FilmFlam

go and enjoy Leanne Smith's combative blog on Scottish film matters.

Theo Van Gogh

I was shocked by his killing a few years ago. It was more shocking as through friend - not just 6 degrees of separation but just two. This friend's ex husband collaborated with him on scripts. I know that his murder had a huge impact on Holland.

There is an interesting feature at the Guardian talking about how his films are now being remade by Hollywood - noteably Interview with Steve Buscemi and Sienna Miller. And how this seems so totally unfair as Van Gogh was desperate to break into Hollywood.

However the interesting part of the article is the description of his low budget filmmaking technique.

'It was out of pure necessity - in other words, lack of money - that Van Gogh developed the method of running three handheld cameras simultaneously. Official bodies were reluctant to fund his often-controversial projects, and the Van Gogh family fortune - their collection of paintings by his great-great-uncle, Vincent - had been given to the state, much to Theo's fury. With his three-camera set-up, in which one focused on each actor and another provided a master shot, Van Gogh could shoot single takes that lasted as long as 20 minutes. These became a vital vehicle for the fast-paced verbal battles that are central to almost all of his films.
"The technique was more a political statement against those who didn't want to fund him," says Emile Fallaux. "But then it became his doctrine."

Now, of course, it goes down well in money-conscious film-making circles. Buscemi's version of Interview was made for a mere $2m (£970,000).
Sienna Miller, for one, was won over by the relatively seamless, filming-in-sequence method, which made the whole project feel more like a stage production, not least because the actors had to know all their lines from the start. "We're shooting 20 pages of dialogue a day," she said during filming. "And we know the whole thing like a play - we're just running it and running it."'

More here

Short Cuts

short film scheme open to drama, doc, animation, mixed media? Scottish based filmmakers only (no students)

more info here - deadline 7th Nov

Pocket Shorts Scotland

Now entering its third year, Pocket Shorts Scotland - the mobile content funding and development scheme supported by Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Screen and NESTA - is delighted to invite applications for funding and support for the next round of projects.Open to individuals, start-up companies and new talent embedded within SME's, Pocket Shorts Scotland offers up to £3000 funding and tailored advice for those wishing to develop animation, video, games or applications for mobile phones. As a mark of the project's success, Pocket Shorts Scotland will be increasing the number of projects commissioned to ten in 2007/8, up from eight in previous years.

Applications for funding and support can be online at http://www.pocketshorts.com/ from 12noon on Wednesday 10October with an entry deadline of Friday 30 November 2007.In order to help guide applicants, Pocket Shorts Scotland will be hosting a series of free workshops, featuring case studies of previous supported projects and demonstrations of how to export video content from a computer desktop to a phone.
Workshop dates/venues as follows:
Thursday 25 October: DCA, DUNDEE (6.30pm)
Friday 26 October: CCA, GLASGOW (6.30pm)
Saturday 27 October: SCREENING ROOM at SCOTSMAN HOTEL, EDINBURGH (11.30am)

If you have any enquiries, please contact Jason Hall,
Project Coordinator:T: 07782 658 707E: scotland@pocketshorts.com

Supporting our independent cinemas

great blog article over at the Guardian on indpendent cinema favourites. Mine is definately the Cameo in Edinburgh. I always get the feeling that everybody in it loves film.

Bridging the Gap - short digital doc scheme

is the only documentary talent initiative for cinema in the UK offering training linked to production. The 2007 call for proposals is under the theme of HOME and is OPEN TO ALL UK-BASED FILMMAKERS.
Whether personal, political, religious, historical or contemporary – we want inspiring, challenging stories reflecting UK diversity, told in an imaginative way for the big screen. Send us your idea and become part of the freshest new documentary talent showcase.

12 proposals will be selected for a development period and the filmmakers will attend a series of training workshops and documentary masterclasses based in Edinburgh.7 ten-minute digital documentaries on the theme of HOME will be commissioned at a pitching session with a budget of £16,000 (includes in-kind production support) intended for distribution in cinemas and international festivals.Application deadline is extended to Monday 15 October 2007.Guidelines and application forms available from http://www.scottishdocinstitute.com.

Edinburgh International Film Festival

submissions are open for 2008. Due to the change of dates from August to June the submissions process starts and closes much earlier.