Monday the 17th November
What a weekend. Strange strange strange. So I headed to Melbourne for the Giant Reel 16 mm film festival enduring a 5 and a ½ hour bus/train journey to get there. Arriving in the rather dero looking suburb of Glenroy I wandered around looking for the festival base. Walking down the street I came to a run down little shop front with a sign saying 'bongs, adult books and video's', and I was there. I entered a little apprehensively to find the weirdest people. Thankfully the sign was a remnant of the previous shop, but that didn’t stop it being one of my strangest Australian encounters yet. Ed, the guy running the event was a giant cross between lurch and the hunch back of Notrodame, with strange eyes that wouldn’t look at you. There was nobody else there, just Ed and his dad a rambling old polish man. After and 1 ½ of sitting around struggling through strange one way conversations a couple of local film enthusiast arrived, equally strange. Everyone seemed to shout over the top of each other and were just a little odd. The workshops weren't really workshops, I spent the morning watching a few awfully DVD's of super 8 films and listening to one of the enthusiast take me thought the history of 16 mm cameras. We then went out on to the streets of Glenroy to shoot some 16 mm film ready for the afternoon session. This was again just really bizarre. We had one camera between us all and enthusiast 1 directed us as to what to shoot: primarily trains and buses driving past and us pretending to point at things and walk around. Not really what I was expecting, especially as the price I had been told was $45aus for the two workshops, I kind of expected to film my own little piece of footage, or at least have the freedom to film what I wanted. By lunchtime I was ready to go home and struggling to hold back the laughter at this wholly bizarre encounter. But no, I was definitely sticking it out, at least long enough to actually learn how to develop my own film. At lunch a third oddball character arrived and I was feeling a little like I was at some kind of community outreach programme for the socially challenged. Finally a breath of normality when the teacher for the afternoon workshop turned up. The afternoon was painstakingly slow. Again we ambled round the streets, taking at least an hour to shoot 3 minutes of 16 mm film. Joined by a veteran moviemaker, another out of place character who seemed like a cross between an American businessman and horse trainer type and looked like he should have a cigar permanently attached to his lips. I battled on. Eventually we developed the film, although I didn’t actually get to help with it as enthusiast 1 and 2's egos battled it out, I think it was deemed as a student I couldn’t possibly assist. Sadly I discovered developing 16 mm or super 8 film is exactly the same as developing stills, which I know how to do anyway.
Exhausted I chucked in a $20aus donation and made a fast escape back to reality; well actually the Spanish festival in Fitzroy (actually a proper festival with people). Amongst much drinking I bumped into Liz, the ABC radio journalist who interviewed me the either week. A fluke chance, seeing as she is based in Balarat and I down in Portland, that we were in the same bar at the same time. I met one of her friends who works on the board at the Melbourne Fringe and told about some great festival/projects I should try and get involved in when I move out here. A sound contact to have made, and a glimpse of hope in an otherwise unfruitful trip.
So Sunday, the day of the 16 mm fair and auction, I thought at least I would be able to get a camera. But no. There were no 16 mm cameras and the 16 mm festival and fair! Having spent all of Saturday saying how I really just wanted to pick up a 16 mm camera and how I had been working with super 8 you would of thought one of would have told me. It took me an hour ½ to get there due to rail works and replacement buses with a banging hangover only to turn round and head all the way back again. The only cameras they had for sale were super 8's, which I have! Why would you have super 8 and not 16 mm at a 16 mm film festival????
They whole event was just one of the weirdest things I have ever encounter and slightly scary. They were a little to eager to take my photo at every opportunity.
My budget is pretty tight at the moment so I am quite annoyed at how much I spent on going to Melbourne for the festival that was a total waste of time. What have I learnt? Don’t trust the Internet. That’s how I found out about the festival, it was advertised on the moving image coalition website, which I obviously thought was reliable. I would just expect the organisers to be running the workshops and for them to be proper workshops, not a couple of film hobbyist's meeting up to argue.
Oh well, it was an experience. And this week I will begin to develop my own films and play around with the process…
