Unit 8 Brief

Bristol Film Festival

The Bristol Independent Film Festival is a fast-growing
festival that has a partnership with Film Freeway. They
started in 2016 and have had submissions from 120
countries in that time. They are focussed on giving
independent creators recognition and accept projects of
any genre. I will most likely enter the "Best Student
Film" category, or the "Best Short Film" category,
potentially under sci-fi and action.

I looked at many festivals and eventually settled on

Bristol. It has stellar reviews and accepts any genre.
The entry fees are reasonable and there are several
deadlines which provides ample opportunity and time to
apply. I found them on Film Freeway, through which I
intend to apply as well.

Deadlines and Fees

There are many deadlines,
which is reassuring as there's
plenty of opportunity to enter
the competition.

The fees seem manageable and

reasonable, staying pretty
similar across the deadlines.
Naturally the later deadlines
have a higher price, but it's
not too much higher. I intend
to aim for the May deadline,
to also comply with the UAL
deadline.

Prizes
"We only award the best independent filmmakers after a
comprehensive evaluation process. Our judges evaluate the
quality of filmmaking, creativity, and storytelling
ability.

All selected nominees will be invited to our live

screening at the Everyman Bristol Cinema for the
opportunity to meet people from the same industry.

All winners will receive “winner” laurel with a hard copy

certificate and special engraved “Bristol Independent
Film Festival” trophy presented at our live screening on
Event Date. Winners and selected nominees that cannot

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attend the event will be contacted by BIFF team to send
the awards to the provided address.”

Could I win?
Of course, I would love to win, but if I really want to
try, I know I am going to have to work harder than I ever
have. I hope that my film is unique so that it stands
out. If I can make it very professional this will also
help it to stand out among the other student films. My
aim is to make it the best quality I can and hopefully I
will have a chance of winning.

Outline of final idea

For my production I will be creating a short film, which

I hope will be entertaining and original. I feel that my
idea is quite ambitious, especially with all the current
restrictions, but I will complete it to the best of my
ability. The story follows a man who wakes up in a forest
with no idea how he got there. Throughout the film we
learn about his past and how he got there in flashbacks.
He eventually meets another person in the seemingly empty
forest. They both come to the realisation by the end that
they are both part of a program of enhanced soldiers, who
are being engineered in the event of an alien invasion. I
think this concept offers a lot of opportunity for me to
show my skills in camerawork, editing and storytelling. I
really enjoy doing action, which there will be several
instances of. As well as giving me a chance to show my
ability to handle more emotional and dialogue driven
scenes. I am really looking forward to producing this
project and can’t wait to start filming!

Competition rules
1. We do not accept any films made before 2016.

2. Any foreign films must include English subtitles.

3. All fees are non-refundable.

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4. Student filmmakers are encouraged to apply but must
present their valid Student ID in order to benefit from
our student discount.

5. BIFF is not responsible for broken or non-functioning

films.

6. Films do not have to be screened publicly to be

eligible for our festival, prizes, or awards.

7. BIFF is a competitive event and unless notified

otherwise, all films officially selected are eligible for
competition. Not all submissions received are selected
for BIFF.

8. All films are nominated and voted upon by a jury of

film professionals, from an independent point of view.

9. All genres and formats are considered eligible for

nomination into one or more competitive categories.

10. BIFF reserve the right to refuse to accept any

submission deemed by the Festival to be inappropriate.
Should you wish to question BIFF about their decision,
you can contact us by email on
Bristolfilmfest@hotmail.com.

11. A fee is required upon submission. For payment

structures, visit the Film Freeway website.

12. One entry fee per category. The same film can be
entered into one or more categories, but each category
requires an entry fee

My target audience
I hope that any demographic can enjoy my film, but it is
primarily intended for those of around 12 anywhere up to
50 or even above. It has elements of science fiction,
action and mystery which should give it widespread
appeal. My intention is that anyone who watches there is
something that they find entertaining and interesting.

Legal and ethical issues

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As I am analysing films to inspire aspects in my film
such as camerawork, editing and characters I will be sure
to adapt what I learn, as well as crediting my sources in
my research. I need to be careful not to copy scenes or
moments and make my production original.

To minimise the harm and violence I will not use weapons

in the fight scenes, only hand to hand combat. Not only
does this fit better with the story but it also means
that I am not glorifying use of anything such as guns or
knives.

I will either need to find a patch of forest that is

public and free to film on or if there if permission
needed, acquire that before filming commences. I will
also get consent from those who appear on screen, and
make sure they are aware that the production will be
going on the internet. Moreover, it is important for the
story and for reducing the amount of legal complications,
that there is no one in the background. I will make sure
there is no one else on screen besides those I have
enlisted to act and have signed a consent form.

I should not offend anyone by showing super soldiers on

screen due to their fictitious nature. Though I will
ensure that there is nothing offensive said by the
characters or imagery that may be considered offensive.

Production schedule