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Call for Submissions: How to Submit a Film
1. Independent films: Digressing from over-indulgent, celebrity-clad films that cover billboards so big that they eclipse the sky, we welcome low budget films that do not run solely on the fame of its movie stars…except maybe a cameo by Steve Buscemi.
2. Subtitles: At an international film festival, subtitles are a tricky thing. In our attempts to create the most enjoyable and accommodating experience, we ask that non-English film...
Inspired by the Blog article: “How Long Until A Feature Film Made on the iPhone is in Theaters” by Peter Hall, our Intern Heather Poole gives her opinion on the future of Filmmaking:
The new iPhone 4G is the latest
edition to the Apple revolution but is it the beginning of the end for
the big screen in cinema?
By: Heather Poole, ECU 2011 Festival Intern
With new technologies constantly emerging,
it’s no wonder that the culture in which we view films, television, ...
By Rhiannon Hobbins, Festival Manager
I was in serious post-festival daze when I first watched G-Technology’s “Faces of the Festival” film.
And I’ve got to admit that I was truly impressed. Sure, it brought back
great memories from the festival. But the image quality was amazing and
I was intrigued to learn that they filmed it all on a SLR camera.
Surely SLR cameras are just for still photography, I thought? After
a little investigation, I was surprised to learn tha...
With a lot of Europe preparing itself for a nice long summer break
we seem to have stepped up a gear and had an incredibly busy month here
at ÉCU this month – and the cool thing is that there appears to be no
end in sight as we head down various roads and avenues at warp speed!
Last week I was joined at the London Film Academy by Lousia Mayman
(director of ÉCU 2010’s Best Student Film) for an ÉCU 2011 presentation
and the screening of Lousisa’s film, The Highest Low. I...
This year I was at the festival presenting my short film High/Low, which was entered in the Short Film Corner.This meeting place for short films is pretty interesting because it facilitates the exchange with other people from the industry (filmmakers, producers, screen writers, actors)Unfortunately,it is difficult to get around to everything because so many people are signedup, and I get the feeling that this year it wasn’t easy on the SFC side.The place is very friendly but there is a lac...
Scott Hillier's Cannes Update
Ahh.. Cannes.. The mammoth, the Big-Daddy, the Fois Gras of all film festivals. The must-be-there, must-drink-bucketloads of Rosé, must show my power and strength (and the new shoes - although the blistering will be painful!) event of the year for everyone involved in European cinema. OR IS IT?
So Sundance made love with Raindance, deliciously long-legged beauties sauntered the Croisette in the oh-so- slinkiest of dental floss inspired micro skirts. ...
Something of a novice as far as film festivals are concerned, I’m
caught off guard as I’m stampeded out of the intimate hall (really,
though, a corridor that compensates with the title “Le Grand Bar”) of
the Cinéma Grand Action in Paris’ Latin Quarter, in which the entirety
of the Friday night ÉCU film festival crowd are packed like stylish and
remarkably prolific independent-film making sardines. Tonight people
have gathered for a series of 8 short ...
Labelled a goldbrick or a loafer in the times before Poland’s democratic transformation in 1989, the eponymous ‘hero’ of Sebastian Czech’s documentary spends his days in carefree and alcohol fuelled bliss, in between dodging various prison sentences for failure to pay his debts.A brutally honest and candid depiction of one man’s existence….By Mairi CunninghamQ: Firstly, tell me what motivated you to tackle the issues you did? “You have to go and know how to read some signs. Ma...
By Sophie Nellis
Is it a yo yo? Is it a thermometer? No, it’s the…Pantheon
If
you visit the Pantheon, you will undoubtedly marvel at its enormity but
you may also ask yourself, “What is it?” This is a good question, and
one that has long puzzled both tourists and the French. Built under
Louis XV in the 17th
century, it was intended to be a church dedicated to one of Paris’
patron saints, S...
By Greta Lorez
Did you know…
… Jean-Luc Godard, one of the founding
members of the Nouvelle Vague, was the son of a Swiss couple. Born in
Paris, he spent his childhood in Switzerland and at the age of 18,
moved back to Paris where he studied Ethnology at the Sorbonne. Godard,
however, never severed his Swiss connection: many of his movies were
shot on location in Switzerland. He lives there now.
… the German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of De...
