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Blankenberge, Belgium, 2005
Dave Watterson was on the UNICA Jury in 2005 - click here for his report.

UK Official Entries

Eight Great Movies and an intro

Selecting the movies to represent the British Isles at UNICA 2005 was not an easy task for the committee: IAC Competition Manager, Brian Dunckley; IAC Film & Video Library Officer, Kenneth Seeger and (deputising for the IAC Chairman) Reg Lancaster. After seeking advice from various colleagues, sorting for what would best suit an international audience and juggling with the limited time-slot available they came up with a selection whose variety of style and content went down well.

But before it went on screen came our introduction film (which is not in competition but sets the mood ...)

001	002	003	004
An innocent duck	is not what it seems.	Our diver is Brian Dunckley	dressed smartly as a secret agent.
005	006	007
Spotting the casino	he plays a slot machine till the Union Jacks line up	and he wins UNICA Gold Medals marked ""UK Programme 2005"

	225 by Christopher David of York - won a Bronze Medal and a special prize for its remarkable use of special effects. Five minutes of amazing computer effects mixed with live action as the boy played by Roo stares in awe at space-ship fighters racing round the express train on which he is travelling.
	UNLOCKING YOUNG MINDS by Terry & Debbie Mendoza of Essex - won a Bronze Medal. It is a touching documentary about the work of the Hope Centre for Cognitive Learning which helps damaged youngsters to cope with the world.
	FLAT OUT is the comedy from Spring Park Cine Video Society which won this year's North v South contest. Let's just say it involves a lot of people with an eye on getting a quick £50. It got more laughs than most films and has been requested for several other festivals as a result.
	PINSTRIPE by newcomer Angus Allan from Dundee is a cautionary tale about an unexpected hazard of rail journeys. Its stark visual style and memorable music make a powerful impression. This was much admired for its "East European" atmosphere. (No one expressed surprise at what happens in British railways stations !)
	ENDINGS by Peter & Richard Rouillard, of Guernsey is a dark, moody piece of photography. We share the flashbacks of a young man coming out of a coma after attempting suicide. Through those we see a tale of marital argument. People enjoyed the dark mood and stