Acorns

This festival was a really pleasant surprise. It’s not big, it’s not glamourous, it’s a neophyte in film festival terms, but it was one of my more memorable festival experiences ever for this reason:
- The festival screens it’s film in the oldest, surviving, still-operational movie theatre in the US. The theatre started operating in 1912 and is still going strong, in essentially the same building. It’s pretty amazing to watch your film in a theatre bedecked in the original Valentino and Chaplin posters used by the theatre to present the movies back in the day. It was really magical.

Other plus points:
- beautiful Rocky Mountain September scenery.
- the orginal hotel where Stephen King based The Shining on is right here. This is where it’s at.
- Elk everywhere. Literally walking across the street while you are walking downtown. Surreal.
Bottom line. It’s a tiny festival, still in it’s infancy, but the environment is amazing and the people who run the festival are really honest and hard-working.

@Boris
One more thing. Festival projection was not great. During one screening, my 2.35 aspect ratio was cropped to 1.85, so the film played with left and right cropping throughout.

Acorns

What a killer festival. I met so many great people there. I’d heard good things about the festival and people who run it so I was expecting a lot and I wasn’t disappointed. From the minute we got there to the day we left, everything was run professionally, on time and I really felt like they cared about the details. I saw articles in local magazines and newspapers and they even had a filmmaker pavillion for interviews and free coffee that started before the screenings and went all day. I’ve been to many festivals but this one tops them all. I’ve seen couple of negative reviews of this festival on this site but I was there and I can honestly say that this is one of the best run and attended festivals out there. If I did have a complaint it would be that we couldn’t get into the Closing Awards Dinner. We waited too long and it sold out. They told us to get our tickets early but we didn’t so we lost out. However we were invited to the pre awards party where there was plenty of free drinks, celebrities and food. Good times. Speaking of the parties, the Canadian Bowling Party with actor Kim Coates was amazing. I’m hoping to go back to the next show, it was really the highlight of our 2009 festival season.

Acorns

Jesus, where do I start? Let me try to be brief.

There’s no audience. Because there’s no marketing. The films are screened in the wrong format. All of them. There is no presentation for the short film programs, they are just screened. No Q&As for them either.

The panels and workshops are also scantily crowded and although they have some interesting guests they also have the (dis)organizer and all the B.S. you can possibly imagine coming out of his mouth, from badmouthing new filmmakers to badmouthing Sundance and other festivals.

The parties also suck – and that’s because the embarrassment for being in such a horrible festival spreads out like a plague and therefore the filmmakers either don’t feel like partying or prefer to go to a secluded place together and share their hatred and disappointment in the festival. Or maybe it’s because every single time the (dis)organizer talks to a filmmaker the line is, “I hope you have been learning a lot here from us”. The question here is WHAT are we suppose to have been learning: How NOT to do a festival? How to select festivals better? Where NOT to come next time around?

The guy also has a second favorite line, which is: “I am a successful commercial filmmaker”. But that one is not meant for you, but only for himself. ‘Cause all it takes is to watch one of his films to prove him wrong. If he’s a filmmaker a hot dog vendor is a chef. Maybe that’s why he makes a living working at a theme park ride. Nonetheless, there he is trying to convince himself he’s a filmmaker and us on the other side having to hear it. Over and over again.

But that’s not the only illusion he tries to create – after the festival is over he divulges information about it to the press and the amount of people he states attended the festival to my knowledge is not correct AT ALL. I should know since I’ve been there for the whole thing.

The amount of films submitted is also not right in my opinion. Because although we’ve had some truly great films there there were also some stinking turds that make you wonder how come somebody selected that. The answer came from the grapevine – it seems there were so few films submitted that they were forced to select all (bar the unwatchable) in order to have a complete programming. Sadly enough, some of the good films were just screened once, so if there were a brain behind the programming some of the trash could’ve been thrown out on behalf of the real good ones. Oh, well.

Something funny: he introduces the Mayor of the town to everyone. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? “Mister Mayor, those filmmakers came from miles away to offer our town their fine films. Let’s thank them”. But no, which makes clear that the (dis)organizer doesn’t make this in order to promote films, but to promote himself within his community. So DO NOT SUBMIT TO CENLFO, all you’ll be doing is financing his personal marketing in his little town.

The only thing they did right was the closing party (some the award choices were rather questionable, however), but there’s a reason for that: a) it was the guy’s wife who did it and not him; b) they think that by giving you a good last impression you’ll forget all the bad ones which came previously. Well, think again.

Acorns

Amazing filmmaker support. Fly you in, put you up and feed you like there was no tomorrow. Cool, and very exclusive programming. Savannah’s an amazing town too. Great experience.

Acorns

Pretty cool festival. Amazing connections within the industry. My feature got it’s Variety review from here. Good all around experience.

Acorns

Good points:
- amazing projection (at least in 2009).
- in the centre of London
- has a good reputation when you tell people you have a film there.
Bad points:
- really pretentious
- founder, Elliot, wants to be known as the Robert Redford of London, but he ain’t no Robert Redford.
- awful filmmaker support
- it’s really all about them (the Festival) and not about you (the filmmaker).

Bottom line, could be amazing, but held back by pretentious, egoistic leadership.

Acorns

What’s there to say. It’s great.
- Fantastic programming. Very independent minded.
- Great projection.
- Industry heavy, and everyone is kind of chilled and not hyper like in Sundance.
- Austin. Great city.
A celebration of Indie Film.

Acorns

Cool fest, run by really great, enthusiastic Cineastes. Glasgow Film Theatre is an amazing 1930s art deco venue. Great programming. Very well intentioned.

Some teething troubles. The festival is still finding it’s feet and growing, so some things fall through the cracks, but this could end up being a great audience orientated festival in one of the best cities in the UK.

Good projection, some travel grants, one or two days of accommodation.

Cool fest, run by really great, enthusiastic Cineastes. Glasgow Film Theatre is an amazing 1930s art deco venue. Great programming. Very well intentioned.

Some teething troubles. The festival is still finding it’s feet and growing, so some things fall through the cracks, but this could end up being a great audience orientated festival in one of the best cities in the UK.

Good projection, some travel grants, one or two days of accommodation.