferring expenses, filmmakers can shoot a movie with less money than would
normally be required. This allows budget expenses to be paid from the films future revenues.
It is often not possible to defer all expenses, but
participants are often willing to defer all or part of
their salaries. As the salaries are budgeted costs,
they must be paid before any capital is returned to
investors or profits are paid.
The other form of payment to film participants is
from profit participation in the film. Definitions of
profit participation are open to manipulation.
However, many independent filmmakers do not
have the studio overhead or other charges that
major studios have. As a result, there is more likely
to be legitimate profit distribution.
Profit must always be defined in legal documentation. Profit is what is left after all expenses are
paid, all investment is returned to investors and a
reserve fund is made for the ongoing operations
of the film company. Except as provided in profit
participation agreements, all profits belong to the
film company. Due to the importance of profit
participation agreements, they should be referred
to in the offering documents for the film company.
Profit participation agreements should stipulate
when profit is earned. This should be when an
employment task is successfully completed, as opposed to when an employment contract is signed.

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24

The filmmaker should ensure that their legal counsel negotiates all contracts to maintain sufficient
leverage in situations where actors decide to walk
away from a project.
by Gene Goodsell, Esq.
Entertainment Lawyer
contact: gene@bselaw.com.au

ilm
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s
er e 1 - 2
v
i
n ssu

Why Run a Film Festival?

Since beings first huddled around a fire to celebrate a victorious hunt, acting out the
roles of the hunted and the hunter, storytelling has been part of the glue that binds us
together.
Even though technology now makes it possible for moving images to reach into the
darkness and surround us, assault us, transport us, we gather for the same reason: the
telling, the hearing, the sharing of the story.

very year thousands of films are

pitched or discussed. A bunch
of them begin shooting, and some
of those are actually finished. A few
of those might participate in some
kind of collective viewing experience a festival or a theatrical run.
Yet thousands and thousands of
filmmakers all over the world are
telling stories through the moving
image with equipment and gadgets
small enough to fit in your pocket
and the net is deluged with messages, clips, promos, contests, tweets,
posts and re-posts.
We join virtual communities to view,
rate and forward short clips based
on viewer videos based on a commercial based on a web series based
on a comedy skit based on a music
video based on a dancing kitty.
Communal Experience
The watching of films was intended
to be a communal experience, but
weve lost thatwe go to the movies at the multiplex/amusement
park/food court/arcade. Yes, we do
sit right next to others, but we have
our own cup holder, special glasses
and snack trays. We sit together, but
we have not gathered.
Festivals celebrate gathering. With
rosters of eclectic films, talk-backs
and relevant panels, festivals are
designed to promote interaction,
conversation, and communion. The
variety of material available allows
us to give voice to stories outside
the multinational corporate studio
system, stories that resonate with
universal truths.
And they are out there, these
storytellers. We hear from them.
We receive their films in handmade
boxes with heartfelt notes, slick
packages with impressive pedigrees
and sometimes just a simple copy of
their story. Their story!

Right now there are over 150 films

in our living room, organized by
category, theme and content. When
we open a shipping package, the
filmmaker steps into our living room.
We feel them and we feel what it
took to bring their story forward. It
reminds us that it is now our turn to
carry that load.

At the best festivals, people gather,

tribes form, the talk is exaggerated
and thoughts linger on the stories
told, long after the circus leaves
town. And thats why we run a
festival.

It is important to us. Its not about

the parties, the red carpet, screening
our own work or giving ourselves
awards. Its not about making money
off of the efforts of the filmmakers,
its about screening work that resonates, invigorates, infuriates.

For more information on Queens

World Film Festival visit www.
queensworldfilmfestival.com or visit
us on Facebook or follow us on twitter @queensworldfilm

By Don and Katha Cato, Co-Directors

of the Queens World Film Festival

Give credit where credit is due

Who owns the cast and crews credits on a movie?
I worked on a film last year as a 1st AD. It was during the hot summer period
on the English coast, shooting on some very picturesque beach locations.
The director was a first--time director and was, as you would expect, relying
heavily on the experience and expertise of the rest of the film crew to get
the job done.
Not all went as planned, as happens on most film sets. We were very shorthanded and the assistance of a runner was required. A local guy who was on
one of the locations knew the continuity girl and he offered to help out. It
was greatly received by at least some of the crew.
He spent the last three days of the shoot doing whatever was required
of him. He received no pay whatsoever for his contribution but he would
at least have a credit on the film as a runner, or at least one would have
thought so.
As the old saying goes, you give credit where credit is due. This is even more
important in the entertainment industry and especially if you are not getting paid as the credit is all you have for your efforts. The film was wrapped
despite literally fighting against the incoming tide from the sea. When the
film went to the edit, I was more than a little taken back to discover the runner was not being credited for his work.
This of course did not sit well with me and other members of the crew. The
director simply stated that she did not ask for his help (he offered) so he
was not getting any credit on the film. The director was being precious and
bitchy about the credits and simply thought that she had the right to distribute the credits to whomever she wanted to.
Anyone who works on a film (as we all know) is entitled to be credited for
their hard work. Anyone who goes against this golden rule may find that not
a lot of people will want to work with them in the future. One can only hope
this first time filmmaker will listen!
by Tyrone D Murphy

25

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i lm
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rsa 2012
ive e 1 Un Issu

Vimeo & Copyright

Does UK Copyright conflict with the USA Digital Millennium Act?

I contacted the first--time producer

and raised the issue and he said he
would correct the title credits and
remove himself as a codirector. A few
weeks passed and his name was still
on the video as a co director.

Under Section 512(c) of the USA

DMCA there is a general requirement
that the ISPs must not be aware of
the presence of infringing material
or know any facts or circumstances
that would make infringing material
apparent.
An ISP cannot qualify for the 512(c)
safe harbour if they have actual knowledge that they are hosting infringing material or are aware of facts or
circumstances from which infringing
activity is apparent. The UK copyright
laws are clear: both a Producer and
Director share in the copyright equally.
Vimeo had evidence that I am one of
the copyright owners of the work.
In addition, I provided evidence that
the counter notice contained false

Vimeo: Under penalty of

perjury! is this a joke?

I contacted Youtube and they

removed the video.Because the
video had an inflated view count
thanks to a computer script, YouTube closed the producers account
permanently. The majority of views
had come from Vietnam.
Next chapter: a cameraman also
on the project decided to publish
the video without any credits at all,
promoting it as his own work. I sent
a copyright infringement notice
to Vimeo and had the music video
removed once again. This is where
it gets silly. The cameraman then
made a counter notice stating he
had my permission to publish the
video and provided additional false
information to Vimeo (this was
done under penalty of perjury).
After some lengthy correspondence
with Vimeo, they reinstated the
video on the cameramans Vimeo
account.
Despite Vimeo having clear evidence that the cameraman had
provided false information under
penalty of perjury, they refused to
remove the music video. They cited
the Digital Meillennium Copyright
Act (DCMA) telling me to get a court
order and they would remove the
infringing video.

www.ufmag.org

information, and Vimto still restored

the music video on the cameramans
Vimeo account.
In a high--profile court action between
EMI and Vimeo, EMI argues that Vimeo
had abandoned its safe harbour protections by having actual knowledge of
infringement occurring on its site, and
then profiting from that infringement.
The core assertion by EMI was that
Vimeo sta had actual knowledge of
such infringement; that they exercise
control over uploaded videos; that they
have uploaded such videos themselves;
and that staers have even told community members that unlicensed music
was fine to use.
Our website is about original videos,
not original music, said one Vimeo
staer quoted in the lawsuit. And EMI
isnt pleased that Vimeo founder Jakob
Lodwick actually coined the term lip
dubs and has produced some of his
own Video clips featuring complete
songs that have also been featured as
Sta Picks on the site.
The kicker to the story is that I recently
learned that the community music
video project that I worked on for free
was not a charitable project but was a
for profit music video.
Lessons Learned
I wont support VIMEO
Make sure everything is in writing

Filmmaking ...

Not just a young persons game!

What comes to mind when you

hear the phrase Up and Coming
Filmmaker!? Young man, baseball
hat on backwards, headphones
around his neck, discussing whether independent filmmakers are
going to outperform the studios?
There is a new kid in town. Only he
(or she) is no kid. Over forties and
fifties are picking up the career of
filmmaker in big numbers. They
bring the skills needed to write,
produce, direct, act and engage in
all other aspects of the filmmaking
process to the table.
People statistically change careers
at least 3 times in their lifetime. The
professional and life skills honed
are indispensable and absolutely
transferable to the film industry.
After a person has had a career,
raised (or raising) a family, lived
through the ups and down inherent in just BEING ALIVE, who cares
what others might think? You get
to trust yourself, your resourcefulness and your abilities. It is a perfect time to follow your dreams. Attendees at film schools and courses
are much more likely to be of a
certain age. On a set, you will see a
great mix of people, young, mature
and everyone else in between.
An Up and Coming Filmmaker
can very easily be a Tried and True
adult, with a history of expertise
and the professionalism to get the
job done. There is no reason not to
follow a dream that was once set
aside for other priorities, and every
reason it can actually become
another career. Young or not so
young ....do it!
by Margaret Dane

by Tyrone D Murphy

26

I recently wrote and directed a music

video for a first--time producer in the
UK. The final version was a pretty good
piece of work even if I say so myself.
We included some stock footage of
a sailing ship and helicopter shots
to give the project some reasonable
production value. I did this as a community project, no pay, as you do from
time to time. However, when the music video was published on Vimeo and
YouTube I noticed that the producer
had included himself as a codirector,
making my own contribution, as I saw
it, worthless.

Universal Film

CHERRY
PICKING
Issue 1 2012

WHAT IS THE CHERRY PICKING POLICY OF FILM FESTIVALS ?

Over the past year we (UFFO) have seen many fraudulent activities
by disreputable film festivals from all over the world. Most of these
festivals recieve 200 to 400 submissions annually and are considered
small in comparison to the bigger film festivals that have 10,000 to
20,000 submissions every year. However, fraudulent activity is not limited to the small film festivals. We were astounded to learn recently from
a respected film festival director in the USA about a major festival in the
US that sets up its entire screening programme with films invited in from
other festivals. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Well, there is with this
festival. After the screening programme is completed in its entirety, only
then does a general call for submissions then go out to the filmmaking
community.
Films that are submitted to this festival are just trashed/binned without
ever being opened. The staff simply look at the tracking number on the
outside of the package, look it up on the computer , verify payment has
been received through the online submission provider and then toss it in
the trash. The submitted films are never opened, never screened, never
looked at.

Look at the numbers!

This story gave us cause for grave concern (where does all this end?) we
began looking into some of the bigger film festivals around the world to
see how they conduct business. From what we have seen, the little guy
has little or no chance competing in the big festivals. Why would you
submit your film to a big festival when there is little or no hope your film
is going to be chosen or selected? Most of the films that are in competition in the bigger festivals have the support of major distributors
and studios with millions in campaign funds. Not only that, most of
the films are invited to take part in the festival are big budget films or
already have distribution in place.
As a filmmaker you can conduct your own due diligence by researching the bigger festivals to which you are thinking about submitting
your film. Look at the numbers, contact the festival and ask them
how many films are invited to take part in their festival. What
percentage of these films wins awards? What percentage of newcomers films are selected or win awards? What percentage of
these films does not have distribution? If the festival refuses to
answer your queries, then we suggest you pass them by.
To try to establish a level playing field we have written an
open letter (opposite) to all the big festivals around the
world asking these important questions. We will be publishing their replies as soon as we receive it, if we ever do!

The Universal Film

Promoting a Good Business
Dear Festival Director

We are writing to you to introduce you to U

which promotes a good business code of pr
we have enlisted the support of 120 interna
2011.

We ask you kindly to assist UFFO and the

the bigger festivals toward films that are in
as a Cherry Picking Policy

If I may explain: Given the rise of disreput

have a very difficult task in determining wh
Recently we received information that at le
entire screening programme prior to the gen
community.

We would therefore ask that you, in the int

community and the festival community, pr
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How many films are invited to tak

How many films invited to take pa
How many films) are invited to tak
general call for submissions?
What percentage of films submitte
your festival each year?
What percentage of films submitte
festival each year typically win aw

We graciously ask that you provide this inf

operation. We thank you in advance for you
gratitude of the filmmaking community
Kind Regards,
Tyrone D. Murphy

Founder & CEO

A copy of the letter is on the UFFO website:

www.uffo.org

Universal Film & Festiva

27

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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Tips to Film Festivals

IF A FESTIVAL SEEMS ODD IN ANY WAY - PASS THEM BY
We all love film festivals and they are a very important part of the industry. However, one thing that all filmmakers should do is to check out
the festival before submitting a film. Use common sense and look at
the history of the festival. If there is nothing available on the festival,
then think twice!

UFFO

m & Festival Organisation

Code of Practice for Film Festivals

Find out if the festival is an online festival or an annual event. And

find out where the event takes place.
Find out the names of the festival directors and programmers
and make sure they have an address, telephone number and
web site so they can be contacted.

