The Prize is Right! Part 2: Scams, Fees, Material and Honorary Prizes

In the first part of this article we looked at the top awards, the significance of prize money for the economy of short film production and the role of sponsorship in funding awards. In this second part we will now explore the stranger as well as the more irksome aspects of the awards scene.

 

At the end of our last article, we asked readers to write to us about their own experiences with short film awards. I expected to receive reports about odd, comical or useless prizes. But in addition a particularly drastic case came to light that’s not humorous at all, prompting us to preface this issue's topic with a piece of investigative journalism.

 

 

IndieKino Online Festival fails to pay out cash awards

 

Paul Lee, a filmmaker from Toronto, wrote us that his film "The Offering" won the grand prize at the IndieKino International Festival (Korea) in 2001, but that he still has not received his prize money. After receiving this news, I proceeded to look into the background of this story and to try to settle the matter with the organisers diplomatically before publishing this article - in hopes that Paul might still get his promised award. Unfortunately, however, those in charge were not prepared to engage in a dialogue on the issue; they simply refused to answer my queries and appeals.

 

To briefly summarise more than three weeks of research: in 2001 the IndieKino International Festival was held for the second time. For the online competition prizes totalling 15,000 USD were offered. The individual cash awards ranged from 800 to 5,000 USD, conferred on seven films. The awards and award-winners were published on the Internet . I was able to find out the addresses of five of the other six remaining filmmakers or producers who won prizes, four of whom answered my query and informed me that they, like Paul Lee, likewise had not yet received their cash prizes in the amount of 2,000 USD each. Some filmmakers, such as Ugyen Wangdi from Bhutan ("Yonten Gi Kawa/The Price of Knowledge") have tried in vain to obtain their award from home, while others, like Dino Sato from Japan ("Treedom") and Nurbek Egen from Kirghizstan ("Sanzhyra"), are still trying.

 

A glance at the IndieKino website reveals that, to all appearances at least, the festival seems to be a respectable enterprise. Prominent sponsors such as Samsung Unitel as well as partners or media partners including Festivals.com, Reelmind, the Korean Film Commission lend support to this impression. Not immediately discernable, but not really hidden either, is the fact that there is no cultural or public agency behind the festival but rather a dotcom: IndieKino Inc. On their website, one also finds a shopping mall, a webzine and an investment page. IndieKino also offers its services as a producer of Korean films and distributor of international art house films. Somewhat irritating is the fact that, at least on the English pages, only one person is cited with his full name as a contact: Tony Kim.

 

And we find it fairly brazen that IndieKino is still offering the award-winning films free of charge as Media Player downloads and apparently still earning money from the resulting traffic, although we know nothing about the current state of the company. Hence, we would like to pursue this matter further and perhaps, with this publication and the help of our readers, bring the affair to a satisfactory conclusion. Some of IndieKino’s partners, or former partners, such as Festivals.com and Reelmind, have also offered to help. And Paul Lee, grand prize winner of the IndieKino competition, will be launching a discussion list on this topic in our Forum .

 

 

Yes, there is such a thing: distinctions, awards and competition participation that cost money!

 

In Germany there is an official institution that evaluates films according to quality and issues them so-called "commendations". The advantage of subjecting a film to examination by the "Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden" (German Film Quality Assessment Board) is based on certain clauses in the Film Promotion Act, according to which being granted the commendation of "especially valuable" opens up the gates for national film subsidies. This is really the most important function of this film assessment agency (which, by the way, is currently the subject of heated discussions taking place in the context of reforming the Film Act, see under News). There’s just one catch: the examination costs money! Almost 1 euro per running metre of 35mm film is charged, and confirmation of a commendation having been received costs 1.55 euros per certificate, a printed card – with a minimum order of 100 cards!

 

Already common practice in the USA and creeping bit by bit into Europe as well is the practise of charging an entry fee for submitting a film to a festival competition. These sometimes quite pricey fees plump up the festival organizers’ budget and shift the costs for processing submissions onto the filmmakers – regardless of whether the film is ultimately chosen or not.

