Back in the office..

Source: http://wheninlawschool.tumblr.com/

The last exams of my life are finally over! No time to celebrate though. I have been away from work for the last two weeks, and so I had to catch up. The festival is only two weeks away and there are still lots that need to be done. Unfortunately, the programming part of the festival is more or less over, so now I got assigned different tasks that related to the job that I did before but at the same time offered a better insight into different parts of organising a film festival. It was also interesting to work closely with more people from the team, which keeps on getting bigger and bigger the closer we get to the festival.

So now, for the next weeks, my tasks will be to work along with the Film Coordinator in order to help him arrange print traffic (mostly for the films that I helped securing), find and contact potential hosts for various Q&As, help out with hospitality (for filmmakers whose invitations I handled) and help curate the activities of One Stop Film Shop, a special pop-up space that the festival will be running from 9-15 June with Little White Lies Magazine, one of the UK's most respected film magazines. The shop is located at Old Street Station and will act as a hub for festival guests, cinephiles and Londoners to alight for short conversations and film screenings.

Let's see how this will go...

Locking this year's line-up

Taken from the festival's website

The closer we get to the announcement of this year's festival programme, the more hectic my days in the office are. My last day in the office, before my studying-for-the-exams break, coincided with the day that we were locking the programme and I had to finish all of my tasks before leaving. We had to confirm in about 24 hours all of the "pending" titles, which, unfortunately, were a lot. 

Source: http://www.afluffygirl.com/2013_09_01_archive.html

About 10 titles got cancelled in the last minute, which made me realise that nothing is really certain in this job and that you always need to have a plan B. Maybe it was even an issue of lack of organisation. If we have confirmed more of the films earlier, then we would not have to be so stressed in the last minute. It was quite crazy during the last hours before the announcement and I gladly stayed over for more than 7 hours (which is the amount of hours that I usually work) to help out. It was as stressful as it was exciting; a very good chance to test my ability to work under pressure and manage my time, and, once again, I proved to myself and to my colleagues, that I, somehow, work better under pressure. I tend to be more organised and concentrated, which is a good asset if you seek employment in the cultural and creative industries.

Taken from the festival's website

All's Well That Ends Well. It's so exciting seeing all of your hard work getting out there for the world to enjoy! As far as the programme is concerned, there are some parts that I am really proud of. For instance, the Grits 'n' Gravy line-up looks amazing; Grits 'n' Gravy is a special part of the festival that was presented last year for the first time, and celebrates the films and music from the Deep South of the USA. I worked really hard on this so I am really looking forward to see how it will turn out. Then, there is the special event about Palestinian films, for which I chased all the copies and arranged traffic; the exceptional Palo Alto with James Franco (one of the "Coming of Age" films that we are doing this year, since the festival is also becoming a teenager); Hong Khaou's Lilting, one of the (unfortunately) few, but absolutely mesmerizing LGBT films of this year's line-up; Mistaken for Strangers, a really entertaining documentary about the relationship between the lead singer of National, Matt Berninger, and his brother Tom, the director of the film; and The Golden Dream, by far my favourite from the Mexican Focus that we are co-curating with last year's winner Sebastian Hoffman.

WE MADE IT!

Can't. Stop. Looking. At. This!! Once again thank you. We won't stop saying it. You've all been too amazing.x pic.twitter.com/TbpKhJKIuc
— EastEndFilmFestival (@EastEndFilmFest) May 11, 2014

The last couple of days were crazy in the office and it's amazing what coordinated, team effort can do. Half of the money for the EEFF's first crowd funding campaign was raised in the last two days! And just 12 minutes before the end, the campaign reached its goal! Well, that was intense!

Apart from the fact that a strong, cooperative team is key for any cultural business that wishes to survive and prosper, the EEFF's crowd funding campaign is also an apparent example of how increasingly important social media are in modern marketing, especially for small businesses that cannot afford the extremely costly traditional advertising of print, radio and TV. 

Social media marketing refers to the creation of online content that aims to grasp the audience's attention and urge them to share that contact in their social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Tumblr, Flickr, etc), blogs and websites, thus creating what Jan Kietzmann and Ana Canhoto describe (2013) as "electronic word of mouth". In the last hours of the EEFF crowd funding campaign, tweets and re-tweets were crucial, as they generated this electronic word of mouth which resulted in drawing a lot of attention in the campaign and helping EEFF to reach its goal.

Taken from EEFF's twitter

The value of social media originates on the collective and the individual, instead of the mass (Evans, 2012). Nancy R. Jones (2013) highlights the assets of social media marketing by pointing out:

a) its ability to target large audiences quickly and cost-effectively, and enable branding
b) how it enables direct feedback through interactive procedures such as polls, comments on facebook posts, and Q&As on twitter
c) the exposure that social media offer, bearing in mind that most people in developed countries uses social media today

The EEFF team is heavily using facebook and twitter as its main marketing tools, for all of the reasons above. Also, it is pretty obvious that, because of the festival's financial situation, it is impossible for EEFF to afford a lot of traditional advertising.

