Today started early(ish) at a screenwriting seminar that was well attended.  I won't cover it here since another member is going to do a write up.  

Afterwards, several of us had lunch and someone commented about the quality of the films, which to this point had been uneven to this point.

I think that's to be expected in a festival.  Many of these productions don't have the huge machines behind them that even smaller films out of Hollywood enjoy - like some of the boutique imprints that most studios support.

In my mind, a festival like this is for experiments.  These films wouldn't be here if they were instantly commercially viable.  Many of these filmmakers used their own money to make these films because Hollywood either didn't believe in their work or the filmmakers had no conduit to the "legit" production companies.  Let's not forget that movies - even bad ones - don't happen by accident.  There are several film market events that take place during the year where film is bought and sold and that points to an entire process that most of us never see or are aware of.  The studios only put out a few hundred films a year - there's thousands released and distributed, including to cable and the networks.

I didn't love "Crash" but it did terribly well once it hit the streets.  It was premiered at the Newport Beach Film Fesitval.  It is an exception.  But maybe something like "Five Star" the featured film on gala night will do the same thing as "Crash" and hit the big time.  Maybe one of the small films on the slate at the festival will catch the imagination of the public, like "Paranormal Activity" did and make film history.

That's the point.  And given all this, uneven is to be expected.

But if no films from the film festival ever break through the festival and filmmakers would still be a massive success since the films were made (a huge accomplishment) and seen in venues like The Island and The Regency Theaters.  Getting just a screening is major news.  And on the other end, getting as many entries as NBFF got shows that it has some clout.

So celebrate your fellow filmmakers and attend a movie or two.  You might just catch someone on the way up.

I'm off to another film - more after that is finished and a review of the film.