Film Forum West Midlands

Fancy helping out at Flatpack? This year’s festival runs from 23-28 March in venues all over Birmingham, and the whole thing wouldn’t be possible without hordes of dedicated volunteers. (See a nice writeup from one of last year’s team here.) Responsibilities will include front-of-house, venue installation, technical support, marketing and bar work, and all volunteers will have the opportunity to make good use of their festival passes.

If you’d like to get involved, please drop us a line at info@7inch.org.uk with your contact details before 22nd February.

Also keep in mind that our briefing meetup will be on Weds 3rd March, from 6:30pm.

REGISTRATION: 21ST JAN (Website)

DATE OF EVENT: Feb 1st 2010 (UK) ONLINE – 28TH Feb 2010

DETAILS: Teams will pick a random theme & title which they must turn into a 70min B movie in 28 days!!

VENUE: ICA

FORMAT: You can return your film on DVD format,
please email for more details on ratio for screening & Sound.

ENTRY FEE: £30 per team (Entry Funds for Venue Hire)
For more info on format or questions please email: oddballtv@yahoo.com

WEBSITE: http://www.oddballchallenge.com

Further details on their Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=211607357663

DATE: 25^TH January 2010. 09:30-16:00

LOCATION: The Electric Cinema, 47 Station Street, Birmingham, B5 4DY

Increasingly independent filmmakers are finding the best way to get their film made is under microbudget principles. The more entrepreneurial a producer can be in financing their film, the more likely it is they will get it made.

Numerous microbudget feature initiatives have been established during the last five years such as Microwave, Warp X, Slingshot Studios, Digital Departures and IFeatures. There are also many producers making microbudget films outside of these schemes. But what are the challenges? How do you make your film safely, legally and with high enough production values to ensure the films are successfully distributed?

Join us for a day all about microbudget filmmaking and find out some of the top tips from filmmakers who have been there and done it!

The day’s schedule is as follows:

Schedule:

09:30 – 10:00          Registration

10:00 – 11:30          Screening of Ruby Blue

11:30 – 11:45          Coffee break

11:45 – 13:15          Q&A with Elaine Wickham, Producer and Jan Dunn, Director. Chaired by Deborah Aston

13:15 – 14:00          Lunch (provided for people on all day course)

14:00 – 16:00          Microbudget Panel with Anita Lewton, Lincia Daniel & Simon Wood. Chaired by Natasha Carlish

Prices and payment:

Full member: both sessions £0
Associate member: morning session only £0
Associate member: both sessions £25+VAT
Non-member: morning session only £50+VAT
Non-member: afternoon session only £50+VAT
Non-member: both sessions £80+VAT

Payment to be made before admission is permitted.

You can’t afford to miss this day! We look forward to seeing you there.

To register or for more information please contact Rebecca: info@producersforum.org.uk or visit our website

Hello and Happy New Year!

Film Forum’s first meet up of 2010 will be on Tuesday 19th January @ The Victoria Pub on John Bright Street in Birmingham from 7pm.

The idea of these monthly meet ups is to get people from all aspects of filmmaking in the West Midlands together to chat and start building networks of friends and contacts.

The entire evening is very informal so therefore it is really up to you if you approach it as a casual drink or an opportunity to network and get projects off the ground.

Here’s the address: The Victoria Pub, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham, B1 1BN

Here’s The Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=261804082304

Look forward to meeting you all.

Sheffield Doc/Fest, in partnership with Wide Eye Pictures, Screen WM and The Flatpack Festival, invites you to THE ENGINE ROOM PITCH

Tuesday 23^rd and Wednesday 24^th March 2010
The Bond, Birmingham

THE ENGINE ROOM PITCH is an intensive 2 day proposal development and pitching workshop to help you prepare your factual project for UK and international funding.

The workshop is a high-level project development opportunity and includes an introduction to MeetMarket and all Marketplace activities at Doc/Fest and to wider opportunities in international documentary funding and markets. Delivered by international marketplace specialist Christina Burnett, of Wide Eye Pictures, this is also a unique chance to pitch your project and get feedback from two UK commissioners as well as Charlie Philips, Doc/Fest Marketplace Producer. Commissioners from BBC, Channel 4, Britdoc and CBA-DFID Broadcast Media Scheme have taken part in previous workshops.

THE ENGINE ROOM PITCH is suitable for all levels of experience, from senior producers and directors to new entrants.  You can attend either as a pitcher with project, or as an observer.

Applicants must be West Midlands-based filmmakers. The cost of the workshop is £30 for all attendees.

To express interest, email Doc/Fest Marketplace Producer Charlie Phillips via charlie@sidf.co.uk with a one-page proposal for a factual/documentary project (single, series or cross-platform doc) and brief information about yourself.  Projects can be at any stage of development, for any platform, as long as it is a factual project.

See http://sheffdocfest.com/view/pitchworkshops for full information.

