I attended the Cleveland International Film Festival over spring break and I really enjoyed it. Overall, the whole experience was very similar to simply going to see a movie with just a few differences. First, it was important for me to purchase my tickets online in order to insure that my movie didn't get sold out. Unlike going to a regular movie where there are multiple showing times, if I were to get shut out of my movie I wouldn't have another chance to see it. Another difference was in the way the organizers of the even seated movies. There were special lines for each movie and the theaters usually didn't start seating people until about fifteen minutes before the movie's starting time which is different than what I'm used to in going to see movies. Also, the organizers of the even passed out voting sheets so that the viewers could rate their favorite movie which I thought was a great way to get feedback.
Again, I really enjoyed the overall experience. The film festival gave me the chance to see the type of movie that isn't normally shown in American theaters. I saw a movie that took place in India and was entirely spoken in Gujarati. The film was shown with subtitles so that English speakers could understand it. This was a unique experience for me, because although I've seen movies with subtitles, I haven't seen very many and I think it gave me a good glimpse of another culture.
One of the only drawbacks of the film festival was the price of the movie tickets. I had a difficult time deciding what movie I wanted to see because there were so many really interesting movies to choose from. I would have liked to see more than one movie, but the price ($12 per ticket) prevented me from doing so. I'm a college student and I don't have a lot of money so I feel that the prices may deter people from seeing some of the movies they want to see.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the experience and I will probably go to see a movie at the film festival next year. I think it was a good example of the fact that film is very artistic and that the art of film should be showcased and appreciated.
I didn't have subtitles in my movie, did you find that it was hard to pay attention when having to translate what is being said? I would find that difficult, but that it also a think I like about the film festival. A lot of the movies were made in other countries so it opened my eyes to the sorts of movies that I don't normally see.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, the subtitles weren't that much of a big deal for me. The subtitles went slow enough that I was able to read them and also see the character's facial expressions and what was going on in the movie. I honestly didn't even really notice them that much.
ReplyDeletePrice was definitely a huge factor for a lot of us, I think. It seems like we all had fun, but wished we could have done more. I have a good friend who goes to a lot of film festivals because he's a film major and he said the way it was organized and prices, etc. were fairly normal, so I'm glad we all got experience what he considers to be a solid, regular film festival. Definitely makes me want to go to Sundance at some point.
ReplyDeleteBecause my girlfriend is a film major as well, I've had to sit through countless movies with subtitles that it doesn't even phase me anymore. I actually prefer it sometimes by now, even if the movie is in English. It helps keep me focused. I'm glad you enjoyed your movie!
I agree that the experience of subtitles was an interesting one! if not for subtitles, I think some of the fabulous acting in foreign films would get lost in sometimes silly and badly done dubbing of English lines. I enjoyed seeing forgien films as they were intended to be seen. The emotions were real and could be felt even without words.
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