CFFL aims to help develop filmmakers’ skills through workshops and Q&As focused on overcoming various filmmaking roadblocks such as difficulty networking, restrictions on budget or access to locations.
Bethany adds, “Whether you’re interested in cinematography, lighting, sound, you’re an actor, or you’re multidisciplinary, there’ll be things at the festival that everyone can learn from.” She and Anthony believe that the festival’s community spirit will be further fostered by slightly unorthodox activities like karaoke.
The pair believe in the power of social media in building community, and will be leaning on it heavily to help promote creatives’ work online and make their collaboration and networking easier. Bethany describes how in the past many of her collaborations have happened from seeing what people share on Instagram, rather than through film festivals.
“It can be difficult sometimes. You go to these film festivals and meet so many people and then it’s just silence afterwards. If you don’t manage to see someone’s film or catch them, and they leave the festival immediately afterwards, you’re not sure how to follow them up.”
Through mailing lists and social media posts, including vox pop-style interviews, Bethany and Anthony hope to build a platform to help filmmakers keep in contact with each other long after the first CFFL comes to an end. They also hope to inspire other festivals to emphasise their potential to build communities, an essential for amplifying underrepresented voices.
Looking to the future, CFFL aims to be a yearly event and eventually join the Association of Independent Film Festivals.
In terms of the screening programme, the festival will have an international flavour, showing films from around the world. The CFFL team has received submissions from the likes of Nigeria, India, Iran and Taiwan, among others.
“They’re not just shorts, they’re features and documentaries”, Anthony remarks. “We’re not just looking for films that are set in stone and have a particular budget or crew cast attached, but also first-time and second-time filmmakers, and stories that are not just rooted in the UK but also worldwide.”
The inaugural Collective Film Festival London takes place on Friday 18 July at Collective Acting Studio. Book tickets at collectiveactingstudio.co.uk and follow the festival on Instagram.
