change the film night

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neil
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change the film night

Post by neil » Tue May 26, 2009 7:18 pm

I know this will be unpopular, but I'd like to suggest we dispense with the film night in its current form.

We pay money to the PPL every year for the right to show commercially released films. It's a couple of hundred quid. This is money we could save.

The idea of going local/independent with our music was very unpopular at first. Many people thought it was a daft idea. Now, it is hard to imagine what it was like before the change and I don't think anyone would say they want to go back to the old way.

By eschewing the commercial stuff we saved ourselves money, provided a fantastic boost to local & independent musicians, improved the vibe of the cafe, and pissed off the recording industry folks - it was a stroke of brilliance!

We should do the same with films. Whoever takes on the film role should have a passion for searching out non-commercial / Creative Commons type stuff. I'm sure there is plenty out there. There turned out to be no shortage of suitable music for us, even though some said we wouldn't find enough to sustain the changed policy.

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thehemulen
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Re: change the film night

Post by thehemulen » Tue May 26, 2009 7:24 pm

here hear. creative commons all the way! who wants to watch gremlins 3?
"If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all." --John Cage.

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dan
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Re: change the film night

Post by dan » Wed May 27, 2009 10:47 am

i think this = good idea
we could still show commercial stuff provided directors/distributors let us. i'm sure we could get in on that like we did with the music...
D x
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when I get my chance I'm going to punch him in the nose, in the nose, in the nose

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Jane
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Re: change the film night

Post by Jane » Wed May 27, 2009 11:10 am

t'would be cool, that's what my friend garry does about his film night in london and as such has had myspace and email chats with all kinds of ridiculously cool people like Joe Dallesandro (as in warhol hustler "little Jo, never once gave it away. Everybody had to pay and pay").
"We all tend to idealise kindness and tolerance, then wonder why we find ourselves infested with losers and nutcases." Sebastian Horsley

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martinmckenna
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Re: change the film night

Post by martinmckenna » Wed May 27, 2009 12:30 pm

yeah its might be cool , the jukebox is a major forest asset .

martin
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nix
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Re: change the film night

Post by nix » Wed May 27, 2009 5:04 pm

we must do this.

there are so many films that we could show. more than 52 a year!

who is going to take on the role as Films Co-ordinator?

Deborah S
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Re: change the film night

Post by Deborah S » Wed May 27, 2009 6:52 pm

I just took over the film night from Ida and I hope to have some say in this too..
My first screening "hope in a slingshot" (docu) with filmmaker present was a BIG success..
How much is a film license exactly?
I mean I have so many great ideas, and am in conversation with a couple of (international) film makers who want to show their films here, and be present during and after the screening. (We might be looking at a European premiere for an american docu about Religion and Homosexuality, and I'm trying to get Kaki King to play........ I'm on it...)
don't take this evening away please...
I am about to move 5000 films to Edinburgh from my place in The Netherlands...
Don't tell me this is in vain.......

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neil
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Re: change the film night

Post by neil » Wed May 27, 2009 7:33 pm

5000 films? Did you mean to say 5000 films?

Don't worry Deborah. It sounds like you have enthusiasm for this role & lots of good ideas. We usually take about 3-5 years to make a decision anyway, so that gives you plenty of time to do what you were planning.

There seems to be a surprising amount of enthusiasm in the community for going non-commercial, though, so you might want to think about that as an option for the future.

We have seen lots of mainstream films in the forest, and it seems like a good time to move away from that kind of stuff. It sounds like you were thinking the same thing so that's good!

The amount we pay is only around £200 a year so don't worry too much about that. But if we show only non-commercial stuff, we don't have to pay! A good goal to aim for, don't you think?

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dan
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Re: change the film night

Post by dan » Wed May 27, 2009 8:10 pm

and also if director is present then they can waive the PPL licence and we can still show it without paying the evils...
D x
Our big brother's got no heart,
when I get my chance I'm going to punch him in the nose, in the nose, in the nose

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Re: change the film night

Post by annab » Thu May 28, 2009 3:24 am

i still think that the license is worth it.

there are loads of unusual and interesting films that are still covered by the license, somewhere like the forest is the perfect venue for showing them.
The film nights can be really popular, people really value being able to show movies that they have found intersting in a public setting.
If we do not have the license i think that it would inevitably lead to the film nights becoming rare events. it can be very difficult to gain all the correct permissions from the copywright holders to hold a public screening, even if it is fairly straightforward i think it will add a whole layer a bureaucracy to the event and also take away any possibility of being able to change the movie at short notice. i feel that this would put most people off showing a film at all.

I know that deborah who has taken over the movie night has loads of amazing ideas to put on special movie events etc that would just not be possible if the license was not there.

simone
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Re: change the film night

Post by simone » Thu May 28, 2009 10:08 am

the film night will still be there though, just supporting smaller artists, which is what our remit is right?

i think it is a great idea, especially saving the £200 as money is in really short supply

what says you deb?
I saw two shooting stars last night, i wished on them, but they were only satellites.
is it wrong to wish on space hardware?
(Billy Bragg)

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Martin
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Re: change the film night

Post by Martin » Thu May 28, 2009 8:55 pm

When does our current license run out?

