I am compiling this on the plane as I fly to Rhode Island… I had considered having a rant about the state of British Film and the UK film council, but I realised that many of the comments I received after the Kodak screenings and events did it much more eloquently than I could. So here are a few of those messages, with some names and roles withheld to avoid unfair embarrassment as the film makers themselves cannot directly defend their films - and fundamentally, any movie that is made and screened is a minor miracle, so lets celebrate that at the very least…
Anyway, in no particular order…
I didn't hang around long after the films because I
was actually stunned at the state of things and didn't really get my head back
until later on…Today was an example of how we British manage to take something
so valuable and turn it into crap. I am
fairly scathing about Americans but I can not deny they do this so much better
than us... Graham
I just wanted to say congratulations on the Kodak
award! Your videos and blog posts about the event were great, and you've
inspired me to make a short film that is entertaining rather than one that I
hope festival judges will like. It's a question that I've been subconsciously
worrying about for ages and you've helped make up my mind...Tim Mewton
I am really thrilled and very emotional about this
award you just won… because of your commitment and passion to movies and the
way you manage to transmit it to others… keep looking for your own way, because
it is there and you're not the only one to see it...Marc Lallemand
Gone Fishing is an amazing gift to the planet that wins in spirit and content. Just yesterday, as you were receiving the award, I was actually fishing on a lake, much like yours, but in northern Ontario and telling everyone, as the pike and bass came flying out of the water, that they had to see your film... It is an honor to be an associate producer... Kathy Fedori, Canada
Let me be the 8763th person to send you my deepest
congratulations on your success at the Kodak film Awards. After all the hard work I can only imagine how thrilled you must be! Louise Steggals
Congratulations! I have goose bumps and am very happy
for you! You deserved it fair and square! I love the fact that you have made a
short film unlike anything I have ever seen...! You beat the Cinema Extreme
film which was made on a much higher budget! Johnny Roberts
I saw XXX (I know the first AD on it) and was
wondering when the story was going to kick in, then XXX, and I was almost
screaming at the screen with boredom and depression. ‘Love Does Grown on Trees’
was a welcome respite as it was funny in parts, then I saw a minute of XXX and
decided to give it a miss. I have met XXX who directed XXX and was
contemplating staying for that one, but based on another short film made by the
same director, I wasn't inclined to stay. I like to see short films that are
uplifting, have a story and leave a lasting impression on me, which Gone
Fishing did in spades…A. D. (London), writer and Film Maker
I went to the Curzon today and duly watched the first
five of the shorts - it was too depressing to sit through any more as each one
was bleaker than the last! Thank goodness for Gone Fishing to prevent my
friends having to go on suicide watch...
Gone Fishing didn't belong in that festival - it was
too big, too well made and had too great a storyline. The others are what I
would be expecting of good young British film makers at the moment - lots of
moral message, angst, grainy handheld stuff with youth 'on-target' messages,
designed to get all sorts of government grants and good will for future
projects. Gone Fishing felt like a million light years away from such
banalities, as if it were made by people with a totally different audience in
mind. So in that sense, it didn't have the 'feel' of a movie that belonged in a
short film comp but rather one that should be doing the more commercial rounds
and possibly, bigger more serious shorts festivals…
The irony of Kodak sponsoring this event when the
LEAST important thing at the festival was the quality of the screening area
(and thus picture visibility) or indeed sound quality, does not escape me. It
was a testament to the sheer force of Gone Fishing that I was able to switch
off from the clanking of bottling up at the bar and concentrate totally on what
unravelled before me...Katherin
I brought three people and
we voted for "Gone Fishing" obviously. Hard to see the film properly
though, with people walking through the screen, kids crying and no dimmed
lighting. Have a word with Curzon... Kath
All good food for thought…
Next time you hear from me I will be at the Rhode Island Festival. Getting
EXCITED!
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]
So the Oscars 2008 have come and gone, and while all eyes have been on the big players, I have been watching the shorts. I am delighted that a film that ENTERTAINS managed to walk away with the gold statue last Sunday night. It bodes well for Gone Fishing. 
In fact looking down the list of nominees for the Oscars, it’s clear that the Academy favours films that entertain while delivering their message. For me this is in stark contrast to the BAFTA nominated shorts which I saw last week, where three out of the five (in the live action) steadfastly refused to Entertain while delivering their message, choosing hard hitting and gritty social realism instead. Don’t get me
wrong, ‘Soft’, ‘Dog Altogether’ and ‘Hesitation’ were all extremely powerful films. It’s just after seeing any one of these films, I would feel depressed and shell shocked. And after seeing them all, one after the other, I felt positively suicidal. Friends will confirm the fact that for days I could hardly function I was so depressed. The fourth film, ‘The Stronger’, which was really a stage play committed to film (and a monologue at that) was simply not my cup of tea at all. I just didn't understand it. 
