Short Films are a massive draw card of the annual SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, and the woman who helps put that program together goes by the name of Claudette Godfrey. She’s currently in the country to present a collection of the best 2013 Short Films at the St Kilda Film Festival, and she took some time out to talk to Larry Heath to talk about her role and more.
Is this your first time to Australia? What are you looking forward to experiencing down here?
It is my first time to Australia! I’ve actually always dreamed of making the trip and it’s unbelievably awesome to be making it with films from SXSW. I’m very excited to watch films with Aussie audiences. I also can’t wait to try the local food, enjoy a break from the heat (It’s already 95 in Texas!), learn new phrases, and, of course, cuddle a koala!
You’ve been working as the SXSW Short Film Programmer for 5 years now – how has the program grown over these years?
We added some programs and I’ve honed my programming sensibility. We created a program we call Medium Cool specifically for longer short films. It gave us extra programming time so we could include a few more films between 25 and 40 minutes.
The Music Video competition is now a staple of the SXSW Film festival; what does it mean to you to be able to showcase music videos in such a way? Talking with many of the directors at this year’s event, they were incredibly humbled to be apart of it.
The Music Video competition has actually been around for the 8 years that I’ve been a part of the event, but maybe even longer. It makes perfect sense for us to recognize work that showcases both film and music and it’s actually one of my favorite parts of the job. There’s a real freedom to the form and I’m extremely proud to support that innovative filmmaking. I believe it’s important to recognize filmmakers in all areas of the spectrum. It’s a very fun and special experience to watch music videos up on the big screen with a SXSW audience and the music turned way up!
You must get the opportunity to discover a great array of new talent through the short films you look through each year. Do any particular talents stick out in your mind as ones who got their break through the SXSW Short Film Festival?
I do! I feel very lucky that finding new talent is part of my job. I guess the first filmmakers that come to mind are Grainger David and Hannah Fidel. Grainger’s short, The Chair, premiered and won SXSW 2012 and went on to play Cannes. Hannah’s short, The Gathering Squall, premiered at SXSW 2012 and she recently directed a feature, A Teacher, that screened at both Sundance and SXSW 2013.
What sort of process is involved in narrowing down the multitude of entries that you receive every year?
The programmers are all screening as much as they possibly can. We also have trusted screeners who watch and rate films. The result is a big funneling process. If a film is getting positive reviews it will find its way up to the top for final consideration. Last year I personally watched about 1300 of the 3600 short film submissions.
Do you have a strict number you allow in ever year or do you let the quality determine it, allowing it to fluctuate slightly from year to year?
It fluctuates. I go in with a skeleton, an idea, of what I’m looking for because we only have so much programming space, but if I find more films that blow me away, I always try to find a home for them. Unfortunately, we’re just not able to showcase everything that I like. The decisions are always tough.
In the program for the St Kilda Film Festival, do you have a couple of favourite films you’ll be sharing with us?
I really love all the films in the St Kilda Best of SXSW programs. I was able to pull my favorites, award winners, and other stand outs from the past 5 years to showcase what SXSW is all about. We decided to do Best of SXSW Music Videos, Best of Texas, and two Best of SXSW programs so I think we’ve got something for everyone.
Are there any Australian entries amongst the mix?
Actually, there are not any Australian films because St Kilda asked me to include films that might not have been available to their audience and asked me not to program any of my SXSW Aussie alum, but I’m looking forward to seeing some of them at the festival! I’ve had many talented filmmakers from Australia be part of the SXSW program in the past.
Do the vast majority of the short films you receive come from the US or is is much broader than that?
We really get submissions from everywhere in the world at this point. It makes things much more interesting!
During SXSW do you ever get a chance to see any of the non-film events? I don’t imagine you’re floating with spare time!
Indeed, I am very busy for the majority of the festival, however, our staff tries to share the load and make sure everyone has a little time to see something they’re excited about. This year for me that was seeing Prince at SXSW Music in a tiny club in Austin. Very surreal!
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Honestly, it’s finding the gems. Meaning, finding the films that truly transcend the other work. Seeing a film that I love and want to program is a huge rush for me. We’re sifting through and watching thousands of submissions each year, so finding something that stands out is very exciting. Bringing those filmmakers to the festival to share their work with a wider audience, especially the SXSW audience, is supremely gratifying.
What is the most difficult part?
Trying to find the gems! Screening is a grueling process that consumes my free time. It’s every night and every weekend during the season and it’s challenging to keep up the search and the pace to meet our programming deadlines. However, it’s all worthwhile when you’ve found great films to share with the audience. I would also say it’s very difficult when we send rejections. It’s a hard thing for any programmer because we know how much time, money and love goes into this work.
And has there been something about the role that has surprised you?
At first I was a little surprised by what a job like this takes out of you and your personal life, but I think 5 years down the road I’m actually more surprised by how huge the payback is. I’ve made so many interesting friends, learned so much and really enjoyed the personal challenge of it all. Plus, I get to travel to Australia to show films from SXSW and meet talented filmmakers – how fantastic is that!
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Claudette is currently in the country to showcase a series of Short Films from SXSW at the St Kilda Film Festival. Details are here: http://www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au/2013-s2/page-192
Follow her on Twitter @claudasaur and if you’re interested in applying for your film to be a part of the 2014 SXSW Film Festival, keep your eyes on http://www.sxsw.com/