UFFO the Universal Film and Festival Organization

ractice for film festivals. Recently dubbed Fest-COP
ational film festivals since our launch on the 1st July

filmmaking community in determining the policy of

nvited to take part in the festival. The is now known

able film festivals around the world, filmmakers

hich festivals to which they will submit their films.
east one major festival in the USA completes its
neral call for submissions from the filmmaking

erests of the entire filmmaking and festival

rovide us with the following information

ke part in your festival each year?

art in your film festival every year win awards?
ke part in the film festival every year, prior to the

Find out if the festival has a selection committee and if it is

made up of Industry professionals.
Ask if the festival is non-jury or has a jury made up of industry
professionals?
Find out if the festival directors are connected in any way to
any of the films in competition.
Ask about the organizations publicity for the festival and
where they advertise.
What are the previous years attendance and submissions
figures.
Ask how many films are invited in to take part every year in the
festival. (Cherry Picking)
Ask if the festival is sponsored by distributors or any other company, and whether these companies have films in competition at
the festival. (Review the history)

ed by first time entrants are typically selected by

Do not give out your private financial details unless you are sure
about a festival.

ed by first time entrants that are selected by your

wards

Do not submit a film to a film festival if the awards are going to the
festival directors own films or their friends films.

formation from the last five years of your festivals

ur assistance in this matter and you have the

If a film festival is charging a submission fee and giving you a guaranteed screening for your film but there is no real festival, just a screening event, we suggest that you pass them by.
There are a lot of one man band film festivals out there, many of whom
provide a very valuable service to the local community and to the filmmaking community. However, if such a festival is not in your local community, does it really make good sense submitting your film to a festival half
way round the world to compete with local filmmakers who can bring their
own audience and can canvas the area prior to the festival?
IMPORTANT! Do not rely on any of the online submission providers to weed
out scam festivals. They are in business to take a percentage of your submission
fee and not to make sure your submission fee is protected from fraudsters.
This is about to change as we (UFFO) are currently working toward this

www.ufmag.org

We have much more information available on the UFFO website, www.uffo.org. We

will also be publishing the UFFO book on Film Festivals in the near future that will tell
it the way it is.
by Tyrone D Murphy
www.uo.org

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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

THE ETHICS
of Changing the Distribution Model of Films...

t wasnt too long ago that consumers read their news exclusively
from newspapers, and audiences
watched movies at the theatres. All
that seems to be changing as technology takes on a new lead. A report
in the New York Times discussed the
alarming decline of movie-goers in
North America for 2011, which saw
ticket sales at 500 million dollars
behind last year.
As technology is increasing at a
rapid rate, critics are wondering how
this will impact the film industry. One impact is ethics. The film
industry has always been against
new technology, such DVDs, VHS,
or even television sets threatening movie theatres in the 1950s.
While the technologies have proven
to be undisruptive and - wait for
it-marketable, the film distribution
model doesnt have enough room
yet for new digital distribution.One
consequence of this new technology
is piracy, or the copyright infringement of audio-visual works. While
piracy poses a big threat to the
movie industry, the unethical behaviour of pirating films nowadays
seems almost normal. As with the
technology of high-speed internet,
downloading or streaming movies
is as easy as a few keyboard strokes.
Digital distribution has proven itself

convenient for audiences worldwide,

as seen with the fast rise of Netflix and
Hulu, but this revolution is causing a
stir in Hollywood. As I understand it,
the distribution model works through
windows. In this sense, film executives are managing the consumers
access to films in order to extract every
dollar from the project.
The logic is sensible, as making movie
is time-consuming, expensive and
most of all, risky. However, some may
reason that, funneling the consumer
through this movie stream is not a
good business model. In a recent post,
VC blogger Fred Wilson expressed his
opinion on the matter stating, I totally
get that the studios need to make a
lot of money on those movies to make
their business model work. But denying customers the films they want, on
the devices they want to watch them,
when they want to watch them is
not a great business model. Wilson
continues to argue that this structure
will prevent piracy. So the question is,
should it be the responsibility of the
film industry to appeal its distribution
model to the fast demand of moviewatchers, or should audiences hold
the industry to a higher standard?
by Frederick Montgomery
Centre for International Media Ethics

A TRAILER FESTIVAL?
The original idea of The Trailer Festival seems to have been welcomed by the industry who, like the Festival Director, is all hoping the next Paranormal Activity is
going to turn up in the Trailer Festivals screening room! The first two events were
attended exclusively by film industry and included executives from Paramount,
Fox, Disney, PBS and many other high profile companies. All the trailers that are
accepted are uploaded into an Online Screening Room and for a year following
the event executives from production, management and distribution companies
login to take a look and request DVDs and scripts for trailers that they like. The
festival now has a database of over 700 industry professionals, which include
Universal, Warner Bros, HBO, ABC and Lionsgate.
If a trailer is good, and they think they can sell it, they put it in, their goal being
to keep the screening room brimming with great projects. The trailers are all
divided into categories, so even if they have 100+ trailers, each category on average would contain 20, which would take viewers about 50 minutes to watch. The
festival is able to monitor when audiences log in, what they look at, if they skip or
click off during viewing, and it seems most executives will spend an hour online,
looking for the jewel in the crown.
www.thetrailerfestival.com. by Tyrone D Murphy

Food & Film

Two turkeys, one goose,
four cabbages, but no duck...

ake, two turkeys, one goose, four

cabbages, but no duck, and mix
them together. After one taste, youll
duck soup for the rest of your life. This
was an actual quote from Groucho Marx
about the title of the 1927 film Duck
Soup, featuring the Marx Brothers. Not
a movie about food, but named after
a version of soup. Fast forward to 1989
when director Peter Greenaway creates
an atmosphere of gluttony, obsession,
torture and murder all mixed with voracious amounts of food between scenes
in The Cook, The Thief, His Lover & Her
Lover. Nineteen ninety-one brought
us a French film, Delicatessen where a
butcher who dabbed in cannibalism kept
his customers supplied with fresh meat
until the butchers daughter fell in love
with a vegetarian circus performer and
had to help him and his band of freedom
fighters avoid the fathers clever. This
film was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet &
Marc Caro.
From Ratatouille to Big Night, food has
been the basis for tales woven into the
fabric of cinema. Food, glorious food,
makes the visuals of film deliciously appetizing. Entire scenes revolve exclusively around the preparing and presentation
of a single dish like in the movie Eat Drink
Man Woman where Chef Chu is featured
plucking a live chicken from his backyard
coop and minutes later turning it into
a steaming, mouth-watering casserole
dish. Food is featured in backdrops of
arguments and tantalizing sex scenes like
in 9 1/2 Weeks or created with a single fig
in Women in Love when Alan Bates compares the fig to a womans most female
part and presents the most vulgar way
to eat one. Many of the films that feature
food as its star are cult classics about
primal hungers; physical, social, spiritual
and sexual. Some go into the foray of
food history, culture and traditions while
other simply whet your appetite with
tantalizing culinary delights. In the new
iPhone APP & soon to be book, Cooking
to Impress Chicks, the Field Guide for the
Culinary Casanova, Chapter 11 shows us
that Cuddling While Watching a Movie
just doesnt have to be combined with
only popcorn, there are other snacks that
will impress a favourite date, especially if
you will be watching a movie filled with
close ups of delicious, succulent, nummy,
lip-smacking scenes about food. You
dont want to be watching these movies on an empty stomach, but maybe no
soup!
by Rosemary Febbo

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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

UFFO FILM FESTIVALS THAT HAVE ADOPTE

The 3rd Annual New Media Film Festival

takes place on June 12 & 13th 2012 at the
Landmark Theatre 10850 W Pico Blvd. Los Angeles.
The Best in New Media.....Honoring Stories Worth
Telling . Sundance for the Facebook Crowd-Culture
Rehab . Judges from Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, The
Caucus. Over $45k in prizes combined. Choose from 17
Categories. All Ages, All Cultures, All Media, Affordable.
Each submission is considered for distribution, screening and competition. www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com
Click on submit.

Use discount code NM254

New Media Film Festival

The 2012 Cape Winelands Film Festival
(CWFF) is proud to again present an unparalleled window on quality films from around the
globe. The rich selection of world cinema includes
more than 150 features, documentaries and shorts, all
which have won more than 420 international awards.
The CWFF short film competition has developed into
one of the most important film festival platforms in
South Africa for quality productions from around the
world.
The festival remains an important
forum for South African cinema

Cape Winelands Film Festival

FoPe Fest performs traditional and contemporary arts and cultures of countries and
people from all around the World. A multi-arts festival including music, dance, film, literature sections,
visual arts, from folk to street art.
Come and join us online soon!
Antonietta Ciarniello
Founder & Director
FoPe Fest - International
Festival of Folk & People
Arts and Cultures
E-mail: antonietta.fopefest@gmail.com

The Universal Martial Arts Film Festival

(UMAFF) showcases films that explore the martial practice, philosophy, aesthetic and spirituality.
The Universal Martial Arts Film Festival (UMAFF) encourages an emerging generation of filmmakers whose
films treat various aspects of the field of the martial arts;
those of the arts of combat and the arts of health. The
purpose being to collect and to protect the memory, to
educate the
public, to share and to pass
on the knowledge.

Universal Martial Arts Film Festival

Queens World Film Festival
Henry Street Settlement opens doors of opportunity to enrich lives and enhance
human progress for Lower East Side residents and
New Yorkers through social
services, arts and health care programs.
Katha Cato
Director of After-School and Camp Services
Henry Street Settlement
301 Henry Street
New York, New York 10002
212-254-3100, ext 263

Queens World International Film Festival

Buffalo International Film Festival: Movies

of the World. Founded as a not-for-profit charity in Buffalo, NY, United States in 2004,
The Buffalo Film Festival has grown to one of the
largest in NY State outside of the Manhattan area.
It features world premieres of varied live-action and
animated films from all over the world and encourages
attendance by the filmmakers for
screenings, workshops, Q&A. Sidebars
include animation, 3D, films on
Comic Books, H.P. Lovecraft, music
videos and more.

Skype: antonietta.ciarniello

FoPe Film Festival

Buffalo International Film Festival

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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

FLICKERS:
Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF)
has secured its place in the global community as
the portal for the best in international independent
cinema.

The Reggae Film Festival -April 1721 in Kingston, Jamaica showcases films
featuring Jamaicas Reggae music culture.
The event includes World Cinema, Caribbean
Programme;

RIIFF is one of 65 festivals worldwide that is a qualifying

festival for the Academy Awards. For more information,

Make A Film In 24 Hours; Cine Jamaica; Animation

and a celebrating in film of the Jamaican 50 Independence anniversary honouring Jamaican films
and film makers.

visit www.RIFilmFest.org.

www.jamaicafilmacademy.org

Rhode Island Film Festival

The Association Talulah is made up of
volunteer entertainment industry professionals who participate in Talulahs activities during
their free time. Talulah is NON-political and NONreligious. We work towards sharing our passion for
cinema, nature, a fantasy world and to expand access
to culture to everyone.
The 3rd edition of the Festival du film Merveilleux &
Imaginaire will take place from
June 28th - 30th, 2012.
Theatre Douze,
6 avenue Maurice Ravel 75012
Paris

The Reggae Film Festival

CIFF California works to meld the
vision of Art and Commerce, and blend it
with Travel and Tourism presenting a wellbalanced, and well received, presentation of
Chicos only Independent Film Festival.
www.chicoindependentfilmfestival.org
Chico Independent Filmmakers and related artists
are in the forefront of digital film making. We look
forward to our opportunity to promote another
facet of the vibrant arts community in Chico of the
third season of the Chico
Independent
Film Festival October 24th-28th, 2012!

www.chicoindependentfilmfestival.org

TALULAH Film Festival

Chico Independent Film Festival

The Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival is

dedicated to bringing together established
and first-time filmmakers to celebrate the short
film.

12th annual ReelWorld Film Festival

April 11th-15th - celebrating films from our
rich diverse communities. Five days of Screenings, Industry Panels,

The element of competition is not paramount and

while the prizes are significant, the screening of as
many as possible of the entrants films in a public arena
is considered paramount.

Parties and so much more, at Cineplex Odeon

Sheppard and Famous Players Canada Square.
For Tickets call 416 598 7933 or go to reelworld.ca!
or Text keyword ReelWorld to 58888

Participants will have the opportunity

to meet established filmmakers,
view their films and take part in
workshops.

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Fastnet Short Film Festival

Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

UFFO FILM FESTIVALS THAT HAVE ADOPTE

Since 2006 CU -The European Independent Film Festival has been Europes
premier arena for independent filmmakers to
screen their films to large audiences, to network
with industry pros and interact with other indie
filmmakers.

The first Imphal International Short Film

Festival, to be held from
15 to 18 April 2012 in Manipur (India), will screen
around 100 short films from India and other parts of
the world.

For more information:

The festival will give away awards in the Best Short Film,
Best, Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor,
Best, Cinematography, Best Editing,
Best Musical Score and Three
Special Mentions categories.

www.ecufilmfestival.com

www.imphalfilmfestival.org

The 7th edition is taking place March 30th to April

1st 2012.

European Independent Film Festival

STEPS Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to attracting the attention

of our society to prejudices and cruelty in the
modern world, where human rights are violated,
animals oppressed and the environment destroyed.
Where barbarous habits have become a part of our
daily lives and are no longer considered unacceptable.
The festival aims to disclose the topic of human, animal rights and environmental protection as widely as
possible in order to show people the way to grow and
improve themselves.
STEPS Film Festival reveals
the inconvenient truth
avoided by many

Steps Film Festival

Cars In Film - Film Festival!

Where Film and Cars Collide
Where the Engine Meets the Celluloid
Where Hollywood Meets the Motor City
Just at the intersection of Le Mans and
Gone In Sixty Seconds!
September 23 - September 30, 2012
Starts at the
End of Route 66 in Santa Monica!

Cars in Film - Film Festival

Imphal Short Film Festival

MOONDANCE INTERNATIONAL FILM
FESTIVAL
The American Cannes
WEBSITE: www.moondancefilmfestival.com
BLOG: www.moondancefilmfestival.com/blog
EMAIL: director@moondancefilmfestival.com
Call for entries postmark deadline:
June 30, 2012

Moondance International Film Festival

Carmarthen Bay Film Festival

In Home Town Of Wales First Hollywood Film
Star.
The former tinplate town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire is to become the premier destination for all film
makers. A brand new film festival has been launched in
the town of Wales very first Hollywood film star, Gareth
Hughes

Stradey Park Hotel,

Llanelli from the
8th to the 11th May 2012.

Carmarthen Bay Film Festival

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SCRIPT
(Social and Corporate Responsibility International Promotional Theater)
International Short Film Festival is for films with
social relevance.It is held at Kochi, India in Jan Feb annually.

Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

Final call for entries at Bangkok Amazing

Thailand 9FilmFest, deadline 23 April, 2012
Bangkoks Short Film Contest has a 1st Prize of
$20,000 cash !!!!
More info www.9filmfest.com

There is Rs 2,50,000 to be won in cash prizes with

the Coveted Golden Halo
See www.scriptfilmfest.in

SCRIPT Film Festival

The London MENA (Middle East &
North Africa) Film Festival October /
November 2012 is calling for submissions features, shorts and docs - deadline 30th June
2012.
For further info see www.menafilmfest.com or
email yasmin@menafilmfest.com
st.com

Bangkok 9 Film Fest

Shorts Fast Film Festival

Sunday 20 May 2012 Lyric Theatre

Carmarthen
A group of third year Trinity St David film students
shall be presenting their films on the big screen at
The Lyric. Come along for an entertaining afternoon
of short films and guest speakers.
Meet the film makers
Directors, cinematographers,
writers and crew, will be
available to answer questions
about their films.

www.shorts2012.co.uk

MENA Film Festival

Cine Migratorio presents artistically

accomplished, thematically challenging and
stimulating films about migration.
The festival takes place 10-13 May, 2012 in Santander,
Spain. For more details visit cinemigratorio.org

Shorts Fast Film Festival

The Feel Good Film Festival encourages
the development of short or feature length
films with optimistic, positive themes, and that
capture the beauty of our world. Leave a film
festival feeling good!
See www.fgff.org

If questions, please let us know.

The Feel Good Film Festival Team
filmmaker@fgff.org

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The Feel Good Film Festival

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Cine Migratoria Film Festival

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

UNIVERSAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
Our magazine is written by industry professionals and filmmakers. We need your stories and
contributions for the next edition.
We aim to create a reputation of telling the hard stories no one else will
ever dare.

Please write to: editor@ufmag.org

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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival by Tim Wassberg

Interview with co-founder and artistic director Gary Anthony Williams

ntering into its 4th year, the LA Comedy Shorts Festival, under the auspice of co-founder and artistic director Gary Anthony Williams, also known for his acting
stints on series such as Boston Legal and Weeds, continues
to bring together a intrinsic cross section of filmmakers and
industry alike in a fun, close-quarter confab that truly brings
about possibilities by literally placing the players in such proximity that deals cannot help but happen.
UFM: Has the mission of the festival changed at all as you enter
this year?
GAW: Our main goal really is, stands and remains to be, introducing new comedy talent to the industry...and weve been
fortunate. Funny Or Die came on early for us and they still
continue to be strong with us every year. On opening night,
we will do a celebrity block of their films and then they are
hanging around there all week, looking for people to steal
which is a great thing. And then Atomic Wedgie, another big
one, thats Freemantles internet arm, they were also with us in
year one. And I believe that year, Tom Hoffman [from Atomic
Wedgie] picked up 4 different people they made deals with.
Tom will be there again this year. But, in that first year, he saw
literally every single film that we played at the festival.
UFM: As one of the few festivals that specifically focuses on
shorts and more specifically on comedy, what is the current
importance of this form to the industry?
GAW: I truly believe that now, the ability to make a comedy
short, is such a great calling card. It will always be a great calling card but now people are actually making a nice living and
have a foothold in the industry off comedy shorts. There is
such an outlet for them now, whether it be [places like] Funny
Or Die or Atom Films. Everyone is moving into them. Even
Yahoo is running comedy shorts. It is a great way to get into
the industry. What we still need though is talent. Everybody
has a video camera...and everybody can make a short but not
everybody should (chuckling). Those who can, and do it well,
really stand out. I mean there is some new talent which we
stumbled upon this year that we cant wait for people to meet.
Theres one group, a group of guys, who have four films in [the
festival]. We kept looking at their stuff in disbelief and were
like these guys are just just amazing! And once people see
them, they will be blown away by the variety of stuff theyre
doing. Something that you and I couldnt have done ten or
eleven years ago...we couldnt have afforded to do...these guys
are doing.
UFM: What is necessary when it comes to programming these
films in terms of seeing the funny?
GAW: That the beauty. You just said the magic. We look for the
funny. Sometimes we will even let the quality, as far as the
look...well let that slip a little if its really good funny stuff. At
the end of the day what we like is strong visuals and strong
comedy but comedy wins overall here.

GAW: We have agents [attending]. We have production companies [attending]. And even if the agents arent there, we
set up the winners with them. But the festival is not just for
the winners. All the filmmakers there, guaranteed, will get a
chance to be seen by somebody who can help their career,
by somebody who might be interested in what theyre doing.
The ability to put all these people in one place for four days
in kind of a summer camp lets them meet each other and exchange ideas and see each others goods. Something good
always happens. Every single year. Someone has gotten a job.
Someone has gotten meetings. Interviews. Somebodys working with someone. And that is just filmmaker to industry and
industry to filmmaker. Then, on the other hand, we have these
filmmakers who have met each other. They team up and send
in a film in that they worked on together from just meeting
previously at the festival.
UFM: What is the key to making this community within the festival work?
GAW: The way we have set it up...heres what we have done
right. There is probably a million things we have done wrong
but what we have done right is we still keep our films all on
one screen. Everyone is there for the films at the same time.
That goes for my friend from the State Tax Credit Exchange
or anybody from any big agency or production company. Everybody is there. If you want to meet someone, you can meet
someone and there are people interested in meeting you. And
the little steps Ive seen...one of the scripts that was one of the
finalists last year came in this year as a movie. Last year it was
just a script, and this year they shot it. Now it is a movie and
it got in [to our festival] and its fantastic. I can only guess that
they are going to take the next step and try to make this into
a feature.
UFM: So there is also a competition element as well within the
festival...
GAW: The script competition, that Movie Magic does with
us, they are one of our major sponsors...what happens with
that competition is we have different categories: Theres student. Theres pilot. Theres short. Theres feature. All comedy of
course. The scripts dont have to be shorts. They can be any
length. We have a four-page script that is absolutely hilarious
that is being considered right now. Since the writers cannot
get their stuff seen on screen, they get a little different special
treatment. We actually pay for them [the finalists] to fly in and
put them up in our guest hotel, the Kyoto Grand, across the
street. We honor them on awards night just like anyone else.
It is a great thing (for the writers) because I have seen writers
hook up with directors at the film festival as well. And then
we get them meetings with different literary agencies around
town.
UFM: What is the most gratifying part of the process for you?

UFM: But the key also needs to be having the right people at

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GAW; On a simple level, if someone that came

to the festival, met someone here and now has
a writing job from Disney or has a TV show in
Canada, [thats great].. Those things happen a lot
[here] we are happy to say. But, for me, just the
fact that a filmmaker comes to us and says That
is the best, most useful weekend Ive ever had!
That is worth everything to me. Of course, I want
introduce people to the industry. I go out of my
way. Im shooting a pilot right now with [producer] Tracy Boomer. And Ive already talked to
her. Ive said,You got to come sit on a panel! There
are some people you should meet at my festival!
And her husband Linwood [Boomer], who was
the show runner and creator of Malcolm In The
Middle, has been here several times. I just make
sure to get as many of the muckety-mucks out
of Hollywood as I can and go Guys! Check these
people out!

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

CINEMATOGRAPHY

"RULES OF THE GAME"

by Chris

ODell BSC

Things they dont tell you at film school

illiam Goldmans famous quote Nobody knows

This was clearly not a pick-up line, but served to neatly cut
anything did not refer to the stupidity of studio exme down to size. It appeared that she thought the chap sitecutives (though there is much evidence for this) but
ting on the dolly peering through the camera was the camto the impossibility of knowing how well a production
eraman, and had no idea that there could be someone else
would do in the box office. The cinematographer will, howin charge of the photographic element of the production. So
ever, confront a startling amount of ignorance displayed on
the moral of this story is to underline the fact that although
the film set, particularly with reference to what he actuyou spend much of your time hanging around at the
ally does. So it is important that he at least should
edge of the set, you are the manager of the whole of
nobody
have a clear idea of his duties and responsibilities,
the creative photographic input of the production.
knows any- I frequently bang home this fact to my trainees and
and his relationships with other members of the
thing William students: the cinematographers job is 65% mancrew, executives, and cast.
Goldman
agement and 35% technique and craft. Getting the
The stuff you learn at film school, and pick up as you
management part of the job right, at the earliest stage
trundle slowly through the grades in the camera departof your shoot from your first day of preproduction, will
ment, relating to the technical and craft elements of your
save hours if not days or weeks of torture and misery during
chosen profession, is of course essential. The more you
the actual shoot.
know, the better you will be prepared. It is easy enough
to hold an exposure meter and transfer the reading to the
camera via your focus puller, but you need to be able to call
Getting it right!
upon all your technical experience and knowledge, as well
as the backing of your crew, when presented with a difficult
The first person you may have to deal with when you are
situation or, which is frequently the case, when things go
hired for a project could be an executive, (perhaps a probadly wrong (not usually of your making). There are some
ducer), a director, or a production manager (now referred
basic rules that once understood will enable the cinemato flatteringly as executive producer or production executographer to sail happily and successfully through the most
tive). Each of these worthy individuals will have a different
potentially disastrous situations that production can throw
approach to hiring you. The executive might employ you
at him. I hope to address some of these rules in this series
because he has seen your credit on something he liked, or
of articles, with the intention of making your future career
on the basis of your reputation. The director might ask you
easier to bear.
to shoot his film because he has worked with you before, or
on the recommendation of another director.
What does the cinematographer do?
The production manager might hire you because he knows
A few years ago I attended a wrap party for a film that I had
that you will bring the cinematography in on budget and on
shot for television over a period of four or five weeks. At the
time. Any one of these individuals who has taken the deciparty a young actress, who had been on the shoot for most
sion to hire you will want to be sure that you will succeed;
of the time, having a fairly major role, came over to me and
none of them want their choice challenged. So the rule is:
said I have seen you hanging around at the edge of the set,
know who hired you, and why, and build on this knowledge.
but what is it that you actually do?

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etting out the parameters . It

has been the tradition in our
industry that the cinematographer, as the manager of the
photographic and lighting unit, (hence
the name head of department) has
the choice of his crew, his laboratory,
and his supplier of lighting and camera
equipment. A clever producer will
realize that the cinematographer will
have built up a relationship with his
crew and suppliers that will benefit
the production. In recent times this
tradition has been challenged by production on the grounds of budgetary
restrictions.
Production managers and accountants
will often strive to get the cheapest
deals that they can get, but the cheapest crew or equipment may not be the
best for the production. Not long ago
I was employed on a production where
the producers insisted, on the grounds
that they got a great deal, on using
a laboratory not of my choice, and
which I considered unreliable.

Having made your suggestions

for equipment and services to the
production office you will be faced
with the choice of your crew. Productions are in most cases happy
for you to have your choice, unless
BSC
you employ someone who has upset
them in some way in the past. You
may find yourself in the position of
being asked to employ a relative or
Key Credits
friend of an executive as a trainee
or other supernumerary position on
The Santa Incident (Film)
your crew; be very wary of this. It
Lewis, Pilot and 4 Series (TV series)
throws up several problems, first,
The Last Detective (TV Series)
you have no idea where this person
The Brief (TV Series)
comes from, or what their agenda
Wire in the Blood (TV Series)
is, and secondly, the person may
Margery & Gladys (Film)
hold more loyalty to the executive
Hornblower 6 Episodes (TV Series)
who has wangled his job for him
Pollyanna (Film)
or her than to you and the rest of
Anybodys Nightmare (Film)
the crew.
Inspector Morse 4 Episodes (TV Series)
Midsomer Murders (TV Series)
This can lead to a very difficult
Mosley (TV Film Series)
situation (that I have experiInto the Blue (Film)
enced) where the crew has, in
Sharpe 9 Episodes (TV Film Series)
Original Sin (Film)
Chillers(TV Series)
Poirot 14 episodes (TV Series)
Love Hurts 10 Episodes (TV Series)
The Big Battalions (TV Film Series)
Lucifer Rising
(Film)
Man and Music (Documentary Series)
effect, a hostile member, a sort of
South Bank Show (Arts Documentary Series)
spy in the camp. The rule here is simple:
The Heart of the Dragon (Documentary
try as far as humanly possible to build a
Series)
crew whose loyalty to you and to each
Cosmos (Documentary Series)
other is not open to doubt. This will go a
long way to ensuring a happy production.

CHRIS O'DELL

CHRIS O'DELL
Two weeks into the shoot the
laboratory managed to cook the
rushes from an expensive night
shoot involving principal artists. The
re-shoot cost a fortune, much more
than had been saved by the choice of
a cheaper laboratory. The production
immediately switched back to the
lab that I had nominated in the first
place, but at what a cost!

* La Rgle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game) A wonderful satirical film by the master Jean Renoir 1939
About Chris ODell

www.ufmag.org

Chris ODell BSC is a photographer and cinematographer, a graduate of the London International Film
School, currently working in the area of television
drama. He travelled widely in the 80s and 90s filming documentaries and current affairs programmes.
He ran a successful production company making
arts and music programmes for the BBC and other
clients. Since 1990 has photographed many very
successful TV drama series including Agatha Christies Poirot, Sharpe, Hornblower, Inspector Morse,
the Morse sequel Lewis, and many single dramas.
He lives in West Cork, and was chairman of the 2009
Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival.

* La Rgle du Jeu
(The Rules of the Game)
A wonderful satirical film
by the master Jean Renoir 1939

40

As cinematographer you accept

responsibility for your choice of crew
and suppliers that is what head of
department means. This is why
you should be so careful about your
choices. But you should make it
clear that your responsibility does
not extend to personnel or supplier
chosen by production on budgetary
or any other grounds. To sum up:
Your managerial position and unique
technical knowledge should allow
your choice of crew and suppliers, for
which you have to take responsibility, but if production forces choices
against your advice, you have to
make it clear that they have to accept
responsibility for their choice. There
will inevitably be times when you
have to compromise, and accept a
supplier that you might not want,
but the rule still applies. A great deal
of cinematography is about compromise!

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

SWASHBUCKLING

he romance and the thrill of the

sword have captured the hearts
and imaginations of men and
boys throughout history.
As a young lad J.R. Beardsley spent
many late Friday nights watching
swashbucklers on the old TV channels
in Kansas, savouring every moment.
Those seemingly idle hours
ignited his passion to
study theater, fencing and martial
skills.

When
reviewing the history of film swashbucklers, foremost is Douglas
Fairbanks, probably the Granddaddy of swashbuckling and stunts as
well as an amazing athlete.
He created his stunts, performed all his
own sword fight and action sequences
and was no slouch with a whip. He
was the source of my fascination with
the whip which led to my becoming a
master of its study and use.

