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Fearless Film Festival: Short on Time, Long on Quality


by Stephen Becker 5 Apr 2010 2:58 PM

Guest blogger Mark Nobles is a producer of the Fearless Film Festival. When Melissa Kirkendall asked me to be a part of Fearless Film Festival 4, I have to admit, I really had no idea what I would be in for. I have been on the other side of the film festival experience as a […]

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Guest blogger Mark Nobles is a producer of the Fearless Film Festival.

When Melissa Kirkendall asked me to be a part of Fearless Film Festival 4, I have to admit, I really had no idea what I would be in for. I have been on the other side of the film festival experience as a film producer but never worked on the “inside” so to speak.

The experience has been an eye opener, to say the least.

The most surprising part has been the high quality of work being submitted; especially from a technical aspect. As I checked in submission after submission, I was blown away by the high production values. Cinematography, editing, animation, set design and sound were, for the most part, of the highest quality. My job was to make sure all the paper work was filled out properly and that the DVD kicked in and played. As I worked through stack after stack of submissions, I had no intention of watching the entire film. But I found myself, time and again, being sucked into watching the entire 15 or 20 minutes.

The quality of the submissions in the animation category was also quite impressive. Animation is an arduous, time-consuming and expensive format. We received a number of high-quality, creative submissions. It pains me that a few highly deserving films could not be shown because of time constraints.

Which leads to the last surprising part of working for Fearless: judging. The quantity of creative films submitted in nearly every category meant that deserving films had to be left out. As a filmmaker who has experienced the pain of festival rejection, this broke my heart.

Overall, the experience has been highly positive. I have worked with Melissa on numerous other projects, and she is always a joy to work with. I have gotten to know the talented and hard-working folks who produce the Main Street Arts Festival and they have been extremely generous towards me.

As we head into the festival on April 10 and 11, I am excited about the quality of the program we have to put forward.

Short films have much to offer, and the variety and quality of the program for Fearless Film Festival 4 should provide filmgoers of every taste and genre something to savor.

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