CONVERSATION WITH THE INITIATORS AND ORGANIZERS OF THE PROJECT, ELONA PAJA AND JULIAN BIBA-
by Rafaela PRIFTI-
Last Sunday NEW YORK TRUE VENTURE FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED ITS AWARDS ON LINE. Twelve members of the Jury’s Festival with impressive careers in the movie industry, music and media presented the nominations in two dozen categories ranging from Best Music Video, Screenplay, Director to Best Human Rights, Experimental, Documentary Production and Feature Narrative. Can you talk about the categories?
Elona: The festival received a pretty good number of submissions and obviously for the jury it was difficult to select from some really great entries. During the rating process from each jury member, we noticed very small differences and the decision was made to expand the number of categories and consequently the awards. It ultimately shows appreciation for the filmmaker’s work by a professional jury. To borrow a quote from Walt Disney: “We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies!” And this is what motivates the independent filmmakers.
Julian: What brought us together is our passion about cinematography. Obviously we both have our previous experiences in this industry – Elona as a journalist and director of documentaries and TV series; while I have been mostly alternating as a screenwriter, director and producer. Our partnership fitted all the elements of a film festival project. In the meantime we are cooperating in several productions that are in the pipelines. Elona is ambitious and I like this. She is a great reader of people’s abilities, which is a highly valuable asset. She supports talented people and is constantly in search of new and exciting ideas. Our energy and mindset combined are well suited for the common goal of empowering independent filmmakers.
The First Edition of the Festival and the pre-recorded Award Show premiered virtually on Sunday. In previous interviews you had mentioned that the Festival is the high point of hard work, passion and the pursuit of your dream. How did the event play out in your mind as a red carpet award night?
Julian: I’m lucky to work beside a professional of live shows like Elona, so I didn’t have any doubt that our awards night would be fantastic and very entertaining so that the filmmakers and the audience would want to come back for the next edition’s red carpet awards ceremony. The online presentation I think showed we are serious and ambitious on reaching these goals.
The project was launched late November 2019. You knew that any such endeavour is bound to face and deal with obstacles yet the coronavirus pandemic was truly out of the range of predictions. You had to reschedule the deadline for the submissions and push the date of the awards show from May to September 2020. You held out hope for a live show for months. Can you both describe to me the awards ceremony outside of the pandemic reality – the release of the recorded event versus the live one?
Julian: The awards ceremony was to take place at a magnificent Manhattan venue and we had booked the whole list of performers such as musical bands, singers and dancers who would go in front of a live audience, but the pandemic made it impossible.
Elona: Yet we firmly believe that we shall have our chance on our second edition. It will be the triumphant night of the artists that deserve the audience’s applause for their achievements. One of our ideas is to invite the winners of the Festival’s first edition but this is still in the planning stages for now.
How was the awards show and presentations received online according to comments and reactions? I happened to speak by phone with Elona a few times while she was cutting and editing the video in the late night hours and I could hear the exhaustion in her voice.
Elona: The online event went even better than we thought it would. Naturally, there were several days of hard work to prepare the whole one and a half hours video that premiered online, but it was well worth it. We got numerous congratulatory messages from the posts and privately on our festival’s Facebook page from winning filmmakers and who were thankful for participating and from many colleagues and friends.
Julian: Here is one of the messages sent by a filmmaker: “Hello people I’m Janer Mena, Thank you for the official selection to Uno Más. For me this recognition is very important because with this film I can visibly show my town and the history of my family. Thanks for the best director award, it’s my first prize and this is my motivation to make more films like Uno Más!”
We felt good about Janer’s and other winners’ success because we are ourselves filmmakers and know what a great motivation is a festival’s prize.
How challenging is it to support independent films and be competitive in the business and in a market that has seen no shortage of indies? Since True Venture is New York based, are you part of or affiliated with any Independent Film Centers in the city or around the country?
Julian: I believe that by giving the filmmakers from all over the world the possibility to screen and compete in NYC and network with other filmmakers, we offer an opportunity to increase their compatibility and exposure with local and international filmmakers. This was our first edition but it is our hope that as we go on the festival will be embraced by many filmmakers and be recognized by important cinematographic entities, although, the festival is an independent organization as most film festivals around the globe are.
As a filmmaker, screenwriter, director, you have said that the deeper you step into the art of film the more there is to discover and the more you wish to explore. Can you share some of the things that you are discovering and want to further explore in your trade?
Julian: I started my involvement in this industry with script writing before I was asked to direct or to produce or even act. It is a good thing I like challenges. My attitude has always been: “I’ll do it if I know how or I will learn how to do it, so I can get it done!” So, I learn constantly starting from my own mistakes, to collaborating with other professionals, trying new styles of writing, directing or producing. Acting helps me understand how to write a better dialogue in my scripts, whereas directing sharpens my skills on what is doable on the set and what is not. I am fully aware that the art of cinematography is vast and worth discovering.
As an International Film Festival, True Venture received entries from Europe, North and South America, Asia etc. You have said you were impressed with the young Albanian filmmakers from Albania and Kosova and the quality of their artistry as being undistinguished by more established names in the business. What can you tell us about their film debut and their work?
Elona: True Venture received submissions from all over the world. Kosova and Albania were also represented with new and talented filmmakers who were award recipients from other festivals. I say “new filmmakers” because they have been known in the last few years. We recognize the difficulties of film production especially back home. We were proud that the jury of mostly American professionals singled some of them out for their creative work. After all we know it is competitive and it is really tough to stand ou0 in the movie business.
Organizing and managing the production of this scale, even though it was moved online due to the pandemic, requires a different set of skills. What was your previous experience? How did you hone in your abilities to bring the idea of an International Film Festival to fruition?
Julian: I have worked on film festivals projects and in one of them I have been a member of the jury. In the last four years I have participated in several festivals in US, Canada and Europe where my films were screened. All this is an experience on its own but also gave birth to the idea of a festival where filmmakers can mingle and exchange in a friendly and welcoming environment. As filmmakers this is how we learn from each other and expand our network that often leads in collaborations and progressive future works. We are hardworking people who believe that everything is possible if there is a goodwill of getting things done for the common good.
What is the takeaway from the first edition and what do you anticipate for the next edition?
Julian: First of all we hope not to deal with similar situations such as the pandemic. We like to have experienced guest speakers to talk to the audience on the screening days about certain areas of the industry like: how to write a marketable screenplay; how to find funding and distribute films. All these and more are important for a filmmaker and might be of help to them in their future careers.
You both are Albanian filmmakers who initiated the project that could also elevate Albanian culture and artistic identity. Your aim is not just the launching of the Film Festival but to start off an annual event. Can you elaborate more on your vision for the future?
Julian: This is an international festival and welcomes filmmakers from all over the world. Indeed we are pleased to see Albanians participants. This not only elevates our culture and artistic identity but we hope it would help filmmakers in our home country to get proper recognition and support from the governments as well, which would lead to more and better films as a practice that has been proven successful for some countries in the Balkan region.
Congratulations and Good Luck!
To check out the nominations, winners and the awards night, go to the NYTVFF Facebook link: www.facebook.com/NYTVFF
Or on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/nmS29UIlDEw