EIFF: Behind The Scenes

This year Fresh Air has been lucky enough to be part of the EIFF in a number of roles, covering in part all of the aspects of the festival. But what exactly is is like being part of the festival that the public don't see?

Press (Richard Hanrahan) As the woman behind the desk handed me a pass with my ugly mug on it, I knew I had hit the jackpot.  A press pass to one of the world's biggest Film Festivals. As well as the pass I was handed a number of important documents and goodies - mostly advertising pamphlets, press realeases, a DVD with a number of short films, and a trusty pocket sized notebook, which was to become my best friend. The basic process is this - throughout the festival, the organisers put on press screenings for all the films at awkward times for real audiences, so cinemas can be packed out with the working movie-goers, but I was astonished at just how many films there were - the day is subdivided into two hours, with as many as six different films screened in each 2 hour slot. This meant one of two options - either choose your films carefully, or be damned and confused. As such I didn't have the time to go through the program to know exactly what would be good - in short I had no idea. Instead, I would stumble from screening to screening, desperately seeking a hidden gem, to be suprised by what I saw, and let my filmic journey be controlled by the schedulers. The effect of this was wonderful - I could genuinely be suprised by what I saw. The most wonderful experience was when I sat down, completely oblivious to the fact I was about to be shown the Lynch/Herzog superfilm My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (which is refreshing enough even if you know what you are getting yourself into) - a fact compounded by the fact that I hadn't even seen the film in the programme. Score. Still amongst all these screenings were a series of press junkets, events to allow interaction with those involved with the production - directors, actors, animators, all and sundry would be paraded before an assembled press, or else presented for photo-shoots and sound-bytes at a dizzying rate. I can be hugely thankful for the chance to bare witness to this. What have I taken from this? That the festival is a logistical nightmare, and that these stars of screen, these global superstars are people like anyone else - you have to treat them with an ounce of humanity (and know that they too will be tired). Something that I might extend to the day today - if you love film, if you want to get into film, you just have to watch film - not always the classics, everything. Go to the cinema and go to the next thing that's on. Don't listen to reviews until you've seen the film and you will learn so much.

Crew (David Mackay) To some, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) might seem relatively small compared to the other Edinburgh festivals. Whilst the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has well over 300 venues and shows that span over a month: EIFF has only 14 venues and lasts just under two weeks. However, working at EIFF takes over your life and very quickly your life becomes divided into three sections. Stuff you need to do before the festival, the festival and all the things you can leave until after the festival because you sure as hell aren’t going to get things done during it. If you somehow manage to scrape together a spare hour and a half to watch a film then the dark room coupled with a comfortable chair is usually enough to put you to sleep; regardless of how much you are enjoying the film. I have now worked at EIFF over three festivals as part of the displays department. During these festivals I have learned that the job involves dressing the venues and parties along with general odd jobs across the festival that doesn’t fall into any other department. During this years festival I managing to gain a reputation as the ‘laminating king’: not because I posses some innate laminating skill but because it isn’t anyone else’s job. It’s just part of working behind the scenes at a large festival. During the 2008 festival I was asked to take across some EIFF pop-ups to the Delegate Centre. I remember walking into the room and saw a 7ft tall Tilda Swinton standing there. She’s quite a tall lady but with those heels on she was a giantess. After a little bit of hanging about Sir Sean Connery shuffled into the room for a photocall with Ms Swinton wearing a ‘National Geographic’ branded red fleece. Some of the photographers tried to break the ice with Sir Sean by asking him “So, what’s with the fleece?”. Sir Sean looked at them, paused, and said “It’sh cold outshide”. It was mid-June but nobody dared question him.

When you do manage a spare hour or two during the festival it is generally accepted that you take the opportunity to watch one of the films from the programme. Every year I have been amazed by how many I have seen. The tally for 2010 stood at 15 as well as seeing interviews with Nick Hornby and Patrick Stewart. The films you see also become an integral part of working at the festival. Within a few seconds of meeting someone, whether they are a fellow staff member, a filmmaker, a guest or anything else, you can start a conversation that has endless possibilities. After all, the films are why everyone’s there.