Useful for researching price comparisons is the Withoutabox database, in which almost all prominent North American festivals are registered. A convenient search function can be used to carry out a targeted search for various festival requirements. The hit list of top fees for entering a short fiction film in the USA (in each case the standard price for a 'late entry') – according to the data at Withoutabox – looks like this: Malibu Film Festival $75, Newport Beach Film Festival $85, Dances with Films, Santa Monica, $95, Director's View Film Festival in South Salem (NY) and San Francisco International Film Festival $105. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but the entry fees seem somehow to be directly proportional to a festival’s proximity to the beach – similar to the health resort tax charged in Germany to stay overnight in a certified spa region! Also conspicuous is the fact that in the USA the festivals that take place in California are always more expensive.

 

Such high entry fees represent a real hurdle to short films seeking wider exposure. Against this background, low participation rates and correspondingly low visibility are no surprise, nor is the prevailing lack of recognition for international productions in the USA.

 

Charging entry fees also opens the doors to possible abuses. This leads to the existence of some 'festivals' that pocket hefty fees while doing little or nothing for the films and filmmakers. Notorious in this respect were the business practises of the "New York International Independent Film and Video Festival" (NYIIFVF, founded by Stuart Alson – not to be confused with other festivals that go by similar names!). In the past this festival has been a hot topic of discussion in publications and forums such as "The Independent" and "hi-beam.net", and particularly on the special scam-festival page set up by "Filmfestivals.com". One finds there, among other things, the story of filmmaker Pierre Yves Clouin, who once received an 'offer' from the festival to submit and show his ten-minute video for a fee of $300. Other filmmakers were hit up for entry fees and Internet advertising agreements costing anywhere between $250 and $1,000 - for an event that basically consisted of a party that took place in a bar where the films were screened on video in the basement: «the only film festival in the world with a sculpture category and a two-drink minimum,» as a participating filmmaker lamented in a former edition of The Village Voice.

By now this festival has become so successful that, besides the New York event, the organisers have also opened festivals in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Whoever wants to enter his or her film in all three festivals can do so for the bargain price of only $750!

 

Apart from these exorbitant prices, the very ability to charge entry fees unfortunately seems to have a way of sparking the criminal imagination. In the scam forum on "filmfestivals.com" some filmmakers have felt compelled to warn others about a certain festival in Florida that pops up repeatedly under new names (Cinevue, Silver Sprocket, Golden Palmetto, Golden Images and Sci Fest), but doesn’t actually even exist: «They are not a festival. They have no jury or documented public screening ever. They seem to be a few guys in a basement in Florida who sell their "gold-sealed" awards to anyone who enters. You pay $45 US and you buy a (worthless) award.» (posted 13 June 2002).

 

 

Awards you have to earn the hard way....

 

We’ve reported previously on the "Perrier Across America" competition, which asks participants to submit a script celebrating the element of water and America in the form of a road movie («celebrating America»). The award then consists of travel gear, including a car. The upshot of the whole undertaking is basically a cheap commercial for the Selters Water company.

 

At 13th Street they’re a bit more generous: in 2001 the 32-year-old filmmaker Sebastian Winkels ("Oberstube", KHM Cologne film school) won «a backstage pass for the most successful major studio». In concrete terms: he had the privilege of participating in competition presentations and pre- and post-production conferences at Universal Studios – including flight, accommodations and pocket money! In the words of the 13th Street organisers: «invaluable experiences».

 

Carsten Strauch was also surely thrilled with the award he won for his film "Das Taschenorgan" at Shorts-Welcome (back in the times of Kirch Media – before the takeover by Tiscali). Justifiably, the organisers at that time explained in their press release that «the jury's selection of the best short films at last year’s Shorts-Welcome took a surprising turn. The prominent jury decided to award an additional prize!» The surprise was that the seasoned, degree-holding designer and filmmaker won a traineeship for a current production at Roxyfilm! The organiser was evidently so pleased with this bright idea that he felt compelled to go the jury one up and «spontaneously decided» that the directors of the animated film "Das Rad - Rocks" – which, in the meantime had been nominated for an Oscar – should also be given something to do: «a one-month traineeship on a current Sat.1 TV production». Perhaps "The Price is Right"?

I was unfortunately unable to discover whether or not these awards had actually been "worked off" by their respective recipients...

 

 

Trophies, certificates, medals – being there is everything!

