When it comes to international film festivals, Toronto, Berlin, Venice and Cannes get the lion’s share of attention. Like in the U.S., smaller festivals on the international scene can get lost in the hype generated by the larger ones. In England, Justin Doherty and Neil Fox are changing the attitude that only a few international fests are worth talking about, as their Filmstock International Film Festival enters its eighth year.
Filmstock began out of Doherty and Fox’s desire to bring different kinds of films to their hometown of Luton, which is 30 miles north of London. Though the festival has grown since the original event in 2000, its founders aren’t standing pat. “I guess the never-ending aspiration is to keep growing audiences and keep increasing the visiting filmmakers, which is one of our personal buzzes,” Doherty says.
In 2005, Filmstock traveled to Debrecen, Hungary after a Hungarian journalist attended Filmstock, loved the feel of the festival and suggested sending a touring version to Hungary. “We loved the idea of packaging up a ‘greatest hits’ package,” Doherty says.
Doherty says that the Debrecen experience still feels like “some kind of bohemian dream.” And while the experience of taking Filmstock to Hungary was one neither he nor Fox could ever have predicted, he takes a pragmatic (and cheeky) stance on any future touring Filmstock festivals. “Truth is it may have been a one-off,” Doherty says, “though we have long harbored the desire to hold a Filmstockholm.”
Filmstock is currently accepting submissions for its 2007 fest, which will take place in November. For more information visit www.filmstock.co.uk.
Sound Off: There aren’t many film festivals that take their show on the road the way Filmstock did when it traveled to Debrecen. Should more festivals take this kind of roadshow approach to its programming? Talk back in our comments section!
–Dante A. Ciampaglia
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