Tales of a film-addict's heaven
The Athens International Film Festival kicks off with pre-screening committee
By Maria Fisher, Staff Writer
April 26, 2007 | 11 a.m.
The Athens Film Festival this year is showcasing 163 exciting films from artists literally around the world. But who decides on those 163 films - only one fifth of all films submitted for entry?
Each year for two months, for four hours a night and four days a week, a "Pre-screening Committee" comprised of a diverse group of film enthusiasts sits down with an open mind, open ears and what must be quite an impressive affinity for popcorn to watch all of the films - this year almost 800 - submitted for entry into the festival.
The committee, made up mostly of film students, film artists and members of the Athens community, watches the films on a small TV in the Athens Center for Film and Video, located in the Central Classroom Building on campus. After viewing all submissions, the committee then votes on those films the members feel should be entered into the festival. A unanimous vote is the ultimate goal, but some films with a simple majority vote still make it into the festival.
Committee members vote based on their own personal preferences.
"I like seeing things that are new and different...things that sort of push the boundaries of what film can do," said three-year committee member Chris Iacofano. "Especially experimental films."
Fellow committee member Jessica Hey agreed. "I look for new and different," she said. Hey has been a member of the committee for two years.
The committee is purposely diverse, including members of many different races and social backgrounds.
"We try to make it as broad a group as possible," said Iacofano. "We usually end up with right around eight members; it seems to be the best number to get a wide-enough opinion. With fewer people it can become easy for everyone to just fall into step and agree on everything...it's more interesting when we can discuss it and argue. And more people would be too many."
Hey explained that although the group is mostly comprised of film students and/or filmmakers, the overall personality and preferences of the members are appropriately various. "There are a lot of different sensibilities in terms of what kind of films (the members) are interested in and what their preferences are."
Iacofano said community members – such as business owners around town, for example – have also been members of the committee in the past. For the most part, though, people become involved in the committee after having worked in the office of the Athens Center for Film and Video.
The committee officially opens its mailbox for film submissions in November to begin preparing for the festival in the spring. Often, however, it will receive submissions year-round from film veterans familiar with the festival, Iacofano said.
This number of film-fest veterans is reaching impressive numbers, as the Athens Film Festival has now been in existence for over 20 years and has therefore had substantial time to "get its name out there."
"That's an advantage that we have," said Iacofano, alluding to the many years that the festival has been around. "Filmmakers from around the world hear about us," he said. The festival does include some films created by locals, both inside and outside of the university, but a larger number of the pieces come from other places. He estimated that this year, the festival includes films from every continent.
It's also much easier to get funding with a festival that has such a rich and enduring history, as opposed to one just starting out, Iacofano said. The Athens Film Festival receives its funding from various sources, such as grants and fundraisers put on by students involved with the festival. The largest of these fundraisers is the annual "Oscar Night" celebrated by the community.
A lot of this funding goes to bringing in filmmakers whose films are included in the festival to talk to audiences about their work.
"We found at least some money to help out everyone who wanted to come this year with their travels," Iacofano said. A group of Russian filmmakers will be here this year, for example, to talk about their film, he said.
While the committee does decide which submitted films will be shown in the festival, there are also several "features" that all students working at the festival can request to include.
"These are films you might see in New York or L.A., but in this area there's just no places that show them," Iacofano said. The committee seeks out these films and then contacts their makers and distributors to ask if the films can be shown in the festival, he said.
The series of competition films shown in the festival are another task for the committee, which makes all first-round judgments. But a committee of professional filmmakers, museum curators, writers and artists from around the country (some local) are then hired to make the final judgments based on how many prizes exist, Iacofano explained.
Viewing most of these competition shows is free for the public, Hey said. "They're all really interesting this year," she said.
Iacofano and Hey also made several other recommendations.
"Everyone needs to see 'Passion of the Flesh,'" Hey said, referring to a competition film about "love, sex and obsession" according to the festival program. "It's very racy and fun," she said.
Hey also recommended "Filthy Food," another competition piece. "It's absolutely hysterical and dirty and fabulous," she said.
Iacofano highly recommended a documentary titled "How Ohio Pulled it Off," a film about Ohio elections from 2004 to 2006. Some of the film's makers were Ohio University students, he said, and this was a major project for them. "It's a really great film," he said.
"There's a lot of special-interest shows," said Hey. "A lot of the shows really focus on minorities, like Latin Americans, black Americans and lesbian/gay Americans," she said. A mass e-mail has even been sent to Ohio University students to bring to their attention the huge variety of topics covered by films in the festival.
Fliers and full programs are now widely distributed around town, as we sit on the eve of the festival. The pre-screening committee can now kick off its shoes and share with the Athens community what its eyes and ears have been enjoying for months.