 

The highest honours awarded in the film world are often those without any monetary prizes attached. From the Oscars bestowed by the Academy Awards in the USA to the Academy Awards in other countries, prizes often consist only of a certificate and a more or less ugly statue or trophy.

 

At the British Academy Awards, for example, there’s the "BAFTA Mask" – the replica of a gold-coloured mask created by artist Mitzi Cunliffe, which at least can be looked at from both sides («The hollow, reverse of the mask bears an electronic symbol round one eye and a screen symbol round the other»).

 

More peculiar still is the "Guldbagge" (Golden Beetle), the renowned award granted by the Swedish Film Institute («The award, in the form of a fantastical beetle, was designed by the artist Karl Axel Pehrson»).

 

At the festivals where cash prizes are awarded, statues, medals and trophies are just as popular. They can be divided into two groups or classes: abstract or figurative sculptures. For the latter, the animal world provides the favourite source of inspiration, and in Eastern Europe figures from the world of myths and fairy tales often turn up (unicorns, dragons, centaurs and other mythical creatures). The Dokfilm Festival in Leipzig awards Gold and Silver Doves. At the Sao Paulo Festival there’s a Mix Brazil Award in the form of a sweet little "Silver Rabbit".

 

Why Dresden’s award is called the "Archer" remains the well-guarded secret of the Meissen porcelain factory. It’s no doubt one of the most 'idiosyncratic' modern trophies in an unknown style that can be won today in Germany http://filmfest-dresden.contx.info/bilder/preis%2002a.jpg. But with the 3,000-euro purse that goes along with it, the winner can at least afford to purchase just the right piece of furniture to tastefully display his new award! Also from Dresden, but quite elegant in comparison to the "Archer", is the metal question mark conferred as the Dresden Youth Oscar – a trophy of the abstract variety.

 

Porcelain, unfortunately not from Meissen, but for all that at least with some practical-minded added value, is what Pierre Monnard won with his film "Swapped" at this year’s Grenzland-Filmtagen in Selb: a 30-cm high "Love-Vase" created by a local, Upper Franconian porcelain maker.

 

An award with no practical value whatsoever, and absolutely unsuitable as a hostess gift no matter what the occasion, was bestowed upon a Hamburg filmmaker years ago at the Arsenal Festival in Riga: a life-size statue that never managed to reach its intended recipient. It presumably never even left its place of origin, or perhaps during the attempt at transport wound up making a place for itself at the bottom of the sea.

 

A purely honorary prize is the German Film Critics’ Award. More than a handshake or a bouquet is simply not to be had from the penniless alliance of film critics. Once a few years ago in Osnabrück the jury members attempted to take up a collection for the category of Best Experimental Film, so that they could least treat the winner to a bottle of champagne...

 

A subcategory among the unendowed honorary prizes are the self-conferred honours. In 1978, for example, Harun Farocki awarded his own film "Zwischen zwei Kriegen" the "Prix Carosse d'or" – a fake prize that has now become a permanent item in the biography of the filmmaker.

 

 

Material prizes and prizes in kind – er... what am I supposed to do with this?

 

Film stock is a prize that’s very widespread and no doubt quite useful. But at many festivals there are material prizes, usually donated by a generous sponsor, that you are better off leaving standing (or lying) where they are, or, at worst, things you couldn’t take along even if you wanted to.

 

Between the two extremes of useful and useless lies the vast grey area of prizes in the form of services. Especially frequent are film studio, post-production or film processing and duplication services for the benefit of the award-winner. To cite just one example: at the Aix-en-Provence Film Festival, Pjotr Sapegin won the Grand Prix for "Aria". The award consisted, among other things, of the following service package: «processing and duplication works, film-to-tape transfer», and «three days of free renting (electric material, excepting consumables, cons. H.M.I., generator truck...)». All of this naturally available for pick-up and use only on the Côte d'Azur. What is animated filmmaker Sapegin, who lives in Norway and produced his film in Canada, supposed to make of this offer? Maybe the bonus prize referred to as «help in kind» - whatever that means – in the form of a «talkie walkie» will help him! (quoted from the Aix-en-Provence Festival)

 

Enigmatic is the only way to describe the prize awarded by the Festival Film Scientifique on the island of La Reunion. In the Catégorie professionnels the first prize consists of a: «voyage aller/retour Réunion/Paris d'une valeur de 760,00 euros environ» and a «téléphone portable d'une valeur de 400,00 euros environ». Thus, in order to make use of one’s award, one would have to come back to the island sometime and phone home!