Deborah S
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Re: change the film night

Post by Deborah S » Thu May 28, 2009 9:37 pm

neil wrote:5000 films? Did you mean to say 5000 films?

Don't worry Deborah. It sounds like you have enthusiasm for this role & lots of good ideas. We usually take about 3-5 years to make a decision anyway, so that gives you plenty of time to do what you were planning.

There seems to be a surprising amount of enthusiasm in the community for going non-commercial, though, so you might want to think about that as an option for the future.

We have seen lots of mainstream films in the forest, and it seems like a good time to move away from that kind of stuff. It sounds like you were thinking the same thing so that's good!

The amount we pay is only around £200 a year so don't worry too much about that. But if we show only non-commercial stuff, we don't have to pay! A good goal to aim for, don't you think?
Yeah I totally get your point! I am into independent and non-mainstream films and I'm not going show a mainstream film every week, I totally dig it.
I just want to have the possibility to show a "licensed" film every now and then...
Plus I would like film night to be more interactive, if we were to screen something that's been done a million times before, like the rocky horror for example, I would want a dramatic re enactment of certain scenes on the stage in front of it to be part of the screening, by lets say the drama group, or well you know any one who signs up for it ;) If we watch a documentary, I'll try to get the film makers present and invite the communities that are involved in this docu. If we want a horror night we could sell horror themed cookies (I think I stole that idea from either gareth or anna or era) something different than just watching a film I suppose. Give away themed candy goody bags to the first 30 people, nothing expensive and I'll pay it myself don't worry about it.. Just to give you an example... it could be loads of fun and it would become more like an event. If it's a good night then people will talk about it later on and draw more people to the forest. Which would mean... more money to the forest (and that ppl license) ;)

I wanted to take this opportunity to show films that aren't very well known but wonderful.
But yeah man.... 5000 films...
no joke...

X
Deborah

Deborah S
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Re: change the film night

Post by Deborah S » Thu May 28, 2009 9:50 pm

simone wrote:the film night will still be there though, just supporting smaller artists, which is what our remit is right?

i think it is a great idea, especially saving the £200 as money is in really short supply

what says you deb?
I say I totally get your point and I'm up for showing smaller artists, I do want to show other films as well though..I would b
we could do lets say 50/50
2 film nights a month?

what do you think?

I would be happy to set up a fundraiser for the film night, if we can't afford it..
Or I could make a donation thing.. so people could donate..
We could have a film marathon...

I mean I would love to show films that loads of people haven't seen and are so worth it...

Christiane F.
Cha Cha
Mysterious Skin
Tarnation
Shortbus
Vier Minuten
Breaking the waves
Fish out of water (2009 docu)

Just to name a couple of "licensed" films that are really worth it..

x
Deborah

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neil
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Re: change the film night

Post by neil » Thu May 28, 2009 10:23 pm

Will Shortbus be a "themed" night? That could be fun!

This all sounds very good. I was talking to Lynne about the license and it seems the amount we pay for films may be as little as £90 a year. It's not a problem. But I'd say our long term goal should be to do what we do with the music, and completely eliminate this expense.

Deborah S
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Re: change the film night

Post by Deborah S » Thu May 28, 2009 11:06 pm

neil wrote:Will Shortbus be a "themed" night? That could be fun!

This all sounds very good. I was talking to Lynne about the license and it seems the amount we pay for films may be as little as £90 a year. It's not a problem. But I'd say our long term goal should be to do what we do with the music, and completely eliminate this expense.

hehehe yeah that would be fun...
but lets not go there with Christiane F....

simone
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Re: change the film night

Post by simone » Fri May 29, 2009 7:38 am

sounds great deb....hope you enjoy doing the night
I saw two shooting stars last night, i wished on them, but they were only satellites.
is it wrong to wish on space hardware?
(Billy Bragg)

Ida
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Re: change the film night

Post by Ida » Sat May 30, 2009 2:22 am

woooow!
so much enthousiasm for the film nights! thats great. oh im so happy I handed you this over deborah...it really seems you are the right person. to this topic, the non-licensed non-commercial film nights seem like a good idea to me...but its gonna be harder to find enough directors and films to show, maybe you could start doing one commercial- one non commercial etc. film and then try to move as much towards non commercial as you can...and then we can see if its realistic not to spend the money for the license or not. but with your enthousiasm, its gonna be worth it anyway...good luck&have fun!

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thehemulen
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Re: change the film night

Post by thehemulen » Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:33 pm

hello, seems like some big-name directors are thinking the same as we are:

http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/14940

blockbusters anyone?
"If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all." --John Cage.

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