PanelsWFAA TALK/ SHOW AT THE NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER
The DALLAS International Film Festival is proud to not only present the best in international cinema, but also to provoke discussion about film and the film industry. In addition to question and answer sessions with directors and producers after most film screenings, we present the Talk/Show, a series of panel discussions on topics of interest to filmmakers and filmgoers alike. Held in the beautiful surroundings of the Dallas Arts District’s Nasher Sculpture Center and hosted by noted film critics and journalists, these discussions fulfill our mission of educating audiences about film and the issues it raises. All Talk/ Shows are free and open to the public.
MUSIC IN MOVIES: MAKING YOUR MOVIE SINGNasher The use of, and utilization of music is often an integral part of a film. The perfect song or music can enhance, emphasize, serve as a counterpoint and sometimes inspire the emotion and thrill of what we are seeing on the screen. So where do you find that music? Do you work with a composer throughout the development process? Should the knowledge of what songs or the score you intend to use influence what is filmed? What do you do if you don’t have access to what was originally intended to back a scene or sequence? The acquisition of music and securing of rights has thwarted many a filmmaker and either held up the release of their masterwork or forced last minute compromises and substitutes to their original vision. So, where do you go to get the rights? Do you knock on the composer or band’s front door? Why must it be so hard or costly to convince someone to let you use his or her song? Or is it?
DOCUMENTARY OR VLOG, WHAT’S A DOCUMENTARY REALLY?Nasher Now that anyone can record anything easily, cheaply and at high-resolution, is there more to making a documentary than just hitting the record button? In the 24/7/5000-channel universe, where everything seems to wind up on TV and then your laptop, is something increasingly being left behind? Specifically, does it take more than video editing software to shape and tell a story? And with more and more of life being captured in home movies, surveillance video and webcams, does it take more than just found footage to find a story? What’s more, is there anybody left who isn’t camera savvy? Can you document anybody who isn’t ready to “perform” for the camera and therefore give you an unnatural “reality”? Will films like WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, TV JUNKIE and TARNATION be looked upon in the future as the first in a separate documentary “genre” onto itself? And looking beyond, will this necessitate the changing of definitions in the film industry overall – documentary filmmaker, shorts filmmaker, critic, etc?
SCARY SYMBOLS: HOW DO HORROR FILMS SHOW US WHAT’S REALLY SCARING US?Nasher From films like THEM reflecting our fears of the risks of living in the atomic or nuclear age to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS being more about blacklisting than actual pod people, horror or genre films have long served as film going therapy for us all. So what can we learn about what really scares us from today’s films? Was CLOVERFIELD’s monster a manifestation of the unknown threat that terrorism presents us today? Do films like FUNNY GAMES and THE STRANGERS originate from the now all-too-common news reports of violent crimes originating from seemingly mundane and harmless sources like kids in school shootings?
WHO DRIVES THE FUTURE OF ANIMATION – KIDS OR AUTEURS?Nasher A spirited discourse took place at the LA Film Critics this year over which was the better film - WALL-E or WALTZ WITH BASHIR. The result was an arguable and in some ways, incoherent split: WALTZ WITH BASHIR won Best Animated Film (thereby beating out WALL-E), but WALL-E won Best Picture. Recently, the Academy Awards animation clip package was heavy on clips from kid friendly fare like KUNG FU PANDA and STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, but not on the more adult themed films like WALTZ WITH BASHIR and $9.99, neither of which received a subsequent animation nomination. How has the adult following for shows like SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS and POWERPUFF GIRLS further blurring the lines that have traditionally divided what’s for grown-ups and what’s for kids? Are we on the cusp of a vast sea of animated homemade product from artists that will choose to tell their stories through animation? And if so – do we need to redefine our expectations for that approach to filmmaking as well as our willingness to judge it artistically side-by-side with live-action films?
