Conference Fascinations 2016

2nd edition od conference on experimental film distribution

The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (IDFF) organises a conference meeting of experimental documentary film distributors, gallerists and festival representatives. Following up on Conference Fascinations 2015 that brought together representatives of experimental film distribution companies from all over the world, giving them the opportunity to meet, confer and learn more about the Czech experimental scene, focusing primarily on the curatorship and institutional-commercial aspect of presenting and disseminating this type of works, this year’s discussion will revolve around experimental film curatorship in relation to specialised festivals and the presentation of moving images in gallery spaces.

The conference will take place as part of the 20^thedition of the Ji.hlava IDFF (October 25 to 30, 2016) and the main items on the agenda will include experimental film distribution, presentation and preservation as well as various strategies of bringing experimental works to curators and general public.

Gallery presentations of experimental films and video-art make up to one half of the profit for some distributors. However, their previous debates have implied that there are no generally applicable rules to providing, appraising and displaying these works in gallery spaces. While the communication with festivals takes place along similar lines, galleries are inclined to prefer “ad hoc” rules.

Representatives of distribution companies, festivals and galleries will have the opportunity to watch selected works from Czech experimental cinema (Exprmntl.cz competition section) as well as a special historical cross-section of Eastern European cinema. The Ji.hlava IDFF has become the first platform enabling a systematic presentation of Czech experimental films (notably works referring to reality and including documentary features), at the same time systematically focusing on Eastern European cinema; the festival’s ambition is to promote Czech films internationally and to facilitate collaboration with experienced distributors and festivals abroad.

Conference Fascinations curator: Andrea Slováková

CONFERENCE FASCINATIONS PROGRAM 2016

» moderator – Andrea Slováková

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

9.00 – 10.00 am | Registration of participants and technical check of presentations

10.00 – 10.10 am | Welcome speech

10.10 – 11.20 am | 5-minute presentations of distributors, festivals and galleries

» Image Forum (distribution, education and festival) / Koyo Yamashita, Artistic Director / Japan / www.imageforum.co.jp
» LightCone (distribution company) / Emmanuel Lefrant, Director / France / www.lightcone.org
» L U X (distribution company) / Matt Carter, Distribution Manager / UK / www.lux.org.uk
» Sixpack film (distribution company) / Brigitta Burger-Utzer, Managing Director / Austria / www.sixpackfilm.com
» CFMDC (distribution company) / Lauren Howes, Executive Director/ Canada / www.cfmdc.org
» Atopia (research project) / Michel Pavlou, Co-Founder/ Norway / www.atopia.no
» National Gallery of Iceland Reykjavík (gallery) / Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Director / Iceland / www.listasafn.is
» Stiftelsen 3,14 (foundation) /Malin Barth, Director / Norway / www.stiftelsen214.com
» Bergen IFF (festival) / Ingebjørg Aarhus Braseth, Project Manager / Norway / www.biff.no
» Northern Wave IFF (festival) / Dögg Mósesdóttir, Founder, Director / Iceland / www.northernwavefestival.com

11.30 am – 12.30 pm | Discussion panel I

The curatorship aspect: what criteria do distributors apply when selecting films for festivals vs. galleries; how do these criteria relate to their collection-building strategies and how does the submission and assessment of new works and authors take place – what are festivals and galleries looking for?

» David Dinnell, former Program Director (Ann Arbor Film Festival, USA)
» Koyo Yamashita, Director (Image Forum, Japan)
» Emmanuel Lefrant, Director (LightCone, France)
» Michel Pavlou (Atopia, Norway)

2.00 – 3.00 pm | Discussion panel II

Organisational aspect: the best ways of offering films to festivals vs. galleries, in what form are they available to/needed by curators, how do curators search for film works; sharing experience and best practice of searching for and offering experimental films and videos.

» Brigitta Burger-Utzer, Managing Director (Sixpack film)
» Ingebjørg Aarhus Braseth, Project Manager (Bergen IFF, Norway)
» Lauren Howes, Director (CFMDC, Canada)
» Malin Barth, Director (Stiftelsen 3,14, Norway)

3.10 – 4.10 pm | Discussion panel III

Economical and legal aspect: practice in the sphere of cinema (festivals) vs. fine arts (galleries) – presentation possibilities, licences, fees.

» Dögg Mósesdóttir, Founder, Director (Northern Wave IFF, Iceland)
» Matt Carter, Distribution Manager (L U X, UK)
» Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Director, (National Gallery of Iceland Reykjavík, Iceland)
» George Clark, Film curator (Tate Modern, UK)

4.20 – 5.30 pm | one-to-one meetings

Presentation of the works of experimental film authors from V4 countries to individual distributors and gallerists at one-to-one meetings. Each of 10 tutors provides 3 x 15-minute consultations to Czech filmmakers.