It’s nearly that time of year again and Aberystwyth is preparing itself for the hoards of film fans that are set to descend next month. Yes it’s time for the Ffresh film festival 2009 and we’ve caught up with festival co-ordinator James Nee for a sneaky preview of what we can expect.
Now in it’s seventh year, Ffresh is ever growing in popularity and 2009 looks set to be bigger and better than ever as students, lecturers, industry professionals and members of the public alike gather together for a film-packed programme, kicking off on February 11th and lasting for three days.
Festival Co-ordinator James Nee is looking forward to Ffresh 2009 and told us exactly what he hopes for this year:
What do you expect of this year’s festival?
"Due to the international showcases and new award categories (Fiction post grad, Out of sight, etc) the audience will be exposed to a more extensive, diverse and eclectic range of student work from all around the world."
How will it compare to last year?
"It will be bigger, due to the inclusion of Ffresh +, but with more of an emphasis on student work and celebrating their excellence. Due to the creation of things like the adopt a student scheme (see website) hopefully more students will stay over in Aber so they can experience the whole event and meet lots of new people. A major component of getting ahead in the media industry is making contacts and festivals are great places to do so."
What hopes do you have for this year?
"I hope that more students will come away having seen an incredible range of work, and having heard some amazing speakers, which will both inspire and encourage them."
What are you looking forward to most?
"Meeting the speakers who play an integral part in the festival, but also the students from the UK and abroad. Without either groups we wouldn’t have a festival."
There is a lot to look forward to at this year’s festival and James gave us an insight into what exactly can be expected:
James said: "Ffresh 2009 has added an extra day called Ffresh + which will be aimed specifically at further education students and will take place on the first day of the festival. One of highlights of the Ffresh + programme is a session called Previsualizing The Bourne Ultimatum. Storyboard artist Dan Maslen has worked on a host of big budget film productions such as The Other Bolyen Girl, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and forthcoming Wolf Man starring Benico Del Terro. For The Bourne Ultimatum – the third film in the successful Bourne trilogy – Dan worked alongside the film’s director Paul Greengrass to previsual the film’s elaborate set pieces and labyrinth style plot which takes places in numerous cities around the world. Using examples from the film, Dan will elucidate the role of storyboard/ previsualisation artist in bringing the film to life in the early stages of the preproduction process."
"The Ffresh 2009 keynote interview will be with Stephen Garrett. As the founder of the production company Kudos, Stephen Garrett has galvanized British television by bringing to the screen such popular and acclaimed shows as Spooks (based on Garrett’s original idea), Hustle and Life on Mars. Stephen’s first notable success with Kudos was the critically hailed feature film Among Giants, and he has since worked with David Cronenberg on Eastern Promises (which he executive produced) and Bharat Nalluri on Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (this time as producer). Ffresh is delighted to have one of the most respected, innovate and talented figures in the UK production sector as this year’s Keynote Interview. Stephen will be in conversation with Festival Chair Maggie Russell about his career in the media."
"Ffresh has teamed up with ten international partner festivals around the world who have selected work to screen as part of a number of international showcases with categories including animation, fiction, documentary and experimental. For a session called Animation: The Next Generation Ffresh has invited three up and coming young animators whose work will feature as part of the international showcases. Born in Ireland, Johnny Kelly studied at the Royal College of the Arts. His film Procrastination won a Royal Television Society Student Award, and lead to a commission from an advertising agency in San Francisco resulting in his next film The Seed. He recently joined the roster of directors at Nexus Productions. Hum won the 1st prize at the 2007 Sicarm International Contest of Digital Animation and marked its director Soeren Bendt as a major new talent. Soeren studied at the Animation Workshop in Denmark and recently worked on the animated feature The Tale of Despereaux. The final panellist is NFTS graduate Joseph Pierce whose film Stand Up has already wowed audiences at Annecy and the Edinburgh International Film Festival."
"The programme includes a number of exclusive previews including the new Steve Coogan comedy Hamlet 2 and the highly anticipated horror film Let the Right One In, which will be the 2009 Special Preview. Although it won’t be released in the UK until April, Let the Right One In featured in Sight & Sound’s top ten films of 2008, which gives an indication of just how incredible and hotly anticipated this film is. Set in a Swedish council-estate in the early 80s, an underage vampire hooks up with an orphan boy in a cold, dark and moving teen love story, that’s also a blood-splattered horror film. Similar to the versions of Nosferatu by Murnau and Herzog, it takes the vampire myth very seriously, and director Tomoas Alfredson bravely retains many of the macabre and sinister elements of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s original novel. The title refers to the technicality that vampires must be invited into a home before they can enter, but also acts as warning about the people we let into our lives when our options are limited."
"As part of Ffresh, Visit Wales will launch Shoot Wales - an exciting competition to find four short films, made by young filmmakers, which will attract UK holiday makers to Wales in 2009. The winner of Shoot Wales will receive a week’s work experience at the world renowned advertising company Wieden + Kennedy who will be overseeing the competition, and a £2000 career development bursary. There is also the Pitch to Win competition, now in its 3rd year, where students have been asked to submit an original idea that must be suitable for multi-platform development, which promotes Sustainable Development. The three finalists will pitch their ideas to a panel of renowned industry professionals and the festival audience."
"The festival will end with the Ffresh Awards show, where the winners of the prestigious ffresh awards will be announced, and a special Silent Disco featuring Radio One’s Huw Stephens."
Ffresh is free to students enrolled on courses in the following: Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, University of Wales Lampeter, University of Glamorgan, Glyndwr University
International Film School Wales, Newport, Swansea Metropolitan University, Trinity College, Carmarthen. Ffresh+ is free to all students and lecturers from further education institutions in Wales. Tickets for everyone else come in at £10 for one day or £20 for two.
See ffresh.com for more details.
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