Amanda Casson has been working as Director of the British Short Film Festival since 1989, a year after the Festival was born. During the last nine years she has changed the Festival from a small event open only to students to a first class showcase of works from some of the best international short film directors
 

Filmwaves: How did the BSFF start?
Amanda Casson:
The BSFF was set up in 1988 by the BBC, the BFI and the National Association for Higher Education in Film and Video, with BP as the major sponsor. It was originally an event open only to invited students. Students were invited from certain film schools around the world and then selected programmes of their work were screened. It was much smaller than today's Festival, with probably less than 100 film screenings. However, I wanted everybody to enter their films from all the film schools and colleges both overseas and here, and when I was appointed Festival director in 1989 my first decision was to open up the submissions to all the students of all the film schools.

Still, many young independent filmmakers were cut out of the Festival because, despite producing brilliant films, they didn't have the chance to go to film school. This was a crisis point because I thought that they too had the right to enter the Festival and that the Festival should be going in that direction. So, after 1992 BP parted from the Festival because they were primarily interested in film education. That's when the BBC took over in a big way, and the Festival became open to everybody. Now we get 4500 tapes every year from all over the world. And of those I normally screen 400. Usually, 60% are films and 40% videos.

FW: What is the role of the BBC?
A.C.:
The BBC was present from the very beginning in the advisory committee, but this is not a BBC event, I have to put forward a proposal to the BBC for sponsorship every year.

FW: Is there a reason for celebrating the 10th anniversary?
A.C.:
It is incredibly difficult to keep going when there is no government funding, like the Arts Council or the BFI. Unlike the London Film Festival we are totally self-funded, so when I finish a Festival the coffers are empty and I have to start again. I think it is an extraordinary feat to have maintained something like the BSFF on a shoestring.

FW: How do you manage to attract so many sponsors?
A.C.:
I think the reason we have very good sponsors is that I have been in the same position for a long time so sponsors can trust me, they know I deliver what I promise. And my promise is to provide entertainment, whatever that means.

FW: What do you think is the specificity of the BSFF?
A.C.:
What I think is good about our Festival is that while a lot of the major European festivals happen in school halls or church halls, we give young filmmakers an opportunity to show their films in a West End venue with first class projection facilities. This allows filmmakers to invite people from the industry to the screenings, and opens up new opportunities for them.

How can you enter the Festival? And, how can you... get selected?...
Is being selected for a festival just a matter of opinion or, as I heard, time?...
Have you noticed a change in the market for British shorts over the years?...
Can a programme of shorts be a successful formula for distribution of shorts in commercial theatres?...
What is your view on British films? Do you see an evolution?...
What is the relevance of shorts? Why do they get funded now more than before?...
Is selling to braodcasters the main chance to get your money back?...
If you had to single out countries that are particularly interesting from the point of view of shorts which would you choose?...

Full article published in Filmwaves - Issue 6, Winter 1999. Subscribe now!