Coming Home: A Local filmmaker’s ride on the film fest circuit
by Liz Nord
Film/Tape World
July 2005

"I could totally do that," I thought to myself, as the filmmaker smoothly answered questions on the stage of the Castro Theatre before a sea of newly won-over fans. "Totally."

I was at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival about five years ago, shortly after having moved to the Bay Area from Boston. I saw so many diverse films there and witnessed so many enthusiastic filmmakers gliding gracefully up to the stage following their screenings, that I became inspired. After all, I had a professional background in education, technology and graphic design, so documentary filmmaking seemed like a natural leap. And the prospect of having my very own post-film Q & A session was icing on the cake. Some filmmakers shy away from this opportunity, but not me. I was ready to answer questions before I had ever even come up with an idea for a film!

The following year at the Jewish Film Festival, I went right up to its longtime director, the venerable Janis Plotkin, and said, "Hello. My name is Liz Nord. I am going to have a film in your festival one day."

"What chutzpah this girl has!", Ms. Plotkin must have thought. And she would have been right—I still had yet to take a film class, let alone write a proposal or begin production on a piece. But she smiled politely and wished me luck.

I have worked at, volunteered, and attended hundreds of film festivals since then and this year, my dream has finally come true. My  first feature-length documentary will be screening at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival this summer.

My movie, Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land, takes a look at Middle-East politics through the eyes of the little-known Israeli punk scene. People always say things like, "Punk rock in Israel?! Who knew? How did you end up doing a movie on that?"  Maybe the secret answer is that I just wanted to have really good Q & A sessions at the film festivals—after all, when it comes to the contentious issues of Middle Eastern affairs, folks have a lot to say.

Of course, a lot has happened in between my haughty declaration to Janis Plotkin four years ago and the completion of Jericho's Echo, and I have many other local organizations to thank for help along the way. I took classes at the Bay Area Video Coalition, got fiscally sponsored by the Film Arts Foundation, and got tons of sagely advice from the Bay Area Women in Film and Television. Then came the minor tasks of fundraising, shooting in Israel, editing, post-production and publicity. Now, I am in the midst of the moments I had been waiting for since first sitting in the darkened Castro. I am a filmmaker, and I am attending festivals all over the place with a big, shiny badge that says so.

I've gained some insights to share with other filmmakers along the way, such as the following:

1. Don't submit rough cuts. Unless you are already pretty darn famous, I found this a waste of time and money. I had the great fortune of sitting on the selection committee for the San Francisco International Film Festival this year, and being on the other side of the fence was a very valuable exercise. I discovered that my suspicions from my own experience were true—rough cuts just don't cut it when put up to bat against finished products.

2. Get advice. Talk to lots of other filmmakers about their experiences at festivals. Which ones did adequate publicity and got people to their screenings? Which ones treated them well? Which ones paid their airfare? Which ones sucked and why? You might add or remove potential fests from your list based on the advice of your peers.

3. Don't expect too much. (This one's really hard.) Try not to let your expectations soar too high in terms of your film's acceptance in to your dream fests, or how great and productive the festival experiences will be once you do get in. You might actually have the opportunity to make more out of a small festival than a big one where you are competing for attention with major players.

You might have guessed from reading this article that I am kind of a "take-charge" gal, and so the process of submitting to festivals and leaving it all up to fate was really tough for me. It is sort of like applying to college all over again, with the essay-writing and outrageous fees, and even that generally unfounded anxiety of, "Wow. The response to this application will determine the course of the rest of my life."

The good news is that I did get into some great festivals, and, though they were not my original first choices, they ended up being just the right ones for me and my film. You see, nobody gave me that advice about not bothering to submit rough cuts. Since my film was not completed in time to submit a final version to big fests like Sundance, my editor and I decided to get as far along as we could by the September deadline and then go ahead and send it in.

The sordid end to part one of our story is that we were coldly rejected from all of the festivals to which we submitted a rough cut. The happy beginning to part two is that we were warmly accepted into those we entered with the final cut, and our very first invitation came from the Tel Aviv International Documentary Festival (DocAviv). Having shot most of the film in Tel Aviv, this was an incredibly exciting opportunity to go back to Israel with the finished product. As I mentioned above, things really worked out for the best. How could I have screened at other festivals before sharing the film for the first time with all of the young characters who appear in it?

I picked up a few tips for once you do get into festivals, as well. I can't shout this one loudly enough: BE NICE TO FILM FESTIVAL STAFFERS! These are overworked, underpaid, and usually underappreciated people who love movies. Independent filmmakers, of all people, should understand where they are coming from. Aside from the fact that they deserve your kindness, a few nice gestures thrown their way can go a long way for you. Film festival staffers can potentially help get people to your film, toss you an extra ticket to some special festival events, and remember you at future festivals when they happen to be on the programming committee.

Reality Check
My Tel Aviv screenings taught me another important lesson: prepare for the best and worst at the Q & A sessions. Go over potential questions with your friends and colleagues before throwing yourself into the lion pit. In the U.S., I have found audience questions generally mild-mannered. In Canada, the audience questions were extremely polite. In Israel, well, some of the questions were downright hostile.

Don't get me wrong—the screenings in the city where I shot most of my footage were once-in-a-lifetime incredible experiences. There was at least one member from almost every band from the movie at opening night, and it was so fun to hear people react when they or their friends first showed up onscreen...laughing, clapping, and shouting in Hebrew. And they didn't stop reacting--left wing band members booed when right wing bands made controversial statements onscreen and vice versa.

Suddenly, the film was over and an old saying rang in my ears amidst the silence: "And a hush fell over the crowd."  How could it be that Israelis, who talk during movies anyway and had not stopped making raucous noise for the past 75 minutes, were suddenly quiet? Once people started to talk, I spent the next half an hour standing on stage, hearing everything that was wrong with the film. Still, I wouldn't give up those Q & A sessions for anything. Even the tougher experiences have been valuable ones, and even the tough Israeli crowd was full of positive feedback after they got their initial grievances off of their chests.

Starting at DocAviv, I've gotten to take advantage of all the wonderful things that being a special guest at festivals has to offer, including seeing tons of cutting-edge films, meeting international peers in the industry, eating better than I can on the typical indie filmmaker budget and, of course, participating in my beloved post-screening discussions.

I am still waiting to hear from a few more festivals for Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land, and because the Q & A sessions have been just as exciting as I always hoped, I am currently planning a campus tour for this coming fall to discuss Middle East politics with young people around the U.S. In the meantime, I am looking forward to being home in the Bay Area for a little while and screening the film at the festival where it all began.