The founders of the Bermuda International Film Festival in 1995 imagined building a festival where art rules the day, where filmmakers and film enthusiasts mix freely - and where relationships between filmmakers develop slowly during the course of the festival rather than over a single drink at a schmooze party.
Eight years on, a festival developed entirely by volunteers with a love for film, is about to present for the sixth time, April 11-17. Moreover, it has remained true to its founding principles.
"Our vision, when we began planning the festival, was to build a true filmmakers' festival," says BIFF director Aideen Ratteray Pryse. "The feedback we get from filmmakers is that they feel appreciated here, both by our festival staff and by our filmgoers in Bermuda. There is a genuine interest here in the films, the filmmakers, and the filmmaking process.
"We wanted to present the filmmakers with opportunities to mix and mingle with other filmmakers so that they could determine areas of mutual interest, find out if they have friends in common, and perhaps help to facilitate long-term relationships between filmmakers.
"We also set out to ensure that our filmmakers and our loyal festival goers were able to meet and chat about the art of filmmaking, the particular films in the festival, and so on. We have deliberately avoided becoming an 'us and them' sort of festival, where some folks are lucky to be on the 'right' side of the velvet ropes - and others are not."
BIFF 2003 will feature a 'Best of World Cinema' section, attracting highly regarded narrative features and documentary features that have screened at other festivals worldwide. This non-competition section is reminiscent of the roots of the Toronto International Film Festival, which began with a 'festival of festivals' approach to programming. A competition section will feature newer, fresher, edgier fare, which will be considered by the Jury for BIFF's narrative feature and documentary feature awards. An array of international short films will vie for the "Bermuda Shorts" award. A country sidebar, "In From the Cold: the Films of Iceland" will consist of four features and four shorts.
"We travel to several festivals - Montreal, Toronto, London, Rotterdam - to identify films we wish to program and our call for entries brings more than 300 entries through the door as well," says BIFF director of programming David O'Beirne. "It is an interesting and eclectic program - there is something for everyone. I am sometimes asked whether we program to a particular niche, and my reply is always the same. We program the best films that we can secure from as wide an international array of countries as we can arrange."
An Opening Night Reception at the world headquarters of insurance giants ACE Limited, which overlooks Hamilton Harbour, kicks off the festival. A Wrap Party and Awards Ceremony ends festival week in fine fashion. The festival's lunchtime "Chats With" seminar series Monday through Wednesday in the gallery of the Bermuda Society of the Arts in Hamilton features our visiting filmmakers, industry insiders and press. A different bar or restaurant is designated each day for 'BIFF Late Nights', where filmmakers, industry guests and filmgoers can gather to toast the day just gone.
The festival, which was first held in 1997, runs almost entirely on volunteer power. Only the festival director and deputy director are paid. "Volunteers really are the lifeblood of this organization," says Ratteray Pryse. "Our management committee and programming committee work year-round on the festival while our other committees - special events, hospitality, volunteer services and so on - kick in just before Christmas. In the lead-up to, and during, festival week, more than 50 people volunteer their time to help us stage the event.
"We are also well supported by Government, the generous corporate community in Bermuda, and our filmgoers, who fill the theatres nightly throughout the festival."
Festival screenings are at 4 p.m. 6.30 p.m. and 9 p.m., leaving plenty of time to enjoy the island's other attractions - scuba diving one of our approximately 150 wrecks, golfing on one of our eight courses, or visiting the settlement of St. George, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Festival travelers are advised to contact any of our host hotels - Elbow Beach Hotel, Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel and Stonington Beach Hotel. Ask for the 'BIFF Travelers' rate.