Back to Basics challenge
Well, they finally came out with 5 potential winners on the IFC Back to Basics Challenge...mine wasn't one of the 5. I thought that I really had a chance with it, but I guess I didn't. I did get a nice e-mail that I've gotten too many times before, that said it was a hard decision, as there were so many great works available to them, but they decided that mine wasn't in the top 5. They "asked" me to keep an eye out, and try again.
I don't think that I've entered a festival or written to an Agent, or entered a contest without that message being sent to me! I guess I'd be insulted if they wrote, "We thought that your film sucked, and just because you think that what we picked couldn't hold a candle to your work, just shows how crappy your stuff is! Love and Kisses, the judges!" But it's sort of like a band-aid. Rip it off quickly, cause either way it's going to hurt. Make it quick and you'll get over it faster.
Another contest I entered, the WGBH contest, you presented a pitch for a 3 minute documentary about the election. My pitch was about the Mortgage Crisis, and how everybody was concerned with those who couldn't afford their houses. I said that they were all looking at the problem through a microscope, and failing to see that the problem wasn't those who were losing their homes, as they GENERALLY couldn't afford the house when the bought it, and it wasn't about the banks that were fools to give them the loans in the first place, it was about the middle class, who were losing their savings because of the drop in the housing values. The middle class was quickly getting to the place where they could never move again, as their house would force them into bankruptcy, so transfers or promotions or even new jobs were becoming an impossibility.
Well, instead of picking my pitch, they picked ten others, to include two that were similar, one about an old guy who changed his name legally to Uncle Sam, and another old guy who claims that your vote is worthless, and it isn't even worth your time to vote. I guess that it isn't surprising...listening to an old guy rant is always better than listening to someone trying to look out for the middle class (which is most of the electorate I might add). I even had a producer of one of the other pitches post a comment on mine, saying that I should win, as I was one of the few entries that followed the directions, and I had a truly interesting and important subject.
I guess the point is that film making isn't always fair. Heck, most of the time life isn't fair. You can only stick to your guns, and keep trying your best, and hope for that break. I just hope that my break doesn't come when I'm 90 years old (probably dead for 5 years at that time!) and too old to enjoy it!
Chris
I don't think that I've entered a festival or written to an Agent, or entered a contest without that message being sent to me! I guess I'd be insulted if they wrote, "We thought that your film sucked, and just because you think that what we picked couldn't hold a candle to your work, just shows how crappy your stuff is! Love and Kisses, the judges!" But it's sort of like a band-aid. Rip it off quickly, cause either way it's going to hurt. Make it quick and you'll get over it faster.
Another contest I entered, the WGBH contest, you presented a pitch for a 3 minute documentary about the election. My pitch was about the Mortgage Crisis, and how everybody was concerned with those who couldn't afford their houses. I said that they were all looking at the problem through a microscope, and failing to see that the problem wasn't those who were losing their homes, as they GENERALLY couldn't afford the house when the bought it, and it wasn't about the banks that were fools to give them the loans in the first place, it was about the middle class, who were losing their savings because of the drop in the housing values. The middle class was quickly getting to the place where they could never move again, as their house would force them into bankruptcy, so transfers or promotions or even new jobs were becoming an impossibility.
Well, instead of picking my pitch, they picked ten others, to include two that were similar, one about an old guy who changed his name legally to Uncle Sam, and another old guy who claims that your vote is worthless, and it isn't even worth your time to vote. I guess that it isn't surprising...listening to an old guy rant is always better than listening to someone trying to look out for the middle class (which is most of the electorate I might add). I even had a producer of one of the other pitches post a comment on mine, saying that I should win, as I was one of the few entries that followed the directions, and I had a truly interesting and important subject.
I guess the point is that film making isn't always fair. Heck, most of the time life isn't fair. You can only stick to your guns, and keep trying your best, and hope for that break. I just hope that my break doesn't come when I'm 90 years old (probably dead for 5 years at that time!) and too old to enjoy it!
Chris
Total Comments 2
Comments
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...your film was about the mortgages and how people can't afford these homes? You must have had ESP, didn't you post this before everything went ka-blooey? Aren't you the smart one! --spinnerPosted 10-13-2008 at 12:47 PM by spinner 
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Thanks Spinner. The mortgage "crisis" sort of rolled in slowly, then fell off a cliff. Sadly, I think that it'll be 3 to 5 years before it gets fixed.
ChrisPosted 10-15-2008 at 08:39 AM by cibao
