Final Reflection

Everything I’ve experienced this semester has amazed me. I remember my first day in that classroom was tense, overwhelmed and inferior because I look like a blank sheet of the paper compares with other people’s film festival experience, I don’t have any a relevant experience that can enable me to contribute to this course. Maybe because of the different ways of education in each country, I didn’t have many opportunities to create something by myself before. On the contrary, I was told what I should do and how I should do, so I always feel that I lack relative creativity and innovation ability. Looking back, it felt like the time passed super quickly. Although this long and exciting journey is over, I am still immersed in joy and shock. Form Richard’s speech at the first week to the end of our film festival, I felt I had made the right decision, to be honest, in the first week I even thought about changing this studio. Now I am happy for my perseverance. For me, all this is a new beginning. I need to challenge myself to be brave enough to accept these difficulties. It sounds incredible to hold a film festival, but we did it. Although the process was arduous, we succeeded in the end, so the experience I have gained in this studio is something I won’t forget easily.

Overall, the first Melbourne International Film Festival was a success because we show what we have to do. Hold a film festival to show different niche movies and talented young filmmakers. The opening night at the Backlot was a success, and it was beyond my expectation. We sold out all the tickets, and I think that the venue was great and can help to have a lively atmosphere. Also, the DJ is a good idea. He made our venue lively and helped us celebrate better. Although all tickets have been sold out, there are still some vacancies in the cinema which make me feel a little depressed. This means that not everyone who has tickets appears, I am a little confused. But I was shocked to see a pair of white-haired old people coming to our film festival that day. It also makes me feel the amazing thing about movies and their festivals. They belong not only to young people but also to the elderly. This confirms that movies have no boundaries, no age limit, and no biased. “Like music festivals, film festivals should realise that, especially in the age of online, it’s the offline communality of film festivals, the fact that we are all getting together to do the same thing, that is part of the source of their joy” (M. Cousins, 2012) Delicious cheese, platters and drinks make this festival even more exciting. On that night, I could feel everyone’s excitement, as if everyone was eager to watch a movie. In addition, Amy, Ann and I also prepared a small gift for the opening ceremony. We contacted a friend who worked in a bakery and asked him to help us make a cake with the MIYFF logo because we all thought the cake was meaningful and as a tradition. Maybe this tradition can be preserved at the next film festival because there will be a more festive atmosphere and it looks professional.

Unfortunately, due to personal problems, I did not attend the matinee Australiana session on Saturday afternoon. But I know from my friends that the afternoon activities are also very successful. We have professional producers to answer questions and provide some professional services for the audience. As for the closing night on Saturday night, although I think it is not as good as the atmosphere of the previous night, it is undeniable that the closing night went smoothly. I arrived at the building 80 around 5 pm and then helped other people go to the supermarket to buy ice cubes to lay out the venue. I think we have been successful in choosing films because it seems that many people are very interested in the diversity and diversity of our films.

If I want to mention something that can be improved, it is in teamwork. Because there are more than 20 people in a class, it is unavoidable that half of them do a lot and half of them do very little. Perhaps in the next job, we can assign tasks more effectively. For example, each group elects a representative and then assigns tasks to the rest of the people. Overall, I feel that I am not as good as others at this festival, I also want to contribute to this film festival. I hope we will be able to distribute evenly in the next teamwork so that everyone has tasks to complete. In addition, the venue problem also needs improvement. On our closing night, I think the venue may bring us some difficulties in creating an atmosphere, because the cinema is too big, and there is some depression and dreary. I think a way for everyone to enjoy and immerse themselves in the festival is that maybe a more open space can bring people together, just like a small private party. In addition, we are limited by the problem of funds. We do not have enough time to raise enough funds. Although RMIT has paid us some fees, it is still not enough. With a lot of money, we might be able to do better in snacks and drinks. Moreover, propaganda and marketing is also an indispensable part. I think we should spend more time and money to extend our ticket sales so that more people can support and participate. It sounds crazy and exciting if we have a year to prepare for our film festival. Finally, in the reception section, maybe we can do more professional. We can send one or two students to receive guests, guide them and help them. For example, introduce briefly to our film festival, or introduce our layout of the venue, so as to avoid the lack of direction for some visitors.

Compared with our film festival, I had a look at the Children’s International Film Festival which is running from May 24-June 10. The theme of the Children’s International Film Festival is similar to that of our film festival, but we are more focused on young people, the Children’s International Film Festival are targeting children. Their venue is also very beautiful, but not as good as our festival atmosphere, and it is cheaper than our ticket price. Although I’m not their target audience, I still find those movies very interesting. It was also a great experience.

In terms of reading, Bohdana Rambousková has very unique views on the promotion of a festival, which is very accurate. But unfortunately, due to the problem of time, space and funds, we cannot meet the standard as he said, which is very unfortunate. As I mentioned earlier, if we had a year to prepare for a film festival, it would be crazy. Another reading material that impressed me was ‘‘Who Is Organising it? Importance of Production and Team Members’’. I think he helped us think about how to link the elements we needed to accomplish with the festival. For example, directors, technicians, hosts and so on. Although we do not have a very professional and complete team, we can help and fill the vacancies in this position from other parts.

Overall, although the festival still has a lot to improve, I still think it is the first successful film festival that students try to organize. This process taught me a lot. It also made me realize how difficult it was to balance the choice of movies with the audience’s preferences. It also made me understand how difficult it was to market our festival through the media in just a few weeks and appeal to many people to attend. More importantly, this valuable experience has made me feel the joy and satisfaction of everyone striving for the same goal. When I stood in front of the big screen with other students at the opening night, I had a pride that I never had before. Imagine that at first, we were a group of students who had no idea how to organize a film festival, or even, like I never attended any film festival. So far we have received sponsorship and the film festival has come to a successful conclusion. This semester’s experience is really a wonderful memory for me. This experience has made me feel more deeply about the festival. It is not just a process of showing movies and an opportunity to make money. It also gives a group of people who are so keen on the theme of movies a chance to gather together. I think when I come back to China, I will definitely find an opportunity to attend a film festival in our country and even try to be a volunteer. I think this experience can help me understand more about the way different countries hold film festivals. In addition, if there is the next film festival held by students, I hope it will be better and better.

Word count: 1528

REFERENCES:

Andrea Kuhn, “Who Is Organising It? Importance of Production and Team Members (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.” in Setting Up a Human Rights Film Festival, vol. 2, Human Rights Film Network, Prague, 2015, pp. 71-83.

Bohdana Rambousková, “How to Successfully Promote Your Festival (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.” in Setting Up a Human Rights Film Festival, vol. 2, Human Rights Film Network, Prague, 2015, pp. 97-114.