Leeds Independent Film Festival

Leeds Independent Film Festival
Location Leeds, UK
Founded 2011
Awards Audience Choice
Language International
Website http://www.noglossfilmfestival.co.uk

The No Gloss Film Festival (also known as the Leeds Independent Film Festival) is a UK public film event held in October at several venues around Leeds, West Yorkshire. The festival (sometimes referred to as NGFF) screens more than 100 shorts, features, documentaries and animations from the UK and other countries and is currently in its 3rd year. It has a particular focus on Guerrilla filmmaking, a type of micro-budget independent film-making, championing "Do It Yourself" (DIY) unconventional cinema to increase accessibility to independent, rarely screened, self-made films.[1]

The NGFF programme also typically includes film-maker Q&As, film discussion panels and live workshops.

History

2011

In 2011, after discovering an online community of film bloggers and directors supporting and producing raw, no-budget shorts, Trent Rampage, a cultural blogger and event organizer from the Leeds DIY community proposed the idea of a "no-frills" independent film festival for Leeds.[2] The rationale behind the idea was that even though the city is already home to the more established Leeds International Film Festival, there was no film festival, at least in the North of the UK, which specifically showcases micro-budget films that might not otherwise appear in mainstream cinemas.[3] The film festival's "no frills" policy avoids red carpets, celebrities and luxury venues, and entry to the festival is made more accessible to a wider section of the public by employing the use of a simplified “one wristband” strategy to allow the audience the opportunity to access all films in the festival with just one entry fee.[4]

2012

In 2012, the first No Gloss Film Festival took place in Wharf Chambers, a former Victorian pie factory located in Leeds City Centre. It received over 180 submissions and screened over 70 films to a sold out audience.[5][6]

No Gloss Film Festival Official Logo

2013

In 2013, NGFF founder and Festival Director Trent Rampage was joined by Sophie Marfell as Development Director. Together they developed a broader and more inclusive No Gloss programme that extended to independent films that do not necessarily fall under the “micro budget” category. This allowed multi-award winning independent features and animations to also feature in the programme. The directors also incorporated audience workshops facilitated by film-makers, Q&A sessions where the audience is invited to engage with the film-maker present, and built on retaining a “true festival experience” with the availability of festival street food, music, live art performances and craft beer.

The second edition of the festival was held at Canal Mills, in Armley, screening over 100 films from the 220 submissions received, to another sold out audience. The 2013 festival featured several UK premieres: Quite A Conundrum (USA) by director Thomas L. Phillips, Matthew Hashiguchi’s documentary The Lower 9 (USA) and the winner of the 40th Student Academy Award short film The Compositor (USA) by John Mattiuzzi.[7]

2014

In 2014, the festival was held at Temple Works, a Grade I Listed flax mill built between 1836 and 1840. The festival has received over 700 submissions with a screening programme of more than 60 films with more emphasis on features, workshops and discussion panels.

2015

The film festival was held at The Carriageworks Theater in Leeds, a venue which took its name from the "West Riding Carriage Manufactory" that was housed in the Grade II listed Stansfield Chambers built in 1848.[8]

2016

For its fifth edition, the festival returned to Canal Mills, an 18th century former textile mill in Leeds. The programme included several UK premieres which includes O, Brazen Age by Canadian film director Alexander Carson and Catalina Gonzalez's feature, Ekaj (USA). Three Minute Warning (UK), one of the short films in the festival programme, was collaboratively made by filmmakers who met each other by chance at the 2014 edition of No Gloss Film Festival. The short was also selected to close the 20th edition of the Oscar-qualifying Urbanworld Film Festival in 2016, hosted in New York City. [9] Another short film in No Gloss Film Festival's 2016 programme called Marianne (UK) by London-based director Tomisin Adepeju was also previously selected for the 2015 edition of the Academy Awards qualifying Urbanworld Film Festival. [10]

No Gloss Film Festival Core Team

Awards

2012

The Audience Choice Award
5 Second Films Compilation, dir. Michael Rousselet

Presented by NGFF.

2013

The Audience Choice Award
One Toke Under The Line, dir. Alastair Collinson

Presented by NGFF and sponsored by Cinetics.

2014

The Audience Choice Award
Pebble Moon, dir. Lian Furness

Presented by NGFF.

2015

The Audience Choice Award
Marzipan Flowers, dir. Adam Kalderon

Presented by NGFF.

References

  1. ↑ No Gloss Film Festival "About No Gloss Film Festival". Retrieved on 2014-08-15.
  2. ↑ Strangers In Cinema. "Interview with the Curators". Retrieved on 2014-08-16.
  3. ↑ Raindance. "Take the Film on Tour (Aug/Sept/Oct)". Retrieved on 2014-08-15.
  4. ↑ Leeds List. " No Gloss Film Festival at Canal Mills". Retrieved on 2014-08-16.
  5. ↑ FILM CRAIC WITH CHRIS SHACK "No Gloss No Bull". Retrieved on 2014-08-15.
  6. ↑ The Culture Vulture Leeds. "No/Gloss Film Festival". Retrieved on 2014-08-15.
  7. ↑ Oscars. "40th (2013) Winners: John Mattiuzzi" . Retrieved on 2014-08-15.
  8. ↑ Leeds City Council. "History of the Venue" . Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
  9. ↑ State of the Arts. "Huddersfield-based filmmaker's Three Minute Warning to close Oscar-qualifiying Urbanworld Film Festival" . Retrieved on 2016-08-29.
  10. ↑ Indiewire. "19th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival Announces Full 2015 Lineup" . Retrieved on 2016-08-29.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.