Flatpack

I’ve been at Flatpack now for around three and a half months, and it’s been a very good time – I’m very glad I applied for the position this year. 

From the get go, I’ve had a lot to do; in my first week we opened short film submissions, hosted a film night with live experimental music from Fizzle, and I began my research into what shorts other festivals have shown recently in order to start building our longlist of short films for the festival. This is all stuff that now I wouldn’t worry about, but at the time it was all very daunting (especially when we realised that none of us knew how to work a mixing desk in advance of the event).

Other than helping with the tech, in prep for the Fizzle event at Artefact I had to edit videos, create graphics and create a playlist of the films. This involved a lot of new software, therefore a fair bit of my first week was spent on YouTube tutorials, helping me to act like I knew what I was doing all along..

Our next big event was at Moseley Road Baths, where we screened Easy to Love, a 1953 ‘Aqua-Musical’. The event (despite a fiasco with subtitles and a wonky image) went down very well, and definitely taught me to be more prepared before an event. This event also required a lot of research into rubber rings and other pool inflatables, which definitely wasn’t what I was expecting to be doing. 

Our next screening had remarkably few hiccups. White Christmas at Birmingham Cathedral had a quick and easy set up, and even though we didn’t use them, having the subtitles ready was a great weight off my shoulders. Bing Crosby, mulled wine, and mince pies all made for a very successful event and festive atmosphere, at least until the exit polls started coming in… 

Alongside these great events, the main project we’ve all been working on is of course the festival, which takes place 5-10 May. This prep has taken lots of different forms, and I’ve been all around Birmingham checking out venues, speaking to filmmakers, and attending workshops to build my knowledge base and make me a helpful presence for the festival. 

One of my main (and most exciting) projects for the festival is organising a night of Japanese experimental independent animation, which is very on-brand for me. This involved a lot of research and compiling reports, which was really interesting – I ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole and probably have more knowledge on 1960’s animation than I’m ever going to need. To really make this screening into an event, I’ve also been looking into Japanese-style jazz bands based in Birmingham to complement the animation and really make a night of it. 

Alongside all this, I’ve also been dealing with all the short film submissions we’ve been receiving. Flatpack has recently become a BAFTA qualifying festival, and I managed to get us listed as a VIP festival on our submissions site, giving us some extra marketing money and a bit more profile to submitters. Both of these things have really helped with submissions, which is definitely a good thing, but it does mean that there’s so many for me to watch. At the time of writing this we’re on 588 submissions, which totals just under 113 hours of film to get through!

Overall, between all the work PLUS pot luck lunches, brewery tours, classical concerts and ballets (to name a few), I’ve had a great time here, learned loads, and can’t wait for the rest of my internship and the festival.