MIFF Preparation

I've written about this in previous years, but thought I'd revise my steps in preparing for MIFF each year.

So, how does one choose what films to see at MIFF? There are many different ways - some people I know turn up on the day and wander into whatever takes their fancy. Others pick a theatre and stick to that venue for a stretch to avoid the uphill sprint to a new venue between films.

I don't really do either. I plan, plan and then do more planning. It's not very wild or exciting, I know, but my time is limited, and I don't want to miss a gem due to lack of proper analysis. This especially is the case this year, as due to family commitments, this year I'll have much less than time to be sitting in the cinema.

So, here's what I do, in case you're looking for a system yourself.

1. Get a copy of the Melbourne International Film Festival program guide. These can be found all around the place at the moment - my local VideoEzy and cafe both have a pile of them. If nothing else, you can find one at any of the cinemas showing MIFF films, or at the MIFF box office at the Forum Theatre.

2. In the middle is a Film & Screening Index. I tear this out as it will be with me for the entire festival

3. In the Index, I hunt down all the lower-case titles and cross them off. They're short films, and I don't dislike them, but I'm not going to go and see a main feature based on what short film is showing before it.

4. Now comes the long and arduous task of ranking the films on offer. For each film, I look at the description to get a sense of whether I'd like it or not. If it looks potentially interesting I will also search the film on any combination of imdb.com, apple.com/trailers and rottentomatos.com. If I've seen something by the director that I enjoyed at a previous MIFF it's more likely to rank highly. There are also some things I keep an eye out for, which I went into more detail in a post from my 2005 MIFF blog, but in essense:
* ACMI only session means it may be a low quality film (very low budget, or shot on video)
* I am wary of words like 'experimental', 'dream-like', and 'visual code'. There are definitely people into these types of films, but I still like to have some kind of plot (even if not excessive).
* If it's a South Korean film, it may well be brilliant (some of my fave films in previous year are from there), but if it's some kind of futuristic police drama where the guide's entry is a confused outline of the plot points rather than a description of the film, it probably means it is not worth the time.
* If the film is a documentary, I recognise that many were (or should have been) filmed for TV rather than the big screen, and most of the best usually are shown on SBS within the 12 months following MIFF. Therefore, I tend to only watch the most interesting (sounding) documentaries, or those where the large screen add to the experience.

5. I rank each film from 1 to 4. '1' means 'must see, can't miss, no matter what'. There are usually around 4-10 of these each year for me. '2' means 'definitely want to see it'. '3' is 'won't see it unless someone persuades me that it's worthwhile'. And, '4' is a very special rating to signify a film that I won't see. I try to keep an open mind about films, so avoid a '4' where possible. But, I've seen enough (two) of Andrew Bujalski's films to know that I should avoid them, so he'll get a '4', and not liking horrors, I'll usually cross them off, unless it's a funny/dark humour one (like last year's Dead Snow). I mark the rating I give next to every film in the Film & Screening Index so that I can quickly tell what I suspected a film might be like when I'm trooping around the city and talking to others about their highlights.

6. Once I've ranked all the films, it's time to start planning the timetable. I fill in timeslots for the '1's first, and then the '2's. This is a fine art, as there are usually only two sessions for each film, and there are always some conflicts. Sometimes a film needs to be dropped. I'll give a preference to seeing films on weekdays at the 1pm or 3pm session where possible, since the cinemas are a little quieter then. In previous years I would choose the nicer cinemas over the worse ones, but now I'm less fussy. That said, I'll avoid too many Kino -> Forum -> Kino type runs. I used to often book a session prior to a popular/sold out one to get a good seat, as you can stay in the cinema between films. However, with the special queue for MIFF members, that's not so important now. If your time is worth anything at all, the MIFF membership is worth it just to avoid long queues and worse seats.

7. I try and be mindful to give a couple of breaks during the festival to avoid burning out in week two. And, I try to plan any social/family commitments before this step to avoid conflicts. Oh, and I consult with my wife and my friends who are going to see if any of us have chosen the same films, so we can try and see them together. A great way to track the films you and your friends plan to see is to use Daniel Shepard's awesome Film Festival Programmer - it lets you see what others are seeing, as well as offering an easy way to bulk add your films to the MIFF online ticket shopping cart.

8. Finally, when the grid looks like it's in place, I book all the tickets using MIFF's fantastic (and it really is!) online booking system.

9. Note that while I do plan all of the above, it's not always right. One year I forgot that I had a commitment on a Saturday afternoon/evening, which required lots of rescheduling. I also lose energy at some point during the festival and tend to start skipping days or late sessions. Or, I might get a burst of energy, or hear of a film that is meant to be brilliant, and then add a couple more. So, yeah, I'm not entirely inflexible. :-)

10. Forgot to mention, it's worth following the #MIFF hashtag on twitter to get a sense of what others are seeing and liking. Be careful of spoilers though.


Easy, huh?