v., pitched, pitch·ing, pitch·es.
to approach or court in hope of a sale, approval, or interest
n.
a high-pressure sales talk

If you are an independent filmmaker you are no doubt aware of the painfully agonizing process associated with pitching a project. It of course all begins by developing the concept for your film, then writing a treatment and then a script. After that it is a matter of pooling the necessary funds – likely through selling most of your personal belongings, subletting your apartment – again – and sleeping on friends' couches for a few months, existing on little more than peanuts and canned goods – in order to secure all of the necessary equipment to begin shooting. Next comes editing, and no-doubt re-editing, and probably a little more editing. And after all of the above, or perhaps somewhere in the middle, you must somehow sum up in only a handful of minutes exactly what it is you are attempting to do, how you will go about accomplishing it and why anyone else should give a damn. Easy enough when talking casually amongst family and friends, but absolutely horrifying when standing in front of a panel of producers, buyers, distributors and programmers, each with a definite amount of money to dole out and an indefinite number of other individuals pitching ideas to them, feet tapping and watches ticking all the while. If only they knew how hard you have been working, how passionate you are…

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Over the weekend of 14th – 16th March 2008, The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU) showcased over 100 truly exceptional independent films, so I was hardly surprised when I discovered that tempers were running hot in the judging room on the final Sunday evening.

“Have you made a decision?”

“Not yet,” was the unanimous reply as the door of the judging room was slammed in my face.

So as the jury continued to deliberate, Canadian singer-songwriter Melissa Laveaux entertained the audience that had crammed into the Grand Auditorium of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France to await the final awards ceremony.

Suddenly, the judging room door burst open, and Festival President Scott Hillier bolted for the stage.

The jury had finally decided.

Twenty-three awards were announced at the ceremony. They included Greg Loftin’s Saxon from the UK for “Best European Dramatic Feature” and Marc Alépée’s Dans La Corde from France for “Best European Dramatic Short”. Martin Gauvreau’s film Agnieska 2039 won “Best Experimental” and “Best Editing”. The “Audience Award” went to Niels Dubost and Sevy Weber’s French film Bonjour Je M’Appelle Maxime Renard and the prestigious title of “Europe’s Best Independent Film 2008” went to Italian director Davide Sibaldi’s L’Estate d’Inverno (The Summer in Winter).

But where are these ÉCU 2008 award-winners now?

In the next five months leading up to ÉCU 2009, I’ll track down our shooting stars to find out what they’re up to today…

With our first submission deadline fast approaching, 15th of December, things are hotting up here at The European Independent Film Festival. Our selection committee is pouring over our submissions as we start putting together a knock-out ‘official selection’ to present to our large international audiences on the weekend of the 13th – 15th of March 2009.

As in previous years I’m being blown away by the quality of the standard of the films that I’ve seen so far, and I must admit that I’m not looking forward to the brain-crushingly difficult task of having to choose from such a high number of great films to complete the official screening slate.

So all in all it’s busy here as we prepare for what should be a mind blowing festival here in Paris in March and don’t forget there is not much time left if you want to submit your films! You can do that via our website www.ecufilmfestival.com

In keeping with my usual finishing please find below a very cool poem. This is from Roberto Bolano, because when I read him, I believe that anything is possible.

But every single damn thing matters! Only we don't realize. We just tell ourselves that art runs on one track and life, our lives, on another, and we don't realize that's a lie.
ROBERTO BOLANO

Have a good Christmas everyone! Scott Hillier

That brings me to another point, seeing great independent films when you want – and wherever you are. As I mentioned in my last Festival Update, it has always been terribly frustrating for me and my staff not being able to tell people where they can catch another look at a film that has played at the festival – up until now it’s always been ‘I can put you in touch with the filmmaker, and see how you go from there’. But now with The European Independent Film Channel being super close to going ‘live’ that is all going to change! Keep an eye here for more information or if you are interested in submitting your film to the channel drop us a line to filmchannel@euroindie.com

In keeping with our mantra of discovering, screening and promoting the very best indie films from around the World, we have been busy cementing partnerships with other festivals as well as working on additional screenings all over the place. We have had successful screenings at some of our partner festivals (where they play a selection of our award-winning films under the banner of ‘Europe’s Best Independent Films’) which I find is excellent exposure for those filmmakers PLUS we’ve also had positive feedback about our proposed USA for summer ’09. Fingers crossed!

In November I went up to the Stockholm International Film Festival. What a great place, the nicest people and of course I got to see some fabulous films! While their focus isn’t exclusively on independent films I’m going to keep bugging them for a partnership arrangement so that I can try and entice some of the great Swedish films that I saw there to submit to us. I have to thank Bea Tammer very much for our industry pass!

I won’t go on a lot about this because we have a section set up on the website which will explain it better than me, but I’m tremendously excited by this new initiative. How many times have you been thrown into an unexpected ‘pitch session’ and not had the right words at hand? One of my more memorable occasions was at a urinal in a dark and dodgy bar in LA one night when I found myself next to a big wig from Miramax - no it didn’t work out and my film remains unmade by them! – so I figure that every indie filmmaker attending the festival could do with some brushing up on his pitching skills. Who wouldn’t want to have a perfect pitch? We’ve set aside time for a series of workshops on Friday the 13th (auspicious right?) of March that will hone your pitch and after those sessions 20 filmmakers will get the chance to pitch to a panel of producers / directors / talent scout and the like on Sunday afternoon before the awards ceremony. Sound cool? Sign up today and have a go – nothing like standing up in front of people with a clock ticking in front of you and a million ideas racing like madmen in your head right? Contact sarah@ecufilmfestival.com for more info on how to join us in this new little adventure.

Our pilot episode is completed and is beginning to make waves! The half-hour show is dedicated to what is happening in the world of European indie cinema is a mixture between Entertainment Tonight and Talking Movies. We spotlight three films, interview the directors and intercut them with film footage. We also have a ‘reportage’ segment where we highlight something cool and funky that is happening around Europe. In the pilot we have a segment called ‘China invades Paris’ where our host Katharina explores the film scene in China - a la Francaise! We also have a ‘Country Spotlight’ and talk about how everybody is claiming Greek cinema is dead. I take the opposite approach because I’m seeing some indie films coming out of there which are truly amazing! Lastly we show a music clip from an independent artist in the hope that this exposure will bring a director looking for a sound track to the musicians door! So keep your eye out for EuroIndie TV!

Best European Dramatic Short 2008

French director Marc Alépée made quite a splash at The European Independent Film Festival 2008. His mysterious and visually compelling film Dans La Corde won "Best European Short" at ECU 2008. Alépée is currently trying to secure the resources necessary to begin filming his next project, Derrière Le Mur, and we cant wait to see it on the screen.

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In the last fives years, the development in mobile phone technology has been astounding. Since the addition of video and camera features, the mobile phone has become a creative tool for filmmakers and visual artists alike. According to the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union, an estimated 61% of the world’s population will own a mobile phone by the end of this year. Filmmaking has never been so accessible. The potential is huge.

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