Torquay comedy film festival - details
This September will see the launch of the first ever English Riviera International Comedy Film Festival in Torquay, on the south west coast of England. Organisers of the inaugural week-long event say they are hoping the area will, over time, gain a reputation as home of the 'Cannes of Comedy Film'.
The English Riviera International Comedy Film Festival, which will run in Torquay between Thursday 25th and Sunday 28th September 2008, promises to provide a platform for national and international comedy film makers to showcase their new work to the public, whilst also commemorating the heritage of comedy film classics. The organisers say the films featured will not only be future blockbusters from large studios, but also the cream of student and independent productions keen to find an audience and distribution channel.
Filmmakers will be able to enter their work in the Eat My Shorts competition (see below), while the Oska Bright section of the festival will see the screening of films made by people with learning difficulties, as well as associated workshops. The week will also welcome a selection of features shown as part of this year's Birds Eye View Festival in London and a strand called Clowning Glories, will feature classic silent comedies with live orchestration from celebrated female musicians.
Local film makers including Oscar nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins and BAFTA-nominated writer Paul Andrew Williams have both expressed their support for the project, whilst Peter Richardson (of Comic Strip Presents fame) is a patron of the festival and joins a dedicated team of people working on the event and its programme.
A new British comedy called Snappers is also being filmed on the English Riviera this summer starring soul singer Joss Stone and Caroline Quentin. The film tells the story of an actress fleeing the paparazzi and finding love in the most unexpected of places. The romantic comedy will feature local people as extras and provides the perfect opportunity for residents to be involved in the film making process.
The English Riviera Tourist Board tell us that they believe the International Comedy Film Festival will evolve into a real player on the international film festival circuit. "After all", they say, "Cannes was once just a small fishing village and Sundance is in the middle of nowhere!".
They also point out that Torquay is in many ways 'the spiritual birthplace of classic British comedy'. Peter Cook was born in the town, and much of both The Comic Strip Presents and Monty Python's Flying Circus was filmed in the area. Meanwhile Fawlty Towers, which many have voted their favourite British comedy, was set in Torquay.
John Cleese said: "I'm delighted to learn that Torquay is launching its International Comedy Film Festival. I think of Torquay as being the home of British comedy. The first time I saw Bruce Forsyth was in the Babbacombe Pavilion in the mid 50s; we had a very successful Monty Python shoot there in 1970; it was then that I met the famous Donald Sinclair, the model for Basil Fawlty; and I for many years followed the hilarious antics of Torquay United at Plainmoor. I wish the Festival every success and hope I can attend it before I die."
For more information about the festival, and to vote in a poll to find the best comedy films, visit www.icff.co.uk. If you are interested in getting involved in the Eat My Shorts competition read on...
Eat My Shorts
Here is the Eat My Shorts press release:
The team behind the first ever English Riviera International Comedy Film Festival, are looking for your comedy shorts – and no, they are not talking about the embarrassing pair of cartoon boxer shorts your mum bought you for Christmas. They are calling for submissions for the inaugural Eat My Shorts comedy film competition, which is being held as part of the festival which takes place between Thursday 25th and Sunday 28th September.
Since the festival website was launched two weeks ago, a huge amount of submissions have already been received from across the world. In fact entries have come in from the USA and Canada, as well as across both eastern and mainland Europe. Filmmakers stand the chance of having their films screened at the festival, with some fantastic prizes up for grabs for the winners.
The rules couldn't be any more straightforward. The films need to be short... and they need to be comedies. Ideally the films need to be up to 15 minutes long, although they will stretch to 30 minutes "if it is a work of comic genius." Entries must have been produced within the last twelve months and submitted on DVD in any regional format. Films in languages other than English require English subtitles.