Film Courage: How does someone get into a film festival? Daniel Sol, Hollyshorts Film Festival Co-Founder: Well it's obviously a big
sweeping statement like there's a lot of ways you know one ever gets the specter
we talked about you know previously is is you know obviously any Film Festival
by most of course there are festivals like anything else there's good things
bad things good festivals bad vessels but as a whole you know you're looking
to serve a certain audience and you're looking to showcase good films I mean
that's just the bottom line so that sort of is one answer that's
already being served right I mean we're just saying if the film's not good
you're not gay and so there's the obvious part of that I know what that
means it's subjective good or bad but within that there's things like of
course people talk a lot about runtime alright for us for shorts for 40 minutes
or less the film 40 minutes gonna get in you know people make sweeping statements
oh well no way you get in if it's too long that's not true there are plenty of
films that have gotten in that are very long there's a in the documentary one of
the documentaries is nominated is a forty minutes basically
so that film made our festival got in and got nominated and all these thing
and it's 40 minutes so to say a 40 minute film and make a sweeping
statement they won't get into festivals that's too long it's not exactly true
that said there are nuanced the things it does make it harder if your film is
longer you're competing in a different sandbox kind of like you're going up
against other films with a similar length and if there are so many films
that are that long only so many can make the festival that are submitted so you
can't program a whole entire festival if we program the whole festival with films
that are 30 to 40 minutes Oh we'd slash our films in half so now we're only
accepting 180 to 200 films maybe that means were just dropping a whole slew of
filmmakers and talented filmmakers and films 200 are gone just because we
decided we want to show everything that's longer and most of those films
that are longer at times can be sort of Cotuit us for the length maybe the films
are too long need to be cut down they don't need to be that long and there's
is there's extraneous scenes and things that don't need to be there or there's
stuff that's that drags out or maybe the credits are way too long so movies we
will see that five six-minute credit sequences that's that's for a short
that's insane so you see that okay that shouldn't be the case but some films
need the length they are like they need to be that long so it's not just about
slashing the runs or cutting a film out just because you
feel you know oh yeah well it needs to be shorter cuz festivals tell me to well
what if the film needs to be along what if it really works for what it is we
have plenty of films that are amazing films that are won awards have been
selected that 37 minutes 35 minutes 33 minutes
our winning film two years ago was 32 minutes 32 32 33 wanting that ballpark
it was over 30 minutes won the festival that short grand prize long film and it
wasn't necessarily a fast pace was very steady and slow but very well thought
out it was it was a brilliant film but it was the length it should have been if
they cut 10 minutes out of that maybe it doesn't win at all it probably doesn't
even get in maybe they cut out too much and if the film doesn't work it just for
the sake of runtime so it is always the the tricky argument with the one time
issue it's it's tough but if a film is longer than you are sort of narrowing
your chances to some degree because of the amount of time you have left to be
programmed so there is there is a truth to that but like everything else is a
gray area it's if the film's meant to be longer just that awesome and amazing and
we were blown away by we're not gonna say no to it just because it's long like
that's that we're gonna accept the film and find a way to work around that
that's just what we're gonna do so there's that part so you have to always
look into that and then of course you talk about the different areas if a film
that I think the biggest thing to keep it shorter is acting acting is a huge
deal we were talking about it I was talking with you about this yesterday
too many films have all the right things going and that acting is just awful or
really poor and yes everything again is subjective right but there is a an area
that's not really I mean bad acting is backing you can tell the lines army
deliver well and not hitting there's no chemistry with actors it's just it's
very poor and it you can't it stands out like no other like it's just it kills
movie it just destroys the movie like at that point you're done audience will not
forgive that they will feel like they're watching something that's awkward
they'll feel comfortable and they'll know right away okay this isn't this
isn't up to standard so how are we gonna exhibit that in a professional setting
and I say professional sense of we're in Hollywood so we're showcasing for
Hollywood top executives industry people that industry peers all that stuff other
celebrities whatever so there's all these people in the audience that are
watching the film and and the expecting cloth certain quality a
certain level and tear and then the acting is this poor it's done this is
done so that I think is a huge huge killer for for many many shorts is
whether it's casting friends not using a casting director not having a
professional assist in that process just thinking to get handle at all because of
course times and this realm of world we're in with shorts of the director
takes on too much it's hard if to take on everything is you get the budget you
have to get the money you have to now cast people you have to actually get the
crew together and get people you need know and hire all these things you got
to do that's a lot of work that's already overwhelming not having a
casting person help is tough cuz you start getting friends hey let's get this
buddy in that buddy I like you guys you're great you're cool I like you do
my movie with me ok well that isn't the u.s. service because if they're not good
we won't even vet them what do you think ok they're a buddy in Hollywood yeah
heard they can act you know I you know that you did a play ok so maybe you're
not that's great that's cool hey let's do this film it's come shoot this thing
you shoot it yeah I don't got money to pay ok let's do it alright well fine but
then now what if that person is terrible I'm gonna fire them I mean do you really
with your money's gone you spent a few thousand bucks or in the weekend or one
shoot day and it's $5,000 down the drain then what so you see that a lot is this
friend sort of a friend casting situation and we've had people talking
panels about that he just can't do it it's it's too important what you're
trying to do too important to make a great film to make something that's
really really good or really reflects on your work to just say hey I wanna just
passes on to people casually because I think they're cool and come be my movie
you can't do it like it's just I just it doesn't work here for this isn't that
this isn't a you know situation where there's automatic abuse in feature film
or something worried you know they're gonna be bad there's a whole world of B
cinema and bad movies that meant to be that or movies that are just bad because
it's a market for a star selling overseas and the movie stink but they
sell that's not the world here world of it's critical we have to be really good
and you're trying to showcase yourself to get to a certain level so you can't
play with that it's it's very important so it's a big thing obviously it's
important where you have you know Scimitar ofey and and all the other
factors and you know and editing and all these things are all critical of course
too but of all that's there and acting is bad and
you've done and so all the work that's been done that's great a DP can be
brilliant and everything visually looked great or the good visual effects the
acting stinks you know they're representative of your movie like
they're there it's it's just there it's everything so I think if you do way
what's the most important it's obviously a little unfair to say that's the most
important but I kind of would argue that it kind of is and I grant all things
equal not saying of course if lighting is poor and as DP is terrible in the
movie shot really poorly yeah of course that's same kind of thing it's it's not
gonna make it right but if all equal acting just stands out that bad for the
wrong reasons it's no chance so that's I think that's a I think if it's one thing
when a pinpoint for all that I would say that's a big thing
you