What’s unusual about Malagasy Gospel? Directors Carlos
Esbert, Virginia Camino, Alvaro Lagos, and Graciela de Pablos give us
the details on their inspiring and recent ÉCU 2010 selected documentary
feature about a blind, orphaned children’s choir.
By Nick Forrester
Q: It seemed to me that
everyone making the film genuinely enjoyed spending time with these
unique kids, but what initially inspired you to make the film?
The starting point of the project was in fa...
Fabien Dubois gives us details about his film, recently chosen for the ÉCU 2010 Official Selection. "High/Low" is a short film about two step-brothers living in Tokyo and experiencing the city in different ways: while one works on his decibel map project and thoroughly explores the city, the other abandons himself to a life of confusion and alcohol.By Maria Gabriella PezzoQ: Why did you choose to film in a city? How does the city speak to you?I fell in love with Tokyo the first time I...
"The Miraculous Tale of the Children Dubois" is the brainchild of writer/director Cassandra Lee Hamilton from Austin Texas. The film follows Juliette as she is helped to rediscover the magical world of her childhood by her twin brother Nikolia, who mysteriously and unexpectedly re-enters her life.By Edward Caffrey Q: What is your film about? The Miraculous Tale of the Children Dubois is about a young girl, Juliette, that has lost the magic of her childhood. When her twin br...
"Ink" is a subversive and unsettling ÉCU Student short directed by Nuno Neves . Who knew ink had such an organic, benign energy-- able to create images that are hypnotic and frightening...By Nick ForresterQ: This short plays with the visual properties of ink. How did you go about filming the ink; the fast moving black compared to the blending colours?The short was all filmed on a wood table I set up and lit, in my building´s comunity garage. The ink was poured down a white piece of ...
G-Technology have created the perfect assistant to your next film production – the G-DRIVE mobile USB andG-DRIVE mobile –
perfect for storing all your stills, music, documents and graphic files
in a Mac-styled, pocket-sized design. Launched in Europe at this week’s
Broadcast Video Expo and Production show 2010 in London, they are
available initially as an exclusive from your Apple Store.
Both drives weigh less then 250g and mean that you can store up to
500GB of precious ...
By Moze Halpernin
Those of you who live in Paris have likely noticed the frightening abundance of misery-stricken, wet, baffled, crushed, torn, tempest-tossed Korean widows plastering the Paris metro stations. Lurking behind every endearingly Parisian puff of urine with that worn mien, waiting to shatter commuters’ iPoded complacency, silently bemoaning the woes, the burdens, the weight of motherhood. Actually, said Korean widows are just one Korean widow, played by Hye-Ja Kim, sta...
The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU), in partnership with G-technology by Hitachi, is delighted to announce the Official Selection. ÉCU 2010 will showcase 67 films from 26 countries on the 12th, 13th and 14th March in Paris, France.
EuropeanDramatic Short (24)
Blocked (Norway)
Boiler (UK)
Ca Roule (France)
Champagne Supernova (Spain)
City Game (France)
Committed (Iceland)
Curtains (UK)
Das Packet (Germany)
Deux Minutes(France)...
On set, Director Mircea Nestor (left) Antonia Micu (middle) and Bogdan Cotleț (right).
We speak to Romanian director Mircea Nestor about his recent submission to ECU’s European Dramatic Short category,
“Tarantyno”. Unsuccessful in his attempts to charm an attractive girl
and spurned by an irritating and dominant older brother, the eponymous
anti-hero decides to take what he wants, with devastating results.
Marcea’s answers shed light on hi...
Our
favourite superhero takes on a new dimension in this short film from
director Hadrien Soulez Lariviere. A Parisian call-girl is summoned to
Room 212 of a hotel where she is faced with a rather unusual client,
whose sexual fantasy doesn’t quite conform to the norm.....
By Mairi Cunningham
Q:
Firstly, when watching the scene of the escort girl walking the hotel
corridors, it immediately made me the think of the iconic shots in
Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” wh...
"Mind Dance", a recent submission to the Student Film category, is a moving portrayal of grief and memory loss.
By Sophie Nellis
(Interview partially edited by Geoffrey Hughes)
Q: Could you tell me what inspired you to make this film?
While
studying abroad at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), I
started to explore the concept of loss. I began to realize that in our
lives we are constantly forced to deal with many types of losses.
