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Hull's Glimmer fest follows Radiohead with Pay What You can submission fees

FILMMAKERS TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN ENTRY FEE FOR GLIMMER : 7th HULL INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 21st-26th April 2009

glimmer.jpegGiven the number of entries they normally receive and the costs of watching and reviewing them, for the recent Hull International Short Film Festival in April, submissions fees were introduced (tho kept free for those from the region). While making sure that people were serious before sending in their film, fees could put off the poorest filmmakers and limit the range of films submitted, so for next year - in a move with echoes of Radiohead's recent In Rainbows - filmmakers are invited to pay what they can. While being open about the costs involved in running a successful fest, they hope to encourage a debate about festival fees and a responsible reaction from those submitting - some shorts have festival costs written into the budget, while in some parts of the world, the postage and duplication costs alone can be offputting.

 

During the 6th edition, Glimmer screened more than 200 films from across the world and gave prizes worth £2000 to winning filmmakers. The wide and diverse selection of films included dramas, documentaries, artists film and video and animation. Selected films for the 2009 edition will be eligible for such awards as the Glimmer International Award, Glimmer UK Award and Glimmer Yorkshire Award all of which will, once again, come with cash prizes for the winning filmmakers.

After last year’s decision to charge for entry, Glimmer is testing a unique system of submission fees for its 2009 edition: it will allow those submitting films decide how much that they are willing to pay to enter their films into the festival. Glimmer is looking for innovative and exciting films from across the globe of any genre that run up to a maximum of 45 minutes. The deadline for submissions is Friday 6th February 2009.

Glimmer Director - and Netribution reviews editor - Laurence Boyce said:
“It’s always a difficult decision to charge people to submit their films. On the one hand, film festivals appreciate that filmmakers work hard – often on a very tight budget – and that the extra money needed to pay for entry can be seen as a step too far both financially and artistically. On the other hand, film festivals themselves often work to a very tight budget (especially in an era where arts funding is diminishing) and it becomes increasingly difficult to hire venues, find money for awards and generally do what we love to do – which is to expose audiences to films which they otherwise may never get the chance to see. By offering the chance for filmmakers to pay a price they think is fair – which could be anything from ‘0’ to anything above that – we hope that Glimmer can still provide opportunities for as wide a range of filmmakers as possible and provoke debate about filmmakers, film festivals and how they can work with another.”
 
Full information on submitting films to Glimmer: The 7th Hull International Short Film Festival and the entry form can be found by going to www.hullflm.co.uk.
 
Those who can’t wait for the next Film Festival will be able to whet their appetite with THE BEST OF HULL FILM, a screening of some of the favourite and award winning films shown at the 6th Hull International Short Film Festival. Current dates for the programme screening includes the Moor Music Festival (7th-9th August 2008) and The Lamp, Hull (31st August 2008). Full details will be available shortly.