A 47 min film I made, too long for most festivals

[Richardson Leao]

Dear all,

 

I have just finished editing a film (16mm, BW color - most of the film we develop ourselves with formulas we made to obtain unique grain/colors/contrast) we've been working on and now i am having some decision problems. The film is kind of sci fi (stalker/solaris style) and it ended up w 47' (instead of my original 25min aim). I have been showing it to friends and other filmakers and the conclusion is that it's cut to the bone... unless i make it as a trailer sort of story and forget most of the underlying stories I originally aimed for (e.g. a critique of conservative governments, the lack of investment in science/education etc). I know this question would be better answered by myself but I thought I would ask before to someone that would have had similar experiences.

 

Should I cut the film trying to get accepted by short film festivals or should i keep it as is and try to find festivals that are not so an... about length?

 

Also, how hard it is to find festivals that accept longer films?

 

Would anyone have a similar problem?

 

thanks all.

 

richardson

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

I have been showing it to friends and other filmakers and the conclusion is that it's cut to the bone...

 

47 minutes is definitely an awkward running time, especially if you're wanting it to play in festivals. Is there room to develop the story even further to make it feature length? If so, maybe you could show it to some potential investors and start back up in the production phase to supplement what you already have?

 

Fact of the matter is, it either needs to be chopped down or expanded (without slowing down the pace).

Edited January 6, 2007 by Jonathan Bowerbank

[David Mullen ASC]

I agree -- make it a feature or make it shorter.

 

While there have been some short films of that length -- especially for some 1 hour time slots on some foreign television channels (look at Peter Jackson's "Forgotten Silver" for example) -- you have to figure that a festival program director can schedule two 20 minute shorts in the same time slot as a 40 minute short, so you have to be twice as good as a 20 minute film to justify that. Plus some festivals won't even watch all of a 47 minute short.

[Jaan Shenberger]

if it has artistic merit, then you may at least be able to get it into the ann arbor filmfest, even at an awkward running time. they are huge 16mm proponents and they are partial to things like custom processing.

 

if you opt for expanding to reach a feature running time, you can do a long, moody opening title sequence to tack on up to 10 minutes (if the size of cast/crew permits, of course). also, if it's scifi, you might wanna try shooting some longish, atmospheric miniature effects establishing shots to use throughout the film. in addition to the added running time, the added spectacle of the miniatures may add commercial appeal and help in getting distribution, if that concerns you. finding someone good to help/do the miniatures will be easier with the rest of the film already completed. hope this helps.

[Richardson Leao]

if it has artistic merit, then you may at least be able to get it into the ann arbor filmfest, even at an awkward running time. they are huge 16mm proponents and they are partial to things like custom processing.

 

if you opt for expanding to reach a feature running time, you can do a long, moody opening title sequence to tack on up to 10 minutes (if the size of cast/crew permits, of course). also, if it's scifi, you might wanna try shooting some longish, atmospheric miniature effects establishing shots to use throughout the film. in addition to the added running time, the added spectacle of the miniatures may add commercial appeal and help in getting distribution, if that concerns you. finding someone good to help/do the miniatures will be easier with the rest of the film already completed. hope this helps.

 

Thanks everybody!!! very helpful.