...
Director Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli of recent European Dramatic Short submission "The Center" has a new spin on the old mannequin.
By Katie Tillyer
Q: What is your film about? Can you summarize what happens within it, briefly?
"The
Center" is about the violence of our contemporary societies; the
violence we passively absorb through images thrown at us any possible
instant of our everyday life. It is a provocative tale about men unable
to reco...
Directors Taylor Alexander Ward and Valentina Avayu talking on set.
We
speak to directing duo Taylor Alexander Ward and Valentina Avayu about
their atmosphere piece, "The Magician", a recent submission to ÉCU’s Non-European Dramatic Short category. Their questions shed some light on an enigmatic story of one person's attempt to face up to a terrible loss...
By Katie Jackson
Q: The film has a very personal feel to it. Did the project deal with a subject that...
"Ça Roule", (European Dramatic Short category) from French directors Antoine Coutou and Jozsef Tari is
a five minute blast of ingenious images which link like the fabric of
life to show us that serenity and peace can come after fatal tragedy.
By Katie Jackson
Q: What is your film about? How did you come up with the idea and then develop the storyboard?
Antoine Coutou: The
film shows hardships we may face in life and overall the...
What would you be willing to sacrifice? DEADSIDE, directed by Mark Triller and an ÉCU 2010 Student Film submission is a psychological-thriller short about a couple who have to make an untimely decision.
By Lindsay Mayer
Q: Explain what your film is about.
The film is about the bond parents have to their children, specifically the heartache of loss, and confronting mortality. Losing a child can be unbearably grievous, more so than the loss of a parent or spouse. ...
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Actress Barbara Wilson and director Reeve Nixon on the set of ‘Entwined.’
‘Entwined’ is about an elderly lady forced to confront her fears of living and dying with regrets as she spends the night trapped in a Victorian whirligig. We talk to British director Reeve Nixon about old age and gambling with the weather when shooting a film outdoors in Scotland.
By Mairi Cunningham
Q: First off, tell me a bit about your film. Correct me if ...
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About ÉCU-The European Independent Film Festival
 Hillier Scott
(ECU)
Scott Hillier, Founder and President of ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival
Scott Hillier is a director, cinematographer, and screenwriter, based in Paris, France. In the last 20 years, Hillier has gained international recognition from his strong and incredible cinematography, editing, writing, producing and directing portfolio in both the television and film industries.
Scott began his career in the television industry in Australia. In 1988, he moved to London getting a job with the BBC who then set him to Baghdad. This opportunity led him to 10 years of traveling around world for the BBC, mainly in war zones like Somalia, Bosnia, Tchetcheynia, Kashmir, and Lebanon. After a near fatal encounter with a Russian bomber in Tchechnyia, Hillier gave up his war coverage and began in a new direction.
He moved to New York City in 1998. He directed and photographed eight one-hour documentaries for National Geographic and The Discovery Channel. Based on his war knowledge and experience, Hillier wrote and directed a short film titled, “Behind the Eyes of War!" The film was awarded “Best Short Dramatic Film” at the New York Independent Film and TV Festival in 1999. From that he served as Supervising Producer and Director for the critically acclaimed CBS 42 part reality series, "The Bravest” in 2002 and wrote and directed a stage play called, "Deadman’s Mai l," which ran at Le Théâtre du Moulin de la Galette in Paris during the summer of 2004. He then became the Director of Photography on a documentary titled, “Twin Towers." This was yet another life changing experience for Hillier. The riveting documentary won an Academy Award for "Best Documentary Short Subject" in 2003. In 2004, Hillier changed continents again, spending three months in Ethiopia. He produced “Worlds Apart,” a pilot for ABC America / True Entertainment / Endemol. As you can see, Hillier was and is always in constant movement and enjoys working in a number of diverse creative areas including documentaries, music videos, commercials, feature and short films.
Scott studied film at New York University and The London Film and Television School. He also studied literary non-fiction writing at Columbia University. Hillier's regular clients include the BBC, Microsoft, ABC, PBS and National Geographic. Between filming assignments, he used to teach film, a Masters Degree course in Screenwriting at the Eicar International Film School in Paris, France and journalism at the Formation des Journalistes Français in Paris, France.
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