Taken from the East End Film Festival's Facebook page

The efforts of the EEFF team escalated in the last few hours before the end of the kickstarter campaign. The marketing team was on fire, and anyone else did their best by tweeting about it, sharing the campaign on facebook, and practically forcing their friends, relatives, and former colleagues to share and donate.

Sorry for typo's, I've lost the power of speech!! (Or type). Only 2 hours to get £3000!! *faints* http://t.co/tyFNGzahha
— Alison Poltock (@Alison_Poltock) May 11, 2014

ok people. Donate to @EastEndFilmFest & I will recreate Conchita's performance for you in a solo one-to-one show... http://t.co/wTy9M3cs74
— Rachael Castell (@rachAelwithanA) May 11, 2014

90 mins left, 2,000 to go. There's a good chance I'll be dead if this carries on. Donate to @EastEndFilmFest now http://t.co/Xq3fZduKr8
— Andrew Simpson (@Andrew_Simpson_) May 11, 2014

Congrats team. Now let's go organise this festival!

References

• Evans, D., (2012) Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons
• Jones, N., (2013) Importance of Social Media Marketing Among Small Businesses. Available at: http://www.bizible.com/blog/bid/343058/Importance-of-Social-Media-Marketing-Among-Small-Businesses [Accessed 11 May 2014].
• Kietzmann, J., Canhoto, A. (2013) Bittersweet! Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth. Available at: http://beedie.sfu.ca/files/Research/Journal_Articles/Journal_Articles_2013/Bittersweet_Understanding_and_managing_electronic_word_of_mouth.pdf [Accessed 11 May 2014].

Can I please have this job forever?

Source: http://giphy.com/gifs/gNAfPN8Uzp1kY, taken from 'The Devil Wears Prada' (2006), directed by David Frankel

I begin to realise that working in a warm, friendly and creative environment such as the one of EEFF is probably one of the best things that happened to my short professional career. It is indeed really important to find a job that gives you pleasure, especially if you plan to do this job for a lot of years to come. My parents worked in jobs that they never liked, and I could see how exhausted they were from the endless routine of their jobs that did not give anything back to them apart from a relatively good salary. I am glad that they always pushed me to pursue my dreams, since now I am realising that having a job that fulfils you is crucial. After all, you spend 1/3 of your day working, you might as well do something that you feel like it is worth it. 

Working at EEFF does not feel like a burden to me. Obviously, it can be really stressful some times, mostly because I want to make a good impression through my work, but at the same time I am enjoying it so much that it feels like I am not even working. What saddens me though is that working at film festivals is rarely a stable job. Like most of the jobs in the Cultural and Creative Industries, at least according to Gill's research (2011), it is a project based job that you do for up to 6 months per year (if you are lucky), and then you have to seek other projects for the rest of the year. Some people work here part time, while having another stable job all year through. Most of them though are not that fortunate. The CCIs are ruthless and demanding. And, especially in the film business, based on what we discussed in the office the other day with people that are more experienced than me, if you do not make a big name for yourself (or work in the top organisations in the field like the BBC or the BFI) it is highly unlikely that you will ever make enough money so that you could afford a flat on your own, especially in a city like London. That is why networking is such an essential part of our industries. On the other hand, as I said to my father when he told me that my life is going to be really difficult if I choose to follow this path, I prefer to starve than have a job that makes me miserable.

At this point, a montage of inspirational speeches from movies seems like the key to lighten the mood and regain confidence:

References:

• Gill, R., 2002. Cool, Creative and Egalitarian? Exploring Gender in Project-Based New Media Work in Euro. Information, Communication & Society, [online] 5:1, pp. 70-89. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13691180110117668 [Accessed 24 April 2014].

Money makes the world go round

Money cannot buy happiness but it can buy practically everything else. Today EEFF launched its crowd-funding campaign, in order to keep on offering free parallel activities, along with its main programme. A few months ago, the festival became constituted as a non-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC). CICs, according to the official website of the UK government, are social enterprises that use their surplus for the public good; they reinvest any profits they have in their business instead of taking advantage of it by dispersing it among shareholders.

That, of course, puts limits to what activities the festival is able to organize and what kind of films it can attract. In other words, financial deficiency puts restrictions into EEFF's creativity. However, EEFF wants to stay independent, which is an honourable choice, and for this reason, a crowd-funding campaign seems like a rational venture. It is a smart move, as EEFF takes pride in being a festival for and of the people. Headline sponsors and stakeholders are unnecessary.

Source: http://xmedia.ex.ac.uk/wp/wordpress/what-your-uni-years-will-be-like-a-filmic-narration-through-gifs/, taken from 'Bridesmaids' (2011), directed by Paul Feig

All this brings in mind some of the main issues we discussed in one of my optional modules, Art of Management: Management of Art. According to Justin Lewis 'Art, Culture and Enterprise' (1990, p.5), art is a 'cultural practice' that entails the production of a particular object, which functions 'as a self-conscious, personal, or collective expression of something'. On the other hand, economics is a science which analyses social behaviour 'as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses' (Robbins, 1945, p.16). For me, the combination of these two is the essence of what my job and every job in the Cultural and Creative Industries ensues. Even though profit might not always be the purpose, the cultural industries, as all other industries, need an financial basis on which to prosper (Frey, 2003).