ON THE SILVER SCREEN

the talkies when his athletic prowess

by then was inhibited by age. Then
came the incredible swashbucklers of
the 30s, 40s and 50s, featuring Errol
Flynn - with his flamboyant style - and
Basil Rathbone - who played the
consummate foil to all that crossed his
sword

as well as Tyrone Power, to name but

a few. Rathbone knew how to use a
sword, having taken fencing lessons
since his teens. He boasted that he
could easily have bested all the heroes
from whom he was forced to suffer
defeat.

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks

remodelled Pickfair, a 56 acre estate
with an old hunting lodge in the city
of Beverly Hills, California. Coined
Pickfair by the press, it was once one
of the most celebrated homes in the
world. Life Magazine described Pickfair as a gathering place only slightly
less important than the White House
and much more fun.

Fencing masters Fred Cavens, Ralph

Faulkner and Jean Heremans were the
Hollywood hot-shots, all fencers and
masters of their game, who staged
astonishingly exciting duels. Faulkner
was Basils double as Cavens was
Flynns. They were bitter foes. Once
Faulkner stated that Rathbone was a
better fencer. Caven retorted, How
would you know? You never fought
him.

Connected through a tunnel from

the house was a huge gym which
Fairbanks equipped with swords, a set
with a mast and bow of a ship, a trampoline, ropes and full mirrors where he
trained constantly with his chums. His
was a brilliant career that lasted until

Cavens, who staged the fight in The

Mark of Zorro, and Scaramouche said
that of all the actors he ever trained,
Rathbone was the one who could
have been a competitive fencer. In
turn, Rathbone said, Power was the
most agile man with a sword Ive ever

faced before the camera. Tyrone could

have fenced Errol Flynn into a cocked
hat I studied with Faulkner at his
Falcon studios. The Boss would keep
a professionals eagle eye on me as I
worked under his tutelage. My proudest moment was when I brought him
to my opening of Romeo and Juliette,
directed by Milton Katselas at the
Skylight Theatre. By that time he was
in his nineties with coke bottle
glasses, yet he still had a mind
like a steel trap.

Falcon Studios, built

in the 1920s, also offered
drama and dance taught by
Faulkners late wife, Edith. Between
the two of them they taught such
modern stars as John and Bo Derek,
Anthony Quinn, Alexis Smith, Cornel Wilde and Tony Curtis. Their site
hosted many Hollywood performers
in the 30s, 40s and 50s, many of whose
signatures and handprints were featured in the garden There was still the
feel of their unique energy and spirit
in the many studios. The big building in the garden with sliding garage
doors must have hosted many a duel
for actors and producers in its heyday.
In the early 90s I went to Los Angeles
on the day of the Rodney King riots.
Once out of the clutches of that insanity, I focused on directing, producing
and self determined projects. Many of
my talented students have gone on
successfully working on most major
films as stunt doubles, stunt coordinators, motion capture specialists and
fight directors in films such as Hook
and Pirates of the Caribbean among
others. It is a source of pride to have
been instrumental in passing the
baton to keep the swash of the buckle
alive.

41

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film

The Greats

Issue 1 of 2012

Rod Colbin (1923 - ) was the first swashbuckler/actor I met professionally when I arrived in Hollywood.
Although not as known for his sword as much for his
acting during the 60s, 70s and 80s, he was a go-to
man for sword fighting in Hollywood, especially in television, and he was a great supporter of instruction in
the sword for many young actors during that period.
Bob Anderson (1922 2012) who sadly passed away
recently, was and is a true inspiration to all past,
present and future swashbucklers. He was an English
Olympic fencer and a renowned film fight choreographer with a cinema career that spanned more than
50 years. Included are films such as Highlander, The
Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and
Die Another Day. He was regarded as the premier
choreographer of Hollywood sword fighting.
Patrick Paddy Crean (1900-2003) was a professional
actor and theatrical fight director who was one of the
most influential figures in the art of modern stage
combat. Crean, who had a background in competitive
fencing, began choreographing fights in 1932 when
he was working in his native England as an actor in
The Legends of Don Juan. He and his partner Rex
Rickman were frequently hired to stage fight scenes
for theatrical productions as well as in motion pictures
such as The Master of Ballantree and The Sword of
Sherwood Forest.
Michel Carliez, fencing master of the French cinema,
has staged some wonderful duels in Le Bossu (aka
On Guard,) DArtagnan and the 3 Musketeers, Fan Fan
la Tulipe, Julie, Chevalier de Maupin and Lagadare
(French) with the latter two as mini-series . He has
also choreographed the thrilling sword fights for a
40--minute special at the theme park Puy de Fou in
Vende.
William Hobbs (1939) was with Laurence Oliviers
National Theater at the Old Vic for nine years. He has a
great portfolio of 20 film credits from 1962 to 2005. A
small, slight, even-tempered gentleman, he was leaning more towards directing at that time. One of his
films that stands out in my mind is Rob Roy, the final
duel between Tim Roths smarmy fop Cunningham
and Liam Neesons Rob. Neeson creates a real man in
Rob Roy and is excellent.
Oscar Kolombatovich (1919), the elegant and demonstrative fencing master known as The Grouch, was
instrumental in the opera world in New York, for many
years maestro at the Met. Well-known in the fencing
world, he moved to Spain where he built fine, historical, technically sophisticated weapons. He designed
state-of-the-art edged weapons of international
repute and taught countless swashbucklers throughout Europe.
David Boushey (1942) is an actor, American stuntman,
stunt coordinator and stunt trainer with countless
theatre and film credits to his credit. He is the founder
of the United Stuntmens Association, the International Stunt School, the Society of American Fight Directors and is a member of The Hollywood Stuntmens
Hall Of Fame.
J.R. Beardsley continues to work with creative artists in
search of challenging projects. He offers Swashbuckling for
the Silver Screen Workshops for film festivals as well as produce, direct and act in independent productions.

J.R. BEARDSLEY

www.toucheinternational.biz
www.ufmag.org

4326

Contact J. R. Beardley

Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012

g
l
u
o
nS

i
r
e
y
k
a
a
PFilmm

e
h
T

By Daniel E. Springen
DGA Director / independent producer.

ts easy to lose track of the important things

in life that bring great joy and career-affirming accomplishment when we wander
month-to-month taking on repetitious industry jobs
and drowning in complacency.

These days it seems that with the economy declining, careers encountering elimination, and marketing dollars being cut along with
long term employees, the freelance gigs that we normally take to pay
the pocket have become far more scarce than in previous years.

This directly effects our ability to pay the soul or in other words, take on pet
projects. We see commercials on-air now created by companies that have reduced
their costs by using low-budget video techniques in order to cut the bottom line down
considerably; however, they are effectively derailing the memorable commercial moments
that keep consumers talking about their products for weeks on end if not decades. If someone
green-screens another non-union semi-actor and posts them against a white background to sell
their pharmaceutical, insurance, or mortgage product, I may just end up needing some of the antidepression, cant die without, low-interest-rate garbage, thats become a unfortunate part of our social
vernacular; (results may vary, use as directed). What has happened is that a gateway has opened for delivering ultra--low budget marketing messages to the clamouring lambs of branding that we have all become.

Thanks to the hand held, home-video style of so-called marketing gurus, the need for skilled technicians has declined
dramatically and has caused a riff in the very fabric of filmmaking communities that once supported their families and
paid back that good fortune by shooting projects that furthered the careers of aspiring artists and delivered common side
effects such as the warm and fuzzy feeling associated with true creativity. Just because you may be pulling focus on a multi--million dollar film today doesnt mean that you wont be sitting on your couch a month from now wondering if youll ever work again.
Two weeks of dealing with that type of uncertainty will guarantee your hoping that an independent project pops up so you can
remind yourself of why you became a filmmaker in the first place. It happens to all of us who choose to live the no-guarantee,
gypsy-like lifestyle of an independent filmmaker. A select few have the rock-steady paycheck associated with an ongoing television series or even the unlikely good-fortune of being in the stable of a sought after producer or production manager, but the
majority of filmmakers work catch-as-catch-can. So the next time you see a static, single-camera, green-screen
commercial with no location scouting, no art department, no special effects, and possibly no crew other than
some recently graduated marketing prodigy and his iPhone, think about the qualified filmmakers that are at
home going through stacks of bills and wondering if theyll ever be able to pay their past due mortgage
let alone have the financial freedom to once again pay their filmmaking souls.

re
a
e
p
s
Scholarship - International Shakespeare Project in Russia ke sia!
2012
a
Sh us
l
a nR
n
o ti
i
t
a jec
n
r ro
e
t
In P
There are several ArtUniverse scholarships available for filmmakers, film directors, arts managers and performers from different countries.
IUGTE & ArtUniverse hold a series of introductory labs in Austria,
Italy and Russia. Participation in the introductory labs will be free
of charge for admitted candidates.
The introductory labs open the door towards the new
collaboration project in Russia in autumn 2012: the
six-week period of performance creation in a Russian
repertory theatre together with Russian actors and performers from different countries! The working language is
English.
For more details, please send your CV/resume with
cover letter to
Ivan Rosenthal, Project Coordinator
iugte.projects@gmail.com
www.iugte.com

To include your story please e mail editor@ufmag.org

43

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
1st Issue - 2012

Ivor Benjamin

of the Directors Guild of Great Britain

Its almost thirty years since I
joined the Directors Guild of Great
Britain, freshly-minted, and with my
first two professional credits to my name.
Since then, Ive been a staunch supporter
of the Guild, an almost uniquely crossmedia organisation that recognises directors do the same thing whatever medium
we work in. We develop our projects and
scripts, we work and rehearse with writers, designers, technicians and performers
and its only the last third of our work that
diverges into our particular field; screen,
stage, radio, games, opera, new media ...
And what else do directors have in common?
No training.
Dont get me wrong - there are many
graduate and post-graduate training
courses for directors in the UK, through
university courses and film schools, drama
and art schools. Same around the world.
But Im not talking about starting out.
Once a young, would-be director graduates, or a talented DOP steps away from
the lens, or an AD thinks I can do that
how do they further their

Script
change
Okay, lights camera action!

skills?
There was a time when film studios, ad
agencies and TV companies had slack
for trainees, had room to develop their
directors and wanted to do just that. The
same is true in theatre. Some of the UKs
greatest film directors have come from a
theatrical background: Sam Mendes, Phyllida Lloyd, Danny Boyle, Roger Michell, to
name just a few. But that time was over
twenty years ago, and todays leaner,
meaner and cash-strapped workplace
means few trainees and fewer mentors,
and little place for learning on the job
outside the realms of self-funded shorts
and the occasional small grant.
And that means no
[BuzzwordGenerator=ON] Continuous
Professional Development.
Its an ugly phrase, but it says it all. To a
greater or lesser extent, it is true the world
over. Most directors dont develop in a
formal sense - development is what you
read and watch and try out as you work
and it has never been truer to say that

you are only as good as your

last job. Looking back, I can see that
the big steps forward for me as a director were in two categories: learning from
my mistakes and trying to avoid them,
and learning from other directors and trying out their methods myself.
Which brings me back to the Directors
Guild. Today, we run more classes and
seminars, workshops and conferences for
directors than ever before, at the highest level, developing the craft skills that
develop us as artists and practitioners. We
look at new methodologies in directing
and new media, new acting styles, casting
issues, new techniques in visual effects
and 3D and working with everyone from
fight choreographers to casting agents.
Why so much of an emphasis on new
skills? Because good directors never stop
learning.
Ivor Benjamin
Chair - Directors Guild of Great Britain &
Trustee - Directors Guild Trust

by Christopher Moore

sat back in the directors chair and

observed as shooting began. His actors
were more than rising to the challenge as
principal photography unfolded. Nodding his head, he watched contentedly as
the plot took shape visually before him,
everyone playing their part to perfection.
Gabe, Michael, and the rest of the crew
hovered about, making sure everything
flowed smoothly, and leading man Adam
was as dependable as G had expected
him to be, setting events up with a stunning opening that facilitated continually
building momentum, leading to a climax
nothing short of perfection.
Almost too perfect
With a frown, G realised that the longer
he watched, the less contented he began
to feel with the narrative. There was
no adversity, no obstacle, no difficulty
to overcome. No reward in seeing fine
actors overcoming challenges to their
patience and professionalism, and

emerging out the other side as consummate performers.

It just wasnt satisfying enough
And then he noticed D hanging around
on the periphery of the set, giving off that
constant air of a potential troublemaker,
neither use nor ornament to anyone interested in shooting a professional movie.
But maybe that was just what G needed
Okay, people, he announced. Script
change. Lets do this thing.
Presently, the cast took their places again,
committed to playing out the more subtle, complex narrative that had now been
handed to them.
Adam and his leading lady stumbled at
a major hurdle early on, and G thought
it was good. Noah and Abe emerged as
surprise stars, and G thought it was good.
D wreaked mayhem at every turn, and

even tried to upstage J when he

finally came on set for his big part, but
failed to dim the latter. And G thought it
was good.
Matt and Mark framed the narrative
beautifully, as did John and Luke. G nodded and felt a warm glow as he observed
the casts triumphs and tribulations, the
former all the sweeter and more satisfying for the latter.
All things concerned, it made for a much
better film. Oh, he knew it would be
panned by some critics. That much was
inevitable. Anything new and innovative,
or too darkin places was bound to be
savaged.
But he also knew there would be others
singing its praises.
Singing his.
They would be the ones who appreciated
it was his story. His vision. And that only
he could see it from all the angles.

www.ufmag.org

44

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Universal
UniversalFilm
Film
Issue 1 of 2012

THE
SIX
FATAL
ERRORS IN
SCREEN WRITING

45

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film

THE SIX FATAL ERRORS IN SCREENWRITING

If your leading man/lady has fewer

lines after page 20, shows up on fewer
and fewer pages, and maybe even
disappears altogether for ten or more
pages at a time, you have switched
protagonists and your screenplay will
fail. Another character has taken over
the screenplay. Your leading man/lady
reappearing on page 80 or 90 or 100
will do no good at all. Rule #1: Stay
with the horse you rode in on.

Not enough conflict

Every scene, even in a comedy, must

have conflict. Two people have to
fight over something, each at the expense of the other, for a scene to come
alive. What are they fighting over?
How do they get in the way of one
another trying to get it? Nice, agreeable characters make for very bad
screenplays. Give everyone trouble
and dont stop.