Filmrats will be hosting its last event of the year this coming Wednesday 25th November. For those of you who have never been or know about it, the evening consists of live music from some great bands from in and around Birmingham and has some brilliant short film screenings too. If you love music and film this really is the best place to go to in Birmingham.

Filmrats is always looking for more Singer/Songwriters, Bands, Poets, Comedians, Performance Artists and short films. If you want to showcase your talent then please get in contact.

Filmrats is located at the Bristol Pear, Selly Oak. Entry is £1.50, so go along and remember there is still time to send in those short films on DVD format to: Filmrats,
 Flat 3,
 889 Bristol Road,
 Selly Oak, 
Birmingham,
 B29 6ND

If you have any questions or queries get in contact via their email: filmrats@hotmail.co.uk

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/filmrats

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/filmrats

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199247954198&index=1

See you all there.

Hello!

Film Forum’s next meet up will be on Tuesday 10th November at the Victoria Pub on John Bright Street in Birmingham from 7pm.

The idea of these monthly meet ups is to get people from all aspects of filmmaking in the West Midlands together to chat and start building networks of friends and contacts. The entire evening is very informal so therefore it is really up to you if you approach it as a casual drink or an opportunity to network and get projects off the ground.

So, come along and say hello, tell us what you are up to and hopefully we’ll all benefit from some interaction.

Here’s the address: The Victoria Pub, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham, B1 1BN

Here’s the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151732432083&index=1

See you there.

Saturday 7^th November 2009 (10am-5pm)

Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Centenary Suite

£50 (£40 concessions)

From the traditionally structured TV and film stories that attempt to appeal to wide audiences (which ITV controller Peter Fincham termed ‘3G’ – three generations watching together), to the 3D structures of games and online drama, this day-long course looks at new opportunities offered to writers by the rise of digital technologies.  Suitable for writers, film-makers and drama practitioners interested in looking at new ways of telling stories across screens of all sizes. Participants:

Graham Joyce is the author of fourteen novels and has won numerous awards for his writing, including five British Fantasy Awards and the 2003 World Fantasy Award. He has also written screenplays of his novels and has recently been hired by the creators of Doom 4 to help develop the storyline potential of the computer game.

Neil Mossey worked solely in television and radio before writing on Season 2 of the daily interactive web drama KateModern (storylining over 26 weeks, and scripting 74 webisodes). The series ended in July 2008 clocking up 66 million video views, the largest UK online production to date. As a comedy producer at the BBC he was responsible for developing new formats and drama in the Comedy Entertainment department with writers and performers. His freelance writer, script editor, and producer credits include My Parents Are Aliens (ITV1), Freefonix (BBC One), Blackout (Channel 4), SuperNormal (ITV1), The Worst Witch (ITV1), Hedz (BBC One), and The Morning After Show (Channel 4).

Claire Ingham is a producer and film and television script developer. She works on projects at all stages of development – currently ranging from the adaptation treatment of Eoin Colfer’s bestselling novel The Wishlist to the final draft of Helen Cross’ original feature Stratford Road. Claire has previously worked for a number of film and television companies in development roles. She was Head of Drama Development at Impossible Pictures for four years where she headed a small team, commissioning and developing a range of TV and film projects for all the major broadcasters, including Jed Mercurio’s contemporary retelling of Frankenstein and Michael Chaplin’s family film Pickles.

For booking and further information, please visit www.scriptonline.net/screen.html

Or email catherine.edwards@scriptonline.net

The event is presented by Script, the regional development agency for dramatic writers in the West Midlands, offering advice, training and mentoring via industry-led partnerships.

Filmrats’ next event is on Wednesday 28th October and its a Halloween Special! The event is fancy dress and the theme is you have to come dressed as your favourite dead celebrity, whether it is an actor, musician or a film character – it’s totally up to you!

In addition they are only going to be showing horror shorts, so if you have made a horror film and you would like it screened in front of an appreciative audience then send them in and they will play them! The night also has some great live bands performing, but they are always looking for more Singer/Songwriters, Bands, Poets, Comedians and Performance Artists, so if you want to showcase your talent then get in contact.

Filmrats is located at the Bristol Pear, Selly Oak. Entry is £1.50, so go along and remember to send in those horror shorts on DVD format to: Filmrats,
Flat 3,
889 Bristol Road,
Selly Oak,
Birmingham,
B29 6ND

If you have any questions or queries get in contact via their email: filmrats@hotmail.co.uk

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/filmrats

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161850566421&index=1

Filmrats is sponsored by the good people at Hello Digital

Birmingham’s Flatpack Festival is set to arrive once again this coming March from the 23rd – 28th, this time seeking a helping hand behind the scenes!

The festival organisers are looking to appoint somebody in the role of ‘Festival Coordinator’, if you are thinking about applying be quick though as the deadline is 28th Sept 2009. Further information about how to apply on their blog.

Submissions Wanted! Flatpack Festival are also calling for short film submissions, so if you’re a filmmaker and you would like to send in a short film, simply fill out the form which is available here.