{spotlight} feature reports

55th Berlinale [ February 2005 ]

With kind support from GFO, the annual 55 th Berlinale was this year attended by Peter Mackie Burns and Marie Olesen from Autonomi ltd.

Most importantly, Milk [written and directed by Peter Mackie Burns/ featuring Brenda Fricker and Kathleen McDermott/ produced by Marie Olesen] was screening in the International Short Film Competition, and went on to win the Golden Bear at a prestigious awards ceremony (Feb 15 th 2005).

The first screening was attended by well over 300 people in a packed out venue, and the other five showings were equally well-attended. The feedback from the audience was extremely positive and their reaction was stimulating. Still the win came as a welcome surprise.

Peter spent six days in Berlin, as a delegate not only at the Berlinale representing Milk but also at the Berlin Talent Campus and at the Talent Project Market where he was picked to pitch his new feature development to international funders and distributors.

He writes: ‘ Berlin was a really great experience both personally and professionally. From the moment the plane touched down it was straight into the thick of things. Badge issued at the Berlinale short film office and a quick discussion with the lovely people there about how rough Marie and I looked having stepped straight off the plane. Personally I though I was looking quite good but inside I knew they were right. Not for the first time in recent weeks, I again considered a quick once over with Marie’s lipstick when she went to the toilet. Then we were wheeled, along with our luggage, straight into the International short film screening across the road. Directors had to introduce their film before a rather serious audience. The film went down quite well and even got a few laughs. Then straight to the pub round the corner to meet the other filmmakers. Everyone was warm (I checked) and friendly. On the way out another layer of snow had fallen covering the ground and I stood on a dog shite. Dipping my foot in a frozen puddle I remembered as the cold water nipped my skin that this was supposed to be lucky.

The Talent Project Market the next day included around twenty young filmmakers from across the world, there to learn how to pitch their feature projects to Producers at the European co- production market the following day. The teaching was rigorous, thorough and excellent throughout. I now had a thorough knowledge that everything I planned to do at the meeting the following day was wrong. I slept uneasily that night and woke to find the snow was getting deeper.

Werner film, Non Stop Sales, Beyond films, Pegasus Pictures, Zeitgeist, Cameo film, MR Film and Clockwork Pictures came to meet me the next day at the co production market. Sybille Kurtz my friendly and frighteningly astute teacher the pervious day highlighted the importance of having conversations with people. I tried it and the response to my genuine surprise was a positive one. I stopped pitching about two minutes into the first meeting of the day and spoke to people about films. Films they like and films that I like and how most people never got to see any while they were working. I also slipped in my idea for a feature set in Iceland about mother and daughter voice over artists. People want to read it and so now I’ve got to write the thing.

The next night we won the Short Film Golden Bear. It was a wonderful sobering and quite surreal evening. I told everyone that I based all the characters on people I know. All the filmmakers I spoke to that night told me that they do the same. I hope the people the characters are based on never find out. A beaming film student at an industry bash the few days later gave me a bear hug told me that Scotland and Estonia were the same. I believed her.’

Marie spent her four days actively drumming up some PR support and attention on Milk, but also nosed around at the European Film Market, striking up conversations with distributors and potential future co-producers from mainly Germany, France and Scandinavia. Also she managed to actually view (!) some amazing films, including Paradise Now, Turtles can Fly and One or Two Things I Know about my Father.

Festivals

As a result of the win, the following festivals showed interest in screening Milk in the forthcoming year: Odense Short Film Festival (DK), Krakow International Shorts Film Festival (Pol), Melbourne International Film Festival (Aus), Oberhausen Short Film Festival (Ger), to name a few. Milk also screened at a special Best of Shorts event in London March 19 th and at the NFTS

Interest

Furthermore, we were overwhelmed by interest from scouts and companies including: Miramax, Fine Line/New Line, Swipe Films, DNA, BBC Films, Celador.

Summary

Siding with Cannes and Venice, Berlin is one of Europe’s biggest film festivals and market for, mainly, drama. It was crucial for us to be there to build up, and then capitalise on the Golden Bear win, and to pick up interest and future business for Peter’s next project.

Furthermore, it was important for Marie to be there to assess the recent success of Some Distant Day and to further other projects Autonomi is currently producing and developing, including Those Who Die First – Peshmarga (which recently obtained MEDIA funding), and GFO-funded project-in-development, Hope Street.

Peter Mackie Burns & Marie Olesen,
March 2005

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