Having a weak, passive leading

lady/man

Maybe your protagonist is there on

every page but just sits and watches
or says inane things like Oh, my. That
is not good, while quietly sipping his
or her beer. Not good. A protagonist,
even one whose innate character is
passive and iconoclastic, must act.
Small actions matter: crushing a flower
with the heel of a boot, getting drunk,
kissing a mirror, stealing a $20 bill. On
screen the audience can only see action, not what is in a characters head. If
your leading man is thinking and feeling up a storm but the audience has no
way to see it, your screenplay will fail.

Too much exposition

Talking heads are, mostly, boring on

the screen. Show dont tell. Use action, move characters through various
unusual changes of scenery, if nothing else, anything you need to keep
the story moving forward. Movies are
moving pictures, so keep your scenes
and characters moving along.

Having a weak, passive or nonexistent antagonist

A protagonist can only be as strong

and interesting as his or her antagonist, the person he pushes against,
the person he fights, e.g., the Joker in
The Dark Knight, who literally made
that movie. An antagonist must be a
very strong character, not an institution, not a feeling and not an idea,
but a flesh and blood embodiment of
antagonism, who shows up early and
gives the protagonist an extremely
hard time.

Not enough action

The audience can only tell the nature

of a character in a play or screenplay
by the way the character acts, the
choices he or she does or does not
make. The writer must dramatize what
is in the characters head with actions,
because on stage or screen the audience cannot be inside the characters
head, the way one can, for instance,
through the words of a novel.

In my career as producer and script developer, I have read over 5000 screenplays.
So many promising concepts fall by the
wayside because of errors that a knowledgeable screenwriter can easily avoid.
The errors screenwriters make are always
the same, whether the writer is a novice
or a professional.
Most of all, keep writing!

Paula Brancato
Full-time Lecturer,
University of Southern California
Mobile: 310-429-5181
Oce: 212-249-0255
http://www.thewritersplace.org/script_
consultation.shtml
TWPBrancato@aol.com

www.ufmag.org

46

Switching protagonists midstream

Issue 1 of 2012

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Morality is

Lise Birk Pedersens Putins Kiss Attempt to Give a

director Lise Birk Pedersens
D anish
Putins Kiss was a hit at this years
Sundance Film Festival, nominated for
a Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema.
The film is a tale of shifting loyalties
and political manipulation, especially
poignant as Vladimir Putin eyes his
third presidential term. It tells the story
of young Masha Drokova, a teenage
spokesperson of the stridently nationalistic Russian organizations Nashi
Movement, who soon learns of their
dangerous methods employed against
its political opponents, (cynically
deemed as enemies. )Young Masha is
first seduced by the movements perks,
offered in return for her loyalty. Her
friendship with a liberal journalist Oleg
Kashin--who compares Nashi with
Hitler Youth forces Masha to choose
whether it is worth staying within the
movement, as she uncovers sinister
methods, particularly toward Kashin.
These dangers are a part of the political milieu in modern Russia during the
Putin era.
Many outsiders see Putin as

a modern-day dictator, but Russian

politics requires greater historical
context since the Soviet era. When
Putin came to power, he was seen as
normal and seemed young and strong
enough to manage the country, says
Olga Khvostunova, a Visiting Scholar
at the Harriman Institute at Columbia
University. Khvostunova also used to
work as an editor at the influential
Russian newspaper Kommersant, as a
colleague of Oleg Kashin.
The films portrayal of the political
milieu within Russia was really accurate, actually in depicting the political
situation of the youth policy. It was
captured precisely - the idea that the
young should be educated, based on
Soviet methods, in a summer camp.
This used to be very popular in Soviet
times. This Nashi Movement was created in 2005 by Putins Youth Affairs
department as a means to drum up
nationalism and loyalty to the state
among young people. But, as the film
demonstrates, Nashi seeks to eradicate
its political enemies, like Oleg Kashin

Putins Kiss

who gets savagely beaten by unknown

assailants as captured by surveillance
video. He broke his jaw in two places,
and he does not walk well and is [still]
missing lots of teeth, Pedersen said at
the New York screening. The director illustrates the dangers of contemporary
Russia, where journalists are treated
as political foes, rather than as government watchdogs.
The film fails to address complexities
of Russian politics and the dialogue
among its protagonists often seems
perhaps played up for the camera.
The audience does not really see her
doubts. [Director Pedersen] should
have asked more questions, says Khvostunova. Pedersen admits she never
knew whether Masha would change
after Kashin, her friend, is beaten
up. Before she spoke to Masha, she
conversed with others, and found Mashas story to be the most interesting,
Khvostunova says. The audience never
learns whether Masha is completely
disenchanted with the movement or if
she retains dual loyalties. After all, she
may have just changed her mind, says
Khvostunova. Masha is not a celebrity.
While the film may have provided an
expose of youth manipulation, politics
in Russia is not seen as a subject in the
political agenda. Politics is, essentially,
what Putin says.
Pedersen admitted her lack of knowledge of Russian culture in an IndieWire interview: I dont speak Russian,
and secondly, making any film in
Russia, speaking the language or not,
is not a walk in the park. But I think the
biggest challenge was how to balance
the many levels in my story. I had the
ambition to tell the big story about
modern Russia through the eyes of my
young protagonist with a classic coming of age style.

47

www.ufmag.org

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

s Subjective
Morality Tale about Contemporary Russian Politics
But as the film progressed, I realized how the film also
became this very symptomatic story of the bad political
climate we find in Russia these days The film seeks to
explore relevant and timely observations about contemporary Russia and its politics, however fails to deeply delve into
the complex relationships among politicians, journalists,
protest movements and citizens. However, the film succeeds
in hinting at the shifting loyalties and political manipulation
rampant in todays Russia.
As for the current anti-government sentiment within the
country: I hope the protests are the beginning of something
bigger. And yet as a journalist, it is unfulfilling, Khvostunova
sighs, describing the deep psychological and philosophical
strain on those in this profession.

Masha Drokova (right) meets her idol, Vladimir Putin.

www.ufmag.org

48

by Jared Feldschreiber

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

TIME VS TECHNOLOGY

ith Eastman Kodak filing for bankruptcy, the writing seems to be on the wall for the future of film as
the primary medium in an increasingly digital world.
But before we get too excited about a digital future,
there are some valuable lessons to be learned from the last
one hundred plus years of film history.

Currently, films are being archived on polyester film stock

and put in cold storage (which is supposed to last for hundreds of years) and on digital formats, which brings us back
to the problem at hand: the preservation of digital media.
The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program along with other partners and cooperatives are
endeavoring to find solutions for more efficient and enduring archival methods.

The recent pronouncement from the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture
limited
Arts & Sciences about the limited lifespan of digital
lifespan
media may have come as a surprise to some filmof digital
makers, but this has been pretty common knowlmedia
edge to people in the music industry, where digital
has already taken a solid foothold.
Long--term storage of digital media is a complex problem that has not yet been resolved. At its core: bit preservation and the ability to monitor for bit loss. Currently, the
most reliable digital archiving relies on a complex system
of multiple back-ups on multiple systems which need to be
repeated regularly to prevent bit loss and to keep adjusting
for emergent digital storage media and formats.
In the short term, the digital revolution has been so focused
on workflow, it has overlooked this serious issue. Without
significant attention, cost and effort, the current crop of digital filmmakers projects will not survive the duration of their
own copyrights! (In fact, bit deterioration can compromise
digital data in less than two years.) But this wouldnt be the
first time that the film industry has had to face this kind of a
realization.
Remember the days of the Silver Screen? That term derived from the silver nitrate stock used on all films until 1950.
This highly flammable and unstable medium is extremely
sensitive to environmental conditions, and has rendered
eighty to ninety percent of all silent films to ash and dust.
Fifty percent of all films shot before 1950 have already disappeared. The acetate stock used after 1950, while more stable,
still deteriorates and is subject to irreversible color fading
(Vinegar Syndrome). The tapes that were used for broadcast television were often recorded over and suffered wear
over time. As a result many old movies and television shows
have been lost forever.

Whatever the larger implications or developing

technologies that continue to emerge, filmmakers
will need to take precautions that their own digital
works are safely and accurately copied and stored.
The road from dailies to distributed film can be long
and hard. It is important for filmmakers to do their
best to back up and preserve their hard work so that it
can make that journey and remain a part of the culture and
cinema for as long as possible.
Even the Great Pyramids have begun to lose fragments of
thier history, ravaged by looters, weather and time. We must
remember that it took an enormous ammount of effort to
design and construct structures like the pyramids that could
endure for centuries. It is even said that grain stored inside
them remained well preserved for thousands of years.
In a sense the ancient Egyptians were doing the same thing
we are doing as filmmakers: attemping to take aspects of
our lives and preserve them for as long as possible. It is
likely to take a lot more effort and development to achieve
better digital archival solutions for the future. Perhaps one
day, we will be storing the records of our lives, art and music
in great data pyramids ourselves.
In its own way, this dilemma is a humbling reminder of our
mortality and the ephemeral nature of all things. Despite
the rapid growth of our technology, like the lost civilizations
whose stone remnants only reveal broken fragments of their
history, the celluloid and digital documentation of our current world can just as easily turn to dust and disappearing
digits.
T. Reed - Composer @TAOXproductions

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The Short Film Corner

SHARING SHORTS by Paul W Smith

aking a short film in the first place is half the battle

, but the other half is getting people to watch it. So,
where do you find your audience? How do we like to
watch our films? In cinema or online? These questions formed
the basis of the Festivals vs. Internet debate at this years FFresh
Student Moving Image Festival of Wales, hosted by Newport
Film School in February. The panel brought together Liz Harkman, managing director of Bristols Encounters Festival, which
has successfully showcased international short films for 17
years; filmmaker Em Cooper; Matt Lambert, Editor-in-chief of
Motionographer, a webzine that creates an online community
forum to share content; and Pawel Jaskulski from Mubi which
offers access to a virtual arthouse library as well as links into
film festivals.

But how does a short filmmaker get the exposure he or she

needs, especially if they want to attract funding for future
projects? It all comes down to how we choose to access our
movies. Its rewarding to know that you have received 10,000
hits on YouTube and a global set of invisible eyes to boot,
posting their appreciative comments for all to read. However,
thats not the same as watching it in a cinema where you can
get immediate audience response - their views, their support,
their feedback shared at a screening or over a drink in the bar.
Festivals are reeling out across the UK so that a short film can
take itself on a celluloid tour from city to city, as well as embark
on a programmed journey across the world. Some of those
festivals will only programme shorts, too. With luck the filmmaker might even be able to accompany it and meet with an
enthusiastic audience. Only when its spooled out from Brazil
to Toronto to Croatia and Australia, could it be time to put its
feet up and offer itself up to a wider audience through the internet, creating a much greater awareness and phenomenon.
Em Cooper revealed that she found commissioned work as a
result of showing her film in public arenas.

Then again, Encounters also has a competitive element, so

does Rushes Soho Shorts in London, and the Iris Prize Festival in Cardiff offers 20,000 to the best international gay and
lesbian short. These are Incentives not just to submit material but also to participate in person, savour the atmosphere
and even make friends. Those festivals, too, might even create
their own viewing platform, a TV station to share the festival
experience by streaming a selection of work along with panel
discussions.
Whether its the challenge of telling a story in a limited period
of time, or finding an outlet form more experimental ideas,
short films can be wonderfully varied and reach out in a multitude of directions. Pop videos are essentially short films, a factor that the Edinburgh International Film festival celebrated
with its Mirrorball strand back in the 90s, aimed at celebrating
the directors of music promos in their own right. Then there
are events such as the 60 Seconds of Solitude event in Estonia
in December 2011, when one-minute films from various filmmakers from around the world were given a unique outdoor
screening and then ceremoniously destroyed as a protest
against the commercialization of cinema- a dramatic way of
endorsing the power of cinema that would be tricky to replicate virtually.
Were not living in a world in which we benefit only from multimedia support for a short film. Festivals still play a vital role
in supporting short filmmakers as part of their overall programme celebrating cinema in all its forms. Our increasingly
diverse viewing habits should be embraced as allies not opponents. Lets find time to enjoy them both.

The more canny filmmakers might even be able to charge a

nominal fee much like iTunes, each hit putting a few pennies
in the bank. However, thats where support from businesses
such as Distrify and Netflix can help. They have opened up
online distribution possibilities, reaching out to appreciative
viewers through social media networks and offering alternative revenue streams in the process. Short films are not in, well,
short supply. They can be a necessary part of a graduate programme so students hone their knowledge, skills and inspiration into making them. Indeed, the main philosophy of Ffresh
is to bring together selective work from each of the colleges
in Wales, so that there is a shared environment to showcase
the work, with the added delight of an award ceremony to celebrate the best in a number of categories and friendly rivalry
enhanced by that festival atmosphere.

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Universal Film
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Digital Video Piracy, Merely A Socia

iracy has been with us for many years and more so nowadays than back when you had to copy a movie from
one video cassette to another, put it on the street and
hope it sold to someone who knew exactly that what they
were buying was a knock off. Today, media pirates have no
problem ripping through Blue ray disc DRM with ease, using
a plethora of freely available tools. Its come to a point that
the same companies who build the technology to protect the
DVDs from piracy are also in the business of helping home users hack DVDs.

Hes also the inventor of the technology, so I thought it best

to speak directly to him as I needed to understand what made
this system different from everything else that was on the
market. I immediately agreed that most DRM solutions on
the market targeted by pirates generally lack the ability to be
archived, or shared. The social issues have never really been
tackled by technology developers. What drew me to this company in particular was that they boasted so loudly about never
having a file hacked, cracked or patched.

Such is the story of most of the DVDs on release; its DVD encryption is ripped within months of its release using software
created by the same company who created the DVD protection in the first place. One particular company has decided to
sell software to the general public that can rip through its own
protection with ease, and allows a complete novice to copy
DVDs to blank discs and hard drives.

Technically, digital media has never really been protected, if

you think about it. The absolute main issue with every other
protection system on the market is that the encryption has always been listed, created by someone, someone had access
to those keys, somewhere in the world, and that gave risk to
that information being leaked even a day after they had been
created, Scott said.