THE SHORT FILM DIVIDING LINE: FILM FESTIVAL VS. YOU TUBE?Nasher Just as technology both with cameras and editing software has opened up the potential for many to make their own films with very limited budgets, those same people with a free weekend can make their own short films. But what makes a “film” versus a funny or silly video or an exercise in navel gazing? How do we draw the line between what is art and what is, at best, a curiosity? Furthermore, from the filmmaker’s perspective, what are the benefits and drawbacks of festival play versus simply uploading their mini-epic to You Tube and the like? WHO’S WINNING THE COPYRIGHT COPY-FIGHT? Nasher – Sunday 3/29 3PM With media, movies, and music so prevalent and technology giving everyone the ability to manipulate all of it to serve their artistic whims, what are the best ways to protect your copyrighted material? Indie filmmakers want to exploit other people’s material, yet they also want to be paid for what they create. In RIP A REMIX MANIFESTO, a DJ named Girl Talk is featured, that creates music by sampling hundreds of songs. What are the ramifications for the people who created the copyrighted material? Just recently, artist Shepard Fairey sued the Associated Press over a dispute regarding his use of a photo to create the Warhol-esque Obama “Image of Hope”. You Tube and other online sites have also brought up the issue of copyright and how today’s filmmakers go about using and protecting their material. Can we reach a middle ground in regards to “fair use”? And what concessions will it take for each side of the pro-copyright protection side versus the pro-open and free content side of the argument?
INDUSTRY SPEAKEASIES
The DALLAS International Film Festival is proud to support filmmakers and the film industry around the world — with special emphasis on our filmmakers in Texas and the region. This series of industry conversations is designed to provide opportunities for film and video professionals to network and have discussions vital to their ongoing professional development.
PROMOTING YOUR MOVIE: WHAT LESSONS CAN INDIE FILMMAKERS LEARN FROM INDIE BANDS?Victory Park Lounge Dallas Producers Association
FROM BACKYARD TO ACADEMY AWARD: WHAT DOES SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’S SUCCESS MEAN FOR INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS?Victory Park Lounge TXMPA SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was, by many accounts, headed for the “straight to DVD” shelves until Fox Searchlight took it off the hands of Warner Bros. Now history will simply refer to it as the Best Film of the Year. Going forward, how should this weigh on the decisions filmmakers make as they decide the future of their films following a “locked” picture? Is a theatrical distribution still the be-all, end-all goal for a director or producer? Can larger audiences possibly be gained via the internet, straight-to-DVD releases and VOD? Can a “film festival tour” satisfy the desire to have the film shown on the big screen? If the object is simply to have as many people see your film as possible, then what is the real difference?
DO WE NEED TO PROTECT REAL LIFE FROM FILMMAKERS?Victory Park Lounge Dallas Screenwriters Association In SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, a fictional charity has a similar name to a real life India-based organization and brought a negative light to an actual charity. In addition, the film used children from Mumbai to play roles, yet were arguably neglected afterwards by the film’s producers until a public outcry inspired them to make an effort to help better the kids’ lives. Also last year, the teaser marketing for the comedy, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL featured various advertisements that referenced the name ‘Sarah Marshall’ but not the movie, so reports followed of people with that name receiving concerned calls from friends and family. What role does a filmmaker have in not negatively portraying real life people or areas that their films take place? And what sort of precautions need to be taken to make sure the general public does not become collateral damage in the pursuit of art or a joke?
MEN AND WOMEN ONSCREEN: ARE THE MOVIES SCARED OF SEX?Victory Park Lounge Women in Film.Dallas Last year saw a blockbuster smash in TWILIGHT that featured a romance between a teenage girl and a young male vampire that was a chastity parable by a practicing Mormon. THE READER featured an affair that traumatizes one of the characters for years to come. Meanwhile, THE READER and TOWELHEAD held May/December romances as story lynchpins with typical negative reaction to the appropriateness of the older male/younger female version (TOWELHEAD), as opposed to the relative acceptance of the older female/younger male version (THE READER). So, have we progressed at all in the way we view these relationships? Traditionally, older man/younger girl = creepy and against the law, while older woman/younger guy = lucky young guy. Have things changed at all with how we view the boundaries of portraying romance and relationships on screen or are we dealing with age-old preconceptions and prejudices? And bottom line: Why are the movies so afraid of sex in the first place?
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