 

An interesting highlight in the discussion on the usefulness of material prizes is contributed by the Kinofest Lünen (Germany): there, in addition to cash, film stock and film processing services there is also the Melitta Short Film Award. In November 2002 this fine award was won by Philipp Fleischmann for his short film "Mehmet" – already the lucky winner of teddy bears, Eulenspiegels and other consolation prizes. The Melitta Short Film Award consists of a restaurant-capacity coffee machine! The value of this prize is underscored with the promise of «all the coffee, sugar and milk you need for your next production». Perhaps just a bit of overkill for a small short film production where a thermos-full of coffee is sure to suffice? It seems much more realistic to me that a destitute filmmaker would find another more lucrative use for such an award: as a start-up investment toward opening up a coffee shop! (For a picture of this prize, see link at the end of this page).

The only downside here: the value and size of the coffee machine were halved at the last festival from 1,000 euros (an industrial-sized coffee machine) the previous year to 500 euros. Might we speculate that this year the sponsor will be donating a Melitta filter funnel instead?

 

Finally, one more example for a film award that you can’t drink, hang on the wall, consume, or take with you: at the Taos Talking Picture Film Festival, Campbell Scott won, with his film "Off the Map", 5 acres of land in New Mexico! At the awards ceremony, he received a handshake and a symbolic vial of dirt. Scott decided to approach past Land Grant Award winners with the proposition of creating a filmmaking workshop on the land – most likely in the desert.

 

 

Give-aways and consolation prizes

 

Sponsored bags, sacks, pens, notepads, and other useful or superfluous items – all of this is by now just part of the standard equipment at every major festival. But as part of an awards ceremony or even as an actual award, these items are simply laughable. Looking back on my own experiences, the absolute front-runner in terms of give-aways and promotional gifts must have been the International Super-8 Film Festival in Brussels. For the awards ceremony, the whole repertoire of goodies was lovingly displayed in an impressive stage set and the prizes were bestowed by Go-Go girls. Among the more popular articles were things like the Kodak film cooler bags that could also be used to hold six-packs. At the more bizarre end of the scale were cosmetic products from "Docteur Renaud Paris" (Istanbul). More than once a female filmmaker found herself the proud winner of Docteur Renaud Paris after-shave, while a male colleague went home with a brand-new mascara in his bag...

 

But of course there are also some charming curiosities in this prize category: for example, the awards at the Golden Shower Video Festival in San Antonio, Texas. Prizes there include «a low rider bicycle, a miniature accordion, and a flea market surprise». But my favourite idea is the one at the "24 hours of Nuremberg". There, the festival visitors get to give the filmmakers prizes. Filmmaker Bernhard Lenz from Offenbach, for example, snagged a pair of long-haired moon boots from an enthusiastic fan. And the festival doesn't actually give the filmmakers any awards, but gives them to viewers instead. In 2000 the winners were two festival visitors who were the only ones to watch the entire programme. For this valiant accomplishment they were awarded the "Heimchenrundguckpreis" audience participation award. And they really earned it! However, the prize unfortunately consists of the privilege, at the end of the 24-hour marathon festival programme, of hosting an additional programme block.

 

 

Reinhard W. Wolf

 

 

Closing credits:

The format of this website unfortunately does not allow me to intersperse the text with multiple photos. Instead, here are links to some pictures of the above-described prizes that are worth viewing:

Melitta-Kurzfilmpreis: http://www.kinofest-luenen.de/2002/das-festival/bildergalerie/kfl-2002_069.jpg

Dresden Bogenschütze http://filmfest-dresden.contx.info/bilder/preis%2002a.jpg

Academy Awards 1999 - Best Actors http://www.eonline.com/Features/Awards/Oscars99/Blow/Images/bestactors.jpg

Student Academy Award: http://www.indiewire.com/biz/photos/biz_030519academy.jpg

Shocking-Shorts-2002-Winner Tanja Brzakovic at the Universal Studios http://www.absolutshockingshorts.de/05_event/2002/pics/universal.jpg

 

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