And so began the struggle between film-makers and digital

pirates, with the consumer being shafted in the wake of it all.
Its funny to think that the general conception of digital theft
by a consumer is that if its available online and can be downloaded, then it must be free. Law-makers and congress scramble to create and enforce new rules regarding copyrights and
copying that do nothing substantial to rectify the problem.
The power and money that was once so prevalent in the media industry is slowly slipping from the grasp of the four big
studios and the internet is playing a major role in their ultimate demise. It would seem that movies are now following
the demise of the music industry

Again, he was correct. In my research I came across numerous big-name companies all using the same type of encryption system, all of which used the old method of creating keys
and storing them somewhere. But Xelleons technology didnt
do that; their encryption is defined and created at the time a
single file is encrypted, then destroyed. This is done by a computer-sitting in the cloud. Dale also explained that by layering
the encryption it made the decoding run as quickly as with
256-bit encryption but protected with over 5020 bits of true
brute strength, one of the reasons the technology received a
Stealth certification. Im not very technically savvy, so when
Dale was discussing the eleven technical issues their company
has solved, most of it really went over my head. But I will vouch
for the fact that social issues that are not being answered by
any other technology have been hindered by the general acceptance of any new DRM system by the public at large.

Marketing companies now spew out propaganda showing

how digital theft has become a great marketing tool. It makes
me laugh when I see a story about how popular a leaked movie becomes once in a blue moon, and how it increases overall
sales at the box office. The problem is that situations like that
are not the norm. They are one-offs, spun into media hype
with exaggerated numbers and diluted backlash reports.
The fact is absolutely clear in report after report. Media piracy
is killing the film industry, and the powers that be have no clue
how to stop it. During my search for the answer I ran across a
small company based in the UK called Xelleon PLC. They are
a fairly new (three year-old technology, one year old company) startup with some very interesting views on the piracy
problem, and the solutions that they believe their technology
offers.In speaking with the president of the company, it was
apparent that these guys have done their homework. They explained to me the four social problems and eleven technical
setbacks that previous piracy-protection technology had ignored. Dale Scott president of Xelleon PLC, explained Socially,
movies and digital media in general need to be shared, resold,
archived and accessible for a consumer to even want them.

I couldnt leave without seeing the technology work for myself, and they were proud to point me to a couple of companies using the technology, and even downloaded a full length
HD video right to my MacBook. I was actually surprised I had
no problem whatsoever running the film. The video opened
up to a screen, with my name on it, which kind of took me
back at first, but its understandable since its mine. Had I purchased the movie myself it would have completely passed me
by. I entered my secret code, and the movie began playing full
screen. There was a chapter menu where I could jump from
one chapter to the next, the HD was smooth and crisp, as it
should be, it had all the controls I would expect from a movie,
and some extra things Id never seen before.
When I minimized the movie, lo and behold there was a BUY
button, and a share button embedded on the player. It was
only then I realized that the file I had was only a three day rental ,and if I clicked that button I could actually buy the movie.
What I really liked was the share button; apparently upon signing up to download the movie, I was automatically added as

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al Problem? by Ken Tucker

an affiliate for any of the movies I purchased, and this share
button let me post my affiliate links to the same movies up on
Facebook, Twitter and that other Google social thing.
I decided to put it all to the test and let my movie expire. And
when I came back to watch it after four days, all I could access
was a screen asking me to click on a link to purchase the video.
I thought I would be clever, and I back dated my computer
clock, so I could watch the video again. Guess what? There was
no movie there when I tried opening the file again and all I got
was an error message. I ended up going back to Xelleon to ask
for another copy of the movie, this time for my PC. I explained
to them I was just testing things out, and they readily offered
me another three day rental. This time I decided to forgo the
purchase again and just record the screen with Snagit. But every time I opened Snagit to carture the screen, it would shut
down and a message would come up saying I wasnt allowed
to record the video being played.
So, I decided I was going to connect my DVR and see how well
the video turned out; that didnt give me any decent results
either, I had a black screen recorded but I could hear the audio fine. To me it looked as though the system also used some
sort of hardware protection as well. I was rethinking my stance
on the whole ability to move the movie wherever I wanted to
move it, when I contacted Xelleon one last time to tell them
that I wanted to move the file to my home theatre computer
and watch it from there, and possibly take it with me to my
friends house to watch it there.
Thats when they introduced me to the gifting feature embedded in the film. I simply logged in to the web store, sent my
friend a gift of the film I owned and he downloaded it there.
I then clicked my re-download button from my theatre and
the film went straight to the tablet in my home theatre. In all,
I really didnt notice the protection except when I was trying
to copy the movie to test it. I think that is the whole point of
the technology in the first place, to make it so user-centric that
it was practically unnoticeable. So the social issues that held
back previous DRM, dare I say ... were gone.

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We will keep you posted on developments.

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Issue 1 of 2012

So You Want to Run a Film Festival?

by Scott Rosenberg
Director, Phuket Film Festival

o you want to run a film festival?

Or maybe just work for a film festival? You think it is a fun, glamorous
job where you get to meet interesting,
artistic people from around the world,
party hearty at luxurious food and
beverage affairs and watch lots of great
movies.

techniques, and complaining about

lack of government support for their
film industries. This festival was not that
difficult to put together and run I had
massive infrastructure (BOI) behind me.

Forget it!
The reality of the situation is a 24/7,
sleepless job, where you get to watch
lots of mostly boring/awful movies, deal
with some really great but often really
egotistical people that work in the film
industries of the world ,and youre so
exhausted at the parties, you cant eat or
drink or have any fun. Being a director
of a festival is a physically and mentally
exhausting job I know, I am (was)
the director of the recently shuttered
Phuket Film Festival.

But then, in 2004, when we first tried to

put a Phuket Film Festival in place, the
reality of the job became apparent.
However, let me backtrack a moment.
Lots happened between 1995 and 2004.
First, in 1997, there was the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN, A Private Sector
Salute, that we put on through the
auspices of The Brooker Group. First, a
gala laser show in Indonesia-host nation
of the ASEAN Secretariat before then Indonesia President Sukarno and then a
two-day series of meetings between the
heads of state of ASEAN and business
leaders from around the region.

PART ONE
My long tragic story begins back in 1995
while working for the Board of Investment of Thailand as a consultant. I convinced then Secretary General Staporn
Kavitanon to add a bit of culture to his
gigantic, industrial BOI Fair at Lamchabang.

Despite the Asian economic meltdown,

we cautiously moved ahead with the
event. The importance of having good
partners/sponsors and the need to
identify everyones needs, and allow
them the face necessary to make their
investment worthwhile, helped save the
day for this event.

Khun Staporn said, Scott, how much

do you need? I said 2 million baht. He
said Okay and the Greater Mekong
Region (GMS) Film Festival, Thailands
FIRST film festival was born. You see,
at that time, Thailand was at the forefront of the movement to help develop
its neighbors in Myanmar, Cambodia,
Vietnam and Lao PDR build roads and
ports and help develop a sustainable
private sector that could integrate with
world markets. Surprisingly, the filmmakers of the region had never met
and never had an opportunity to view
each others artistic work. We brought in
film-makers from around the region and
screened about fifteen films to people
that attended the Lamchabang shindig.
It was really great to see the film-makers
talking together, comparing notes on
the latest equipment and shooting

Leapfrog forward to 2003 when our

Thai PR and marketing company AMW
International Co. , Ltd., was handling
the on-the-ground operations for the
international CineAsia confab. CineAsia
organized (at the time) by VNU out of
New York, brought together distributors
and exhibitors from all around Asia and
major movie distributors from Hollywood to discuss the latest in film exhibition programming and technologies.

into a brick wall we failed to

consider the timing of the event.
CineAsia was held annually at the
beginning of December the height
of Phukets high season. Thus, we
found no hotel rooms available,
and those that were available were
dramatically overpriced. We called
off planning for the festival and
lucky we did.
The festival would have ended
exactly one week before the tragic
Boxer Day Tsunami; some of our
people would still have been on the
island, and who knows what would
have happened.
Fate has a strange way of playing its
hand.

Promoting a good business code of practice for film festivals

One of our clients at the time, SF
Cinema, was just opening the first
modern multiplex on Phuket (at Central
Festival Phuket) and we thought what
better way to celebrate the opening of
their theater AND expand the reach of
CineAsia to include the production side
of the business than to combine the two
events? We began to plan to put the film
festival together on Phuket but we ran

It took three years before another

opportunity presented itself on
Phuket to stage the festival: the
opening of the SF theaters at Jungceylon in October 2007.
But first, why even bother trying to
stage an international film activity

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PART TWO

The Phuket Film Festival can take up that role.

As everyone knows, Phuket has already developed into a

stand-alone international tourist destination with a diverse
culture, which would be enriched by a major international
film festival. Phuket already runs neck and neck with Bangkok
for the number of international films (documentaries, music,
videos, motion pictures, commercial shoots) filmed annually
in Thailand.

Major film festivals in Asia operating today include the Pusan

(Korea) International Film Festival (October); Tokyo International Film Festival (October); Bangkok International Film Festival (September) Bangkok has fallen from grace in recent
years because of lack of government support due to scandal
several years ago; Goa (India) International Film Festival (November) national film festival of India; Singapore International Film Festival (April to May).

And, of course, many major international film festivals have

beach (or water) locations Cannes, Venice, Pusan, Hawaii
and others. The beach atmosphere tends to lend a relaxing,
fun mood to the event. Asia lacks a major fun film festival
along the lines of the Sundance Film Festival where film-makers and movie lovers can go for relaxation, vacation and FUN!

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And it goes without saying that movies are an international

cultural outlet everyone loves the movies! The first Phuket
Film Festival-hosted by SF Cinema and Jungceylon in October
2007 and organized by AMW International as by any means a
resounding success.
The Festival took place over seven days, screening 40 films
from fifteen countries, with seven hosted parties, two seminars, including one on preservation of film at which UNESCO
gave their prestigious Silver Fellini Award to the Thai National
Film Archives (accepted by Thailands Minister of Culture) thirteen foreign film-makers attending in support of their film
screenings, and over 3,600 theater visitors, with a recorded
100% approval rating - all for a budget of a little over 7 million
baht.

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The high-end demographic living on the island would certainly appreciate the stimulation of interaction with audio/
visual artists from around the world. There is also a number
of property developers on the island that would appreciate
the opportunity to showcase their exclusive properties to the
Hollywood types and other A-listers that would attend a
Film Festival on Phuket.

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On the media side, PFF 2007 received world-wide attention

from articles written in at least seven different countries (there
may be more that we do not know about), and attendance at
the Festival by over 30 press representatives. Several special
Phuket Film Festival segments of Destination Thailand (totaling about 36 minutes of airtime) were independently produced and broadcast in Thailand and abroad.
These significant milestones dont even mentioning recognition by Disney International, who supported the Festival
for the first time in major film exhibition history in Thailand,
-opening two films in Phuket BEFORE releasing in Bangkok.
Thanks to Disney, PFF was the second film festival in the world
to feature the Golden Globe and Oscar nominated Across the
Universe. Now, there were behind the scenes problems. Both
SF and Jungcelyon are not in the business of putting on Film
Festivals while we, the organizers, are professionals in the field
but they were the bosses they were paying the bills.
After serving on juries at international film festivals and traveling to festivals around the world, I have some expertise in
the business of film festivals. I encountered projection booth
problems where SF staff had no knowledge of how to use
equipment that was different from what they were used to,
new SF staff members not knowing what to do or where to
do it, but most of all, problems with the host hotel. The Millennium Hotel adjacent to Jungceylon was supposed to be
ready for the Festival, but it was not. SF & Jungceylon had to
find replacement hotels for the people coming in for the Festival. The main host hotel became the Mercure, which itself had
only opened a month or so before the Festival began.

What a fiasco that hotel was!. Aside from rotten sewage odor
seeping into most rooms, two, TWO guests on different floors
awoke to find more people (one a woman, another a man) in
their rooms. An oversight on the part of someone at the front
desk in making key cards? Who cares, what extremely poor
security. And what about two of our film-makers observing a
man and woman fornicating in the first floor swimming pool
at about 11:30 at night? Film makers were loving it - envisioning movies that could be made of the experience. But come
on, what a representation of Thailand! Why didnt staff tell the
fornicators to go to their rooms? Okay, okay Thai staff are shy
and reluctant to intervene. Training is the operative word here.
Why arent staff trained better? Shall I throw in the problem of
the lock on my door which kept me locked out of my room for
45 minutes, or of the hotel Assistant Front Desk Manager that
entered my room without my permission and had staff empty
a can of aerosol deodorant in my room to cover up the foul
odor, destroying open food, my toothbrush and about 2,000
baht worth of medication in my bathroom?
And if thats not enough, how about the continued knocking on my staff s door and finding no one there when they
checked through the peep hole, and the refusal on the hotel
Assistant Managers part to rectify or acknowledge the situations. When asked to write a letter apologizing to the Festival
VIP guests that had odor problem in their room, the Assistant
Manager admitted that the oder had been a problem from the
start of operation of the hotel, and asked that I provide email
addresses of the VIPs. I asked the guests, prominent directors
and producers who told me that they did not want their private email addresses given out - I told him No. So he refused
to write a letter.

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I later found out from another hotel staff person, that the email
addresses would have been used for marketing purposes, the
Assistant Manager denied it only to be confronted at a later
conversation in which the staff member made the marketing
claim in front of the Assistant Manager, who told him to shut
up (in Thai). Like I said, what a fiasco!
PART THREE
After taking a year off to gear up for a bigger, better event
in 2009, AMW International Co., Ltd. moved to organize the
Phuket Film Festival in a more strategic time frame in June
situated right after the Festival des Cannes and right before
the Shanghai International Film Festival, offering film festival
professionals an opportunity to visit Phuket between the two
major film festivals. Many film festival professionals plan a circuit over a short period of time we know that film professionals come into the spas of Thailand after Cannes, and we
hoped to capitalize on this. And, in fact, this turned out to be
true, as the Shanghai International Film Festival was going to
play Cadillac Records after we did and have Adrien Brody
travel to the fest after visiting Phuket. We would split the cost
of Adrien coming out - same with Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), who is chairman of the Shanghai jury. We were negotiating with his people for him to visit Phuket a couple of
days before flying off to Shanghai.

stream which helps support the festival I thought). We had

to decide whethre to keep the Festival afloat or cancel it. On
Wednesday, May 6th, I was so stressed I asked my assistant to
take me to the hospital but we never went. There was too
much work to be done (sad, but true). Anyway, we decided it
would be best to cancel the festival, and over that long weekend, we emailed major partners, including the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and told them a decision would be made
by 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday on (May 12th) whether to close the
festival or not. A draft press release was also sent to everyone.
On Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. I received a phone call from a contact
at TAT who was a bit miffed that we were going to close the
festival (dont know why - they had only authorized funding of
around 500,000 baht for the festival), and after talking about
the governments plans on Phuket and how we could not operate under martial law (almost) conditions, she asked that we
postpone something I responded would be difficult to do.
However, I agreed to check it out and found a free period in
August just after the Thai Queens birthday.

So what happened? Why was the Phuket Festival called off?

Problems started during Songkran, with the violence on Bangkoks streets. We began getting email from festival participants asking if everything was okay, if the problems in Bangkok would affect the Phuket Festival. Disruption by Red Shirts
(and others) were happening in select places in Bangkok, not
against tourists (foreigners), and would have no effect on the
Festival, they were told. Adrien Brody in particular was concerned about the violence, as he and his partner had planned
to travel around Thailand after the Phuket Festival.
The long week of holidays beginning May 1st was the beginning of our downfall. When the central government announced the ASEAN meeting would be on Phuket, a partner
on the island asked what we would do. I asked him what he
thought we should do and he said Go on, it wouldnt affect the Festival. But then, almost daily, Deputy PM Suthep
Tueksuban speaking from Phuket and Bangkok, began talking
about the strict security measures that would be in place for
the June 13th 14th ASEAN meeting. Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva added his two cents, talking about imposing the Internal Security Act, finally Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon talked about sending 5,000 troops to the island to help
local police.

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Now youd think this security build up would have to start at

least a week before their meeting, which would put it smack
in the middle of the Festival. That week was filled with sleepless nights it was an emotional and physical roller coaster.
I spent the days analyzing news reports of how the government was going to handle the ASEAN meeting on Phuket,
what the armed presence would mean to the Festival and our
VIP guests, and any inconveniences that might be caused, and
I also surveyed partners on the ground in Phuket who were
feeding us information about how foreigners on the island
may take a vacation during that period (there goes our boxoffice revenue

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I immediately contacted our big-name talent from Hollywood

to explore options with them. Award-winning director Darnell
Martin (Cadillac Records) who was going to bring her eight
year old son with her to Thailand said, Thanks,but she would
have to pass, as she did not think it appropriate to introduce
her son to real guns and soldiers. Academy Award -winning
actor Adrien Brody expressed deepest thanks for inviting
him and expressed a desire to come to Thailand one day, but
backed off from attending just in case the situation turned bad
like during Songkran. Adrien was not able to travel to Thailand
in August, as he was shooting a movie at that time. The only
big name not concerned about the military was Academy
Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant, who was going to attend the Festival with three of his actor/director buddies. Gus
would also be available to come to Thailand in August. His
message was that he had heard so much about Thailand and
Phuket, and he really wanted to experience it. To compound
the situation, we learned that the World Comedy Film Festival,
first slated for April in Bangkok but then cancelled, was raising
its head again from June 10th 17th, overlapping the Phuket
Film Festival by two days.
Now that is no big deal - two very different film festivals - but
TAT knew about our fest, why overlap? Something sinister was
afoot. This feeling goes back to when they first were scheduled
for April. Because of our Spotlight on Taiwanese film, we were
trying to program Cape #7, Taiwans entry into the Foreign
Language category of the 2009 Academy Awards. We were
told by the producers that the Comedy Festival had already
requested the movie. We dropped our request for the film, as
all Phuket Film Festival movies (with few exceptions) must be
at least a Thailand premiere. Well, I got the distinct impression
that Comedy was now going to try to borrow the film after
we played it along with the film star Chie Tanaka whom we
were hosting in to the Phuket Film Festival. This feeling was
spurred on by an email from one of their directors asking us to
cooperate with them. Cooperate with them? We were operating on a budget of 4 million baht, of which only 500K was to
come from TAT. They were operating on a budget of 14 million
baht granted them by TAT (another sore point but a political
decision which I dont agree with). Why steal from us to save
them money?

Thai Air Asia, Aleenta Resort Spa, have sponsored a VIP welcome or, post-flight Rest and Recovery package in the beautiful island of Phuket. Celebrities will be treated with spa and
health treatments as well as Phuket Marina Boating trips.
Smack in the middle of the Phuket Film Festival they were
bringing their VIPs down to Phuket? I dont understand, EXCEPT we were planning a yacht party for our VIPs on June 7 th
(to be paid for out of TAT sponsorship). Was TAT trying something sneaky here? Dont know, and now that we are closed,
dont care. Anyway, we had begun to gear down over that long
weekend (May 8th -11th) and Wednesday, May 13th, I mailed
out over 1000 press releases. Fifteen minutes after the last
press release left my email box, Khun Dumri, a reporter from
the Thai Post, called and said, Hey, have you heard? The government has postponed the ASEAN meeting until October?
The next few words that came out of my mouth are not quotable. I felt like I was in a high powered chess game and I had
just been check-mated. Id like to believe that the letters we
sent to the Thai Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the
ASEAN Secretariat had some effect and caused them to move
the ASEAN meeting, but they should have done it sooner. We
contacted them in late April.
Why not go on with the fest and recall the press release, some
have asked. How stupid would that look? We already lost our
Hollywood contingency; certainly we could go on without
them, but would our funders be happy with that? For now,
I am going to sit back, decompress and not worry about the
Phuket Film Festival. It is a shame! The people of Phuket, the
people of Thailand deserve more than the bungling way that
TAT and the central government operate. For them, it is politics above cultural activity which helps educate and entertain
the populace.

A side story that relates to my opening on why you dont want

to run a film festival: as I said, Chie Tanaka was going to attend
- we were going to award her an Emerging Asian Star Award.
Her manager confirmed her attendance but said that she must
travel business class, her assistant must travel with her as well
as the manager AND a makeup person and hairstylist, AND the
Festival would be responsible for paying the makeup and hairstylist person per diem at the Festival.
I said F**K that! Business class okay, can do that but no assistant, no manager and certainly no make-up and hairstylist.
Thailand has a vast amount of great make-up and hairstylist
people. Let her try our professional crafts people. This is what
the festival is all about promoting Thai locations, movies, production services. We were still negotiating when we cancelled
the Festival. Another reason behind this bad feeling about the
Comedy Film Fest came from the Schedule on their website:
7-10 June : VIP welcome in Phuket.

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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Will the new magazine help

filmmakers choose the right film
festival?
To the Editor:
In any discussion of film festivals, one question seems to occur
repeatedly: how to choose the best festivals to enter?
Since the costs of entry are a big factor, producers cant afford
to enter many. Then, acceptance of an entry will entail further
costs of time, money, and human resources. So how do you
pick the best showcases for your film? Is there any reliable way
to decide? Most of us dont even know what questions to ask
to evaluate a festival, except for the most obvious: What is this
festivals track record for getting its entries sold?
But then how do you check that out? You would need a list
of the films showing in a specific festival for the last, say, three
years. Is that available on a web site for the festival? If not,
where? Do the festivals keep track of how many of their entries are marketed? Do some highlight certain genres? How
can you know? Does the festival have special requirements?
Is this magazine going to help with evaluations and ratings?
I, for one, am hoping that this new magazine will become a resource for all of us with pertinent information on the festivals.
Maybe it will offer some badly needed guidelines about all of
the above! Lets hope so!
Anne L. Gibson
Filmmaker

What Makes Indie Filmmakers Tick - At Least This One

It was July 21st 2006, and I was at the opening night party in Hollywood for Dances With Films. Nearly 30 years after I
received my bachelors degree in motion picture production I had finally gotten around to making a film that was worthy
of screening in a film festival. So there I was with my lengthily titled feature, Sixes and the One Eyed King. I was ecstatic ,
with all kinds of fantasies of distribution deals and future project funding dancing in my head. The future seemed bright.

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Fast forward five years. Ive yet to sign any great distribution deals nor have I had any big offers to finance my next film.
Yet, I have made several other micro-budget films in the past five years, and I have had over 30 other film festival screenings. So yes, despite my lack of filmmaker dream fulfillment, I continue working on more films and entering more festivals.
I just cant seem to stop myself. I guess I always knew that having films in film festivals and even winning festival awards
doesnt guarantee any financial success. The fact that I find deep satisfaction in producing and directing films seems to be
enough success for me, and I know that filmmaking is something I will do until I am no longer physically capable of doing
so. From what I have seen, being an independent filmmaker means that either you are a filmmaker who is independently
wealthy or you are a filmmaker who works a regular 40-hour-week job and makes films in his spare time. I am the latter.
As an independent filmmaker, the ultimate success for me would be creating films without any funding concerns or limitations. Im pretty certain I have a better chance of winning the lottery than fulfilling that dream. So it must be the film
festivals that keep me going. Having one of my films shown in a theatre before a paying audience is thrilling, and I am so
grateful that so many film festivals have given me that opportunity. Film festivals are to filmmakers what art museums are
to painters and sculptors, and without them I might have given up as a filmmaker several years ago. So I really just want
to take this opportunity to thank all those festivals that have honored me by screening one of my films.
by Ray Robison

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Review of the Miami Film Festival

by Tim Wassberg

iami is known as a town of

beaches, clubs, sand and tropical warmth. However, in recent
years, it has reclaimed its celluloid
presence with a bevy of films and TV
series, most notably Burn Notice. What
is sometimes unknown in the process
of filmmaking is that the city is spread
among a multitude of different neighborhoods from the always trendy South
Beach, to the intensity of Downtown
Miami to the Latin American-fueled
diversity of Little Havana, which boasts
a distinct connection to the massive
Cuban community in South Florida.

Within the idea of the Miami International Film Festival, this cultural balance
is necessitated in the programming
which highlights both American art
house possibilities in the historic Gusman Theater as well as Spanish-tinged
foreign film entries so relevant to this
area of the country, in Little Havanas
Tower Theater.
With the festival headquarters located
at the Standard Hotel on Bell Isle, the
intermingling of filmmakers within the
community is less manic than at other
festivals with the quiet lapping of the
bay playing host to intrinsic cocktail
hours meant to burgeon relationships
without having to shout over them.
As for the films, while Europe/USA coproductions dominated the galas, the
best narratives came in under the radar,
melding classicism with magical realism.
Id Receive The Worst News From Your
Beautiful Lips, a Brazilian film directed
by Beto Brant and Renato Ciasca, tracks
the tempestuous nature of a woman
saddled by sexual possibilities she cannot control.
The linear path of the picture follows the
notions of an addict who herself does
not know how she arrived on this path.
The paradoxical use of both intense sex
scenes contrasted with an utter

desolation of spirit even when the male

lead attempts to track her down after
discovering her infidelity to her husband, is tantamount. The disconnection
of all characters involved paints a very
vivid portrait which, although not infinitely commercial, shows the burgeoning mentality of filmmakers in this South
American country.
Annalisa, like Guiseppe Tornatores
Malena before it, uses adolescents
idealization of woman to fuel a sense of
wantonness, but not necessarily reality.
Director Pippo Mezzapesa understands
that the balance is in making the lead
female character both unattainable
and yet reachable. His use of both the
heat and the lusciousness of Sicily gives
rage to the lightning bolt mentality
of romance in the region. Ultimately,
the story is about two sides of a male
friendship burrowed by Zaza and Veleno
, who are mirror halves of one coin:
one physically powerful and the other
intellectually superior, both discovering
different ways to pursue something they
cannot attain - not for lack of their own
trying but because of the very nature of
the beast.
The three galas experienced each track
- different ideas of disconnection in
their own ways, but all transpire to the
notion that life is fleeting despite all
intentions of the characters against it.
The Diary Of Preston Plummer, starring
Rumer Willis and Robert Loggia, invokes
the story of a family permeated by a
dark secret in a resort town. The films
strength resides with Trevor Morgan as
the almost autistic title character, unable to pull away from discovering truth,
no matter where it leads.
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To
You also explores a disenchanted and
further unconnected youth (played by
Toby Regbo) who is unable to form true
relationships, while his mother focuses
on her third marriage, yet cannot truly
relate to her children. The intrinsic

Id Receive The Wo
ensemble cast, including Marcia Gay
Harden, Stephen Lang (Avatar),
Lucy Liu and Ellen Burstyn boosts
the pictures credibility while still
keeping the idea both intimate and
contained.
Darling Companion, having already
locked distribution with Sony
Pictures Classics, offered the most
dexterous landing, with star Kevin
Kline and director Lawrence Kasdan,
a heralded pair, introducing the film
to a packed house. The film, a love
letter of sorts that Kasdan wrote
with his wife Meg, on the surface,
plays as a canine story with the lead
character Beth (played with sardonic
idealism by Diane Keaton) focusing
all of her energy on her pet after her
children leave home and her relationship with her husband (Kline)
becomes more distant. The wedding
of her daughter at their mountain
home, and subsequent disappearance of the dog, provide possibilities
(while searching in the woods) to
address their inevitable shortcomings. While this could become

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Film Reviews by Tim Wassberg

Eden
The psychology behind Eden [Dir. Megan Griffiths/Narrative Competition/SXSW 2012] places it in the ideology of survival of the fittest within a male-controlled world. While the
tone might be considered sexist, the intent of the director
(a female) remains steadfast and draws out richly detailed
performances from both the captive (Jamie Chung) and captor (Matt OLeary). While these two leads are mostly known
from their more pop art pictures (Sucker Punch and the
upcoming Lone Ranger ), the idea here is creating nuance
without negating the necessity of the films thriller underpinings. The narrative, based on a real life story of a girl who
was able to escape her captors by essentially joining with
them, walks the tightrope between condonement and retribution. Ultimately, the requisite intensity of Eden breathes
forward because of the inherent maturity shown in Chung,
who helps anchor the picture. Director Griffiths maintains a
tone of both fear and assertion while injecting humor (and
thus humanity) into some very harsh situations. An interesting supporting turn from Beau Bridges as a corrupt US Marshall adds credence to the picture, and the folms slick and
arid landscapes create a sense of isolation that supports the
overall theme.

Citadel

orst News From Your Beautiful Lips

Two other films of note, each completely different (but nonetheless interesting) in its approach, simply because of their
dichotomy of words and silence.
The Student, from Argentina, uses the aspect of universitybased politicking as a springboard to notions of revolution.
The verbiage, despite the language barrier, comes fast and furious, using notions of crime and corruption as power against
the student body, masked as progress. The pinpoint direction
of Santiago Mitre shows an inherent understanding of the
danger of information, depending on how it is skewed.
The Last Christeros, by comparison, is a quiet and methodical journey that follows Mexican Christian Freedom Fighters
in the Badlands of their country in the 1930s. Peppered with
homages to Spaghetti Westerns and minimal sound design,
the film depicts the isolation and determination of these men
balanced by their undying faith - a vision both inspiring and
disconcerting.
The Miami International Film Festival tries to balance these
different worlds while continuing the themes that progress
through their selected films. The festivals penchant for providing a cultural gateway remains constant... and growing.

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boring, Kasdans quick-witted humor and Klines delivery save

the film from obscurity.

The intent of agoraphobia shown within a pseudo-supernatural structure works to certain advantages in Citadel [Dir.
Ciaran Foy/Midnighters/SXSW 2012]. However, the reality
of the underlying supernatural elements reveals some plot
holes, both actual and perceived. The narrative follows a
newly single father whose would-be wife is injected in cold
blood by supposedly feral-looking creatures. What transpires is a journey of faith, resolved in the lead character of
Tommy (played with sunken aplomb by Anuerin Barnard)
,who transports himself through a barren wasteland in urban Ireland, that may or may not be only in his mind. Director Foy, using his own experiences after being attacked and
suffering some of the same circumstances that his lead character, goes through, creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia that works well. The eventual resolution involves returning to the scene of the crime, almost as if it is a journey into
Purgatory, aptly signified by a tall, dark building. Tommy,
aided by a rather dark-minded priest and his blind, child cohort, must come face-to-face with his fear, which points back
to a simple human connection that he might have missed.
Employing a minimum of visual effectss and make-up, Foy
imbues the film with a Did I see that? mentality and his dexterity with visual cues incorporates both American and Asian
film influences. However, it is Barnard, clutching his young
daughter, pushing a stroller through burned out landscapes,
who draws the audience, emotionally into his characters toil.

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Film Festival Boot Camp

by Patricia J. Pawla

Getting There

o, you have gotten into your first film festival. F i r s t

comes the joy, then the panic (Do I need a publicist? give
aways? a party? will anyone show up to my screening?).
Film Festival are a joyous celebration of film and a way to get
your film noticed, but you do need to be prepared in order
to succeed. With a low budget mindset, think like a major
PR team and be creative. You can do it. A major can have a
$400,000 budget for party and its ho hum. I have seen it over
and over again. You have $2,000, so have to use your imagination to make the party a success. Creativity and fun can trump
a big budget.
First of all, are you going to attend? Did your screening budget include a few nights hotel stay and plane fare for you,
the director, and the producer? If not, call the festival and ask
them if they are offering any accommodations. Dont be afraid
to ask; remember, the festival is charging for tickets for your
film. It is a wonderful, reciprocal relationship. Believe me, they
want you there so you can promote your film. Charm them,
tell them how necessary it is for you to be there and how hard
you will work to fill those seats. Let them know that despite
your budgetary restrictions you are there to make sure those
seats are filled. Befriend the person handling the accommodations. There are so many people behind the scenes working
valiantly for the film festival to be a success, and they are important to know.
Compile a small list of questions before you call (especially if
you are going to a foreign country and arriving at 2:00 a.m.).
Is there a shuttle to pick you up at the airport (a lot of festivals
offer this). If you are going to a foreign country make sure that
you exchange some money before you leave, since some of
the smaller airports dont have change booths open all night.
Do you need a Visa? (Make sure you have a passport now!) Will
there be a Q & A? Who might be handling it? Ask them what
you can do to facilitate your participation. They want film makers there who will create magic and make their lives easier.
Now, I did say small list, as you dont need to worry about your
room, sunken tubs, your view, etc. Think of questions that will
ease the process of making your screening a success. Get the
names of everyone that helped you along way. Heres a big tip:
make sure you give all of thoes people a little gift. It can be a
give-away from the film, a small box of chocolates, a t-shirt, a
mug, anything but visit them personally, make sure they know
how much you appreciate them, and you might get invited
back.

Find out what materials the festival needs to promote your

film, and get materials out as soon as possible. Start planning
your campaign. Have a terrific press kit. Why a press kit? You
may think the answer is obvious, but I recently posed that
question to a group of young film makers at a seminar that
I was giving, and their faces were all blank. A press kit is important for several reasons. At a festival, ideally, someone from
the press will review your film. To start, a press kit is your compilation of facts about the production including the names
of cast and crew (correctly spelled) for reference. With IMDb
now, facts are immediately at hand. But maybe you have an
actor who gave a fabulous performance but is not listed on
IMDb, yet, and the journalist wants to give them a nod. They
have your press kit for reference. Include some terrific stills in
the press kit so that the journalist can use a photo in his review. I have had directors come to me, so upset because the
trades didnt include a photo of their film. Well, if you dont
have one, it cant be included. Include some biographical information, something interesting that may pull in a journalist,
and include other reviews. Have someone proof-read the facts
and names. Press kits are helpful if you are looking for a distributor, especially if they contain reviews. It will give your film
credence. Check out other press kits then enjoy making yours.
Give it your uniqueness and style. What abut a publicist? If you
do have the money to hire a top notch publicist, go for it, but
make sure that they are not already handling five other films
with bigger and more demanding clients. (I once hired one of
the top PR firms to make the press kits for a film that I was distributing and showing in a festival, but the kits showed up at
the festival five days late because whoops, they had a big star
who was taking up all of their time).
Now, ask yourself, what do you want to get from this festival?
Take some time. Is it about promoting your film, getting another deal, getting a distributor or do you just want to see the
Riviera or go skiing? Only you can answer those questions.
How do you want to present yourself? As an artiste, you
might not be thinking about clothes, but what image do you
want to project. Is there something about yourself that might
help you be more recognizable? You do want to meet as many
people as you can, and its great if they can find you. Now, I am
not saying, guys, that you need to sport a bow tie, or gals you
need to have a Betty Boop persona, but it is worth a thought,
(even if its casual chic or indifferent chic). In other words, start
branding yourself. Make it fun, youll have fun and people will
want to meet you. This is important. Dont walk around with
your nose in the air, with the cool factor. You never know who
that person is next to you, who they know and how they may
help you on your journey. Be kind.
So your goal is to get as many people to see your film, but
how do you compete with so many other films and parties?
You find your uniqueness and the uniqueness in your film, and
you work, work, work...

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Lets go over what we have so far.

1. Find out what the festival is offering in terms of accommodations and air fare.
2. Make sure you have gifts and thank you notes for the people who got you there. Introduce yourself so they know you;
theyll be more apt to help you with any little snags along the
way, and maybe some special invitations.
3. If the festival needs any materials from you, send them out
ASAP.
4. Get an excellent press pit. Have a couple of people proof
read it.
5. Ask yourself Why am I attending? What is my goal for this
festival? Make a list of what youll need to prepare.
6. Do I need a Publicist? Can I do this myself? Whats my PR
Budget?
Next monthYour campaign. Getting Noticed.

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(Patricia J. Pawlak is a veteran of festivals around the world

from Berlin to Shanghai, and has attended Cannes for twenty
years, distributing and marketing films.)

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Movie
on
Britains
Most
Dangerous
Criminal
by Tyrone D Murphy

Killed 40 People
Certified Insane 3 times
42 years in prison

t is said that Mad Frankie Fraser is one of the most vicious

professional killers from the last century. From the 1930s
through to the 1990s he is reputed to have killed 40 people, and although he had 26 convictions, spent 42 years
in prison he was never convicted of murder. Three separate
home secretaries claimed that Fraser was the most dangerous
man in Britain.
Francis Davidson Fraser was Born on the 13th of December,
1923, in Lambeth, south London. He is of Irish and American
Native American descent. His criminal career began during
World War II, and with the lack of professional policemen due
to conscription there were many criminal opportunities. Fraser
later joked in a television interview that he had never forgiven
the Germans for surrendering.
After the war, Fraser was involved in a raid on a jewellers store,
for which he received a two-year prison sentence. It was during this sentence that he was first certified insane, and was

released in 1949. During the 1950s, his main occupation was

as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. Feaser took
part in a number of bank robberies and spent more time in
prison. He was again certified insane while at Durham Prison,
and was released in 1955. In 1956, the British crime boss, Jack
Spot, and his wife, Rita, were savagely attacked on Billy Hills
orders. Fraser was later given seven years in prison for the attack.
It was in the early 1960s that he first met Charlie and Eddie
Richardson, members of the notorious Richardson crime family and bitter rivals to the Kray twins crime family. Together
they set up the Atlantic Machines, a one armed bandit enterprise, which acted as a front for the criminal activities of the
gang. In 1966 Fraser was charged with the murder of Richard
(Dickie) Hart, who was shot at the Mr Smiths club in Catford,
London, while other members of the gang were charged
with affray. The witness later changed his testimony and the
charges

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were eventually dropped, though he still received a five year

sentence for affray. Fraser has always maintained that, while
he fought with Hart, he did not shoot him; however in an
interview for a recent documentary on his life, he admitted the
killing. He also threatened the interviewer during the making
of the documentary when he was pressed on the killing of so
many people.
Mad Frank was also implicated in the so-called Torture trial, in
which members of the South London Richardson Crime Family
were charged with burning, electrocuting and whipping those
that a kangaroo court found guilty of disloyalty to the gang.
Mad Frank himself was accused of pulling out the teeth of victims with a pair of pliers. In the trial at the London Old Bailey in
1967 he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment
Fraser has served 42 years in 20 different prisons all over the
UK. He was involved in riots, frequently fought with prison officers and fellow inmates, and attacked various prison governors. He claimed in his book that he hung one prison governor
and the governors dog in a revenge attack; the dog died but
the governor survived. Fraser was released from prison in
1985, where he was met by his son in a Rolls Royce.
The documentary is said to be the most compelling film ever
made on the gangsters life to date. A feature length movie is
now in development on the infamous criminals life.

Mad Frankie Fraser

the Documentary available
now at info@cmefilms.co.uk

www.madfrankiefraser.com

Mad Frank

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DVD

Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012

Two Sides of a Film Festival Coin

by Christina Kotlar

fter a Sundance Film Festival kickoff during a very

mild winter in the US Northeast, spring season for film
festivals continues with two very different varieties within an hours traveling distance: Garden State Film
Festival (GSFF) in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Tribeca Film
Festival (TFF), New York City.

GSFF just finished its four day event from Thursday, March
22nd through Sunday March 25th, celebrating ten years
of a regional New Jersey film festival. It was not an easy
feat, especially during the past four years where economic
development was practically abandoned in Asbury Park.
However, the Jersey shore area comes alive this time of year.
Over a nice-weather weekend a destination film festival such
as GSFF draws crowds of up to 30,000 for its homegrown,
independent range of programming.
It started as a brainchild between two friends, Diane Raver
(executive director) and the late actor Robert Pastorelli
screening films at a then deteriorating Convention Hall
complex containing the Paramount Theatre and Convention
Hall designed by New York architect Whitney Warren in a
decorative Beaux Arts style. As renovations continued over
the years, the festival expanded to a total of seven venues
spread out among local businesses to make GSFF a happening film festival, with a diverse downtown area amid surrounding historic, residential neighborhoods.
With a tribute to Pastorelli, in place on Thursday, the official
Opening Night was a red carpet Gala Cocktail party for just
about everybody in the Grand Arcade of the Convention
Hall. The rest of the weekend was packed with screenings at
seven venues, with panel discussion events on topics ranging from Reel Jersey Girls: A Century of Women Filmmakers
celebrating the centennial of first woman filmmaker, to Alice
Guy Blaches Solax film studio, built in 1912 in Fort Lee, New
Jersey, birthplace of the motion picture industry, to the Real
History of Hip Hop in New Jersey.
Its a balance between nostalgia honoring Ed Asner with a
Lifetime Achievement Award and the new I Want My Name
Back, a story of Hip Hops original, break-through artists, The
Sugarhill Gang, behind the scenes of the cutthroat world of
music, trying to reclaim their identities, and legacy in music
history. Following the screening, Wonder Mike and Master
Gee performed in a concert event, featuring their renamed
band, Rappers Delight. An eclectic mix to be sure, but it
worked, and the many awards given out at an Awards Dinner
on Sunday, March 25th ended in a love fest in Point Pleasant,
New Jersey.
On the other hand and across the bridge (you can take the
Verazzano if coming up from the Jersey shore), theres the
Tribeca Film Festival running for twelve days, April 18th

through to April 29th in New York City. Established in 2002,

the film festival sought to lure business and people back to
the Tribeca neighborhood after the devastating 9/11 attack
and destruction.
Tribeca Film Festival went through their ten-year milestone
last year, but it will feel like another huge event because in
the last couple of years, this festival has grown into a monster. Coupled with mega-sponsors like American Express,
festival promotion is already in progress with kickoff cocktail
parties one already happened in L.A. celebrating the film
lineup and upcoming theatrical releases along with their
new corporate partners Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Conrad
Hotels & Resorts.
Passes and ticket packages are expensive, the parties and
events are exclusive, and getting credentials can be challenging. The credentials I received gave me a Chambers pass,
and that wont get me into any of the film screenings at the
venues. While I have access to the screening library and P&I
screenings, who wants to watch films in a dark basement, or
with press and film critics? I prefer seeing a film with a real
audience and gauge their reactions and opinions with my
own. We will see whether there will be opportunity to get in
on the action on the Rush lines.
The screening venues have expanded and are spread
throughout the city. Best way to get around is mass transit,
but that can be a learning curve if youre coming from out of
town. The festival website (www.tribecafilm.com) is a wealth
of information and getting through it all will take the next
several weeks. So I will be setting aside time to disseminate
the plethora of film, panels, events and technology that are
making this all happen in a very short time.
Christina Kotlar is a writer and blogger at doddleNEWS and
filmfestivalreviews.com

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Fest COP
arrives