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Impressions of my imagine: the 26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival April 28, 2010

Posted by joost in : festivals, film, netherlands , comments closed

It’s April, which for me always means one thing: attending the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival! Yes, that festival of those creepy posters ™ on my wall. imagine: the 26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (as it is officially called) took place from the 14th to the 24th of April. My home festival, which returned home quite literally this year by taking over the Kriterion cinema again – ten years after the last time. Two important things were different for me in the way I experienced the festival this year.

First of all I didn’t think I would be able to attend this year’s edition due to work commitments. Only a few days before the festival started I knew for sure that this suddenly would be possible after all. Before that moment I had deliberately chosen not to look at the films in detail – why rub salt in the wounds by exploring what films I would miss? So I found myself at the festival watching a bunch of films which all were kind of an unexpected treat to begin with. I hardly had any expectations because I read through their descriptions once or twice, ordered the tickets (thanks H.!), somehow managed to dodge the travel chaos due to the volcanic ashes and started watching the films.

Secondly I made a conscious choice not to try to watch every single film of the festival “just because I could”. After seeing a record 52 films at last year’s edition, I pondered whether my overall impression of the festival and the films would be better if I would try to identify and avoid the stinkers in advance. As often said before, one of the reasons why I am not a fan of monthly cinema passes (subscriptions) is that I think it leads one to see more mediocre films. Choosing to watch films more selectively hopefully leads to more awareness and attention and a more positive impression. This lead me to select about two thirds of this year’s festival slate, 33 films out of 50 or so.

The return to the Kriterion cinema turned out to be a successful one. Compared to the last edition one decade ago there were three screens now instead of the two, and the bar area has been enlarged considerably too. All the action (except the Night of Terror) took place in this one location that was all about the festival, with posters adorning all the walls, DVD’s and T-shirts on sale, and Mr. Horror spinning tunes in the evening. The crowds were sparse and low-key in the early afternoon hours, gearing up in the late afternoon, leading to a packed entrance, hallway and staircase in the evening, but never turning into revolting crowds and chaos. My compliments go out to the festival organisation and volunteers who were always on the ball, and who for instance swapped screening rooms and redirected the audience when there was a bigger demand than initially expected.

My favorite films of imagine: the 26th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival

Which of the films stood out and which are the ones that I will remember and talk about long after the festival is over?

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What’s up, doc? April 9, 2010

Posted by joost in : producing, work , comments closed

The downside of working on documentaries is that their timeline usually is not set in stone. The availability of guests can (and will) change, the scope of the project might be altered due to better insights or growing concerns, and last but not least the usual logistical variables such as visa applications, permits, you name it.

This spectrum of factors has led to postponing two of the projects that were supposed to kick off in March and April. Annoying because I was excited about the prospect of getting them up and running, and because it took a while before it became clear that the timelines would be significantly different than initially planned.

I’ve been trying to make good use of the time spent in limbo, by trying to revive and finish I/O recontextualized, by conceiving a new short sci-fi film and by some studying. But to be honest I would have preferred to be on the prowl instead of debating what season it is….