Submissions for Blackout Film Festival!
by Jauretsi
Hark, another festival is coming to town. They even made a little short film called Downturn Upturn to entice people to pick up their camera… even during a recession. The festival was created by Thomas Hand Keefe, a Brooklynite. I asked him a few questions:
(Click link at bottom of this post to see this film)
Jauretsi: What is your background regarding film business (if any)?
Thomas Hand Keefe: After graduating from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, I started as a Production Assistant on The Manchurian Candidate and then as an assistant to Jonathan Demme. My last job in the film industry was as an assistant/associate producer to Ellen Kuras on her documentary The Betrayal (which garnered an academy award nomination). It was a great couple of years, and I was fortunate to work with some of the best filmmakers in New York.
As for experience with film festivals, the closest I have gotten was in college when I unofficially interned for atomfilms. I had moved to LA for the summer for the internship, but when I got there, atom had closed their LA office. They were a victim of dot com bubble, and apparently things came crashing down so fast that no one remembered to tell me. At that point, it was too late to scramble and get a new internship, so I printed some business cards, bestowed the title “Director of Acquisitions” on myself, and went to work scouting films for the (defunct) company. I don’t think the management at atomfilms had a clue that they had a rogue intern working in LA, but I did find some great films. I also had the opportunity to speak to filmmakers while learning about the industry. I learned some good lessons about finding films that I am now using while promoting the Blackout Film Festival.
Why take on the loving but grueling task of organizing a film festival?
I took on the task of organizing this film festival because it is rewarding to me on two levels. On one hand, I made our promotional film, “Downturn Upturn”, and on the other hand, I get to work through the challenge of building a startup organization. I have always been motivated by creating artwork — whether it be film or photography — and by taking on entreprenurial challenges, such as my current day job. I have had to rely on both my experience from the film world, as well as experience I have gained while working at a startup airport spa company, XpresSpa, where I am now Vice President. My goal is to simultaneously focus on obtaining great content while building a strong brand and foundation for a festival that will be very successful and will last year after year. For me, it is very much a creative AND entrepreneurial challenge, and I absolutely love it.
I hear your festival has a theme this year — that is “the economy”.. Can you elaborate on what you mean by this, so filmmakers know what you’re looking for?
The title for this year’s festival is “The Great Recession”, and we are asking filmmakers to respond with films that, generally speaking, reflect on their personal experiences in relation to the current economic recession. So, to be more specific, a film that deals with the recession in the plot would of course be eligible, but we would also consider a film made by someone who, for example, lost a job as a result of the recession and then picked up a camera and made a film – even if that film doesn’t explicitly reference the recession. Our goal is to collect an eclectic program of films that as a whole paint a picture of this moment in history.
Are you looking for short films or full features? Docs? Narratives?
We are specifically looking for shorts. The official tag line is 10 seconds to 10 minutes, but we will definitely consider longer films if they are strong. As for genre, we want to see everything. Docs, narrative, comedies, experimental, animation…pretty much any style of filmmaking interests us.
Will there be an online element to this festival — meaning if you cannot come to the screening, can you see them online somehow?
Yes, we will incorporate official selections onto our website, and we have a few other ideas brewing to collect content on the website, but I don’t want to talk about them just yet. At the end of the day, we want our program to be seen by as many people as possible. One of my goals is to make this festival travel to other cities to increase our audience base.
(Launch Party is Tonight at Sway Lounge, New York City. Email: RSVP@blackoutfilmfestivalnyc.com)
Submission date films are due for consideration?
August 15th, 2009
Selection dates to be announced?
The latest we will announce will be September 1st, 2009.
To see the charming submission film, go to BlackOut Film Festival Short.
J
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