Source: http://xomeli.tumblr.com/, taken from 'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013), directed by Martin Scorsese

What do all of these mean in a practical level? Relentlessly negotiating screening fees and trying alternative deals with sales representatives, venue owners, and so on. Insufficient funds can sometimes lead you to deadlocks. It is true that the commercialization of art can degenerate it, and undermine its value and its mission (Austin and Devin, 2009). However, as Jonathan Swift said 'a wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart'. And that's EEFF's mentality in a sentence.

References:

• Austin, R., Devin L., 2009. It Is Okay for Artists to Make Money. No, Really, It's Okay. Harvard Business School: Cambridge.
• Frey, B., 2003. Arts & Economics: Analysis & cultural policy. Springer Verlag: Berlin.
• Gov.UK, n.d.. Community Interest Companies. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-regulator-of-community-interest-companies [Accessed 16 April 2014].
• Kickstarter, 2014. East End Film Festival. Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eeff/east-end-film-festival [Accessed 16 April 2014].
• Lewis, R., 1990. Art culture & enterprise. Routledge: London.
• Robbins, L., 1945. An Essay on the Nature & Significance of Economic Science. Macmillan and Co: London.

Party time!

As I already said before, EEFF moved its offices recently to 3 Mills Studios, one of the most important film and TV studios in the UK, that have hosted the London Olympic Opening and Closing ceremonies, and provided spaces for filming for movies like Attack the Block (2011), 28 Days Later (2001), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), and The Reader (2008), among others. Moreover, lots of film and TV companies are located inside 3 Mills Studios, like Moviescope Magazine, Talent Talks casting agency and London International School of Performing Arts. It is like a small creative cluster of its own.

Source: http://www.moviescopemag.com/featured-editorial/3-mills-studios-appoints-ad-mel-nortcliffe-as-bookings-manager/

In order to celebrate EEFF's addition to the 3 Mills Studio family, they threw a little party at a very fancy, although somehow alternative, bar close to the canal at Hackney Wick, with free drinks and pizza! Perfect opportunity for networking, and also an ideal chance to get closer with the EEFF staff. It seems that most of the people working here are volunteers and they have been added recently in the group. We are a constantly growing team that includes no less than 30 people; maybe even more, I have lost track, it seems like everyday a brand new face pops up!

Source: http://www.bite.ca/bitedaily/2013/12/10-things-i-learned-from-home-alone/, taken from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), directed by John Hughes

Highlight of the party: the Head of the Programming team and the Director of the festival (aka, my bosses), thanked me for my help and contribution to the team and proposed that I take even more responsibility in the weeks to come, with assisting the curation of some parallel events of the festival, like Grits 'n' Gravy (an all-day-long event with screenings of films from the Southern US, with live music and free Bloody Marys), the Masonic Temple screenings [a two-day event with screenings of films about witchcraft and magic - from classic Italian giallo horror films to contemporary masterpieces like The Prestige (2006) and Pan's Labyrinth (2006)] and a fortnightly film event at Red Gallery. Nothing feels better than positive feedback. Moral boost: check.

Let's get down to business!

First day at work! Well, this is my first job that involves me speaking in a different language, which was not really a problem for me but that does not mean that it was not weird at the beginning. I was greeted by a very welcoming team of people and got introduced to the Head of Programming. The first day was quite enlightening about what my job entails. As a Programming Assistant I will have to look at the programmes of other film festivals that host bold, independent features and check out which of the films hosted there are actually eligible for EEFF. Apart from that, I will have to look at old programmes from specific film festivals and track the work of then first time directors, who are now finishing or have already completed their second features. The research procedure is quite open, so I can use my own resources, knowledge and connections in order to discover films that would fit in EEFF's mentality and aesthetics.

Source: http://developedsociety.wordpress.com/

I will also be responsible for contacting the sales representatives, distributors, directors or producers of each film, so that I will request a screener in order for the Programming Team to watch and review the film, and decide whether or not it is suitable for the festival. What is good about that is that I also get the opportunity to watch films that are not accessible to the public due to lack of distribution and exposure. Plus, the Head of Programming seems to trust my taste in films and encourages me to express my opinion.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/signs-its-time-to-quit-your-job_n_4018629.html, taken from Bruce Almighty (2003), directed by Tom Shadyak

Moreover, I even got my own '@eastendfilmfestival.com' email address, and a pass to get in and out of 3 Mills Studio - yes, the offices of EEFF are situated inside 3 Mills Studio! How exciting is that?

Overall, I am very satisfied with the environment and my responsibilities. It's friendly but not relaxed, and even the more time-consuming duties are enjoyable. I personally research for films all day long anyway, and now, as a plus, I get to contact directors and producers with whom I would potentially like to work with in the future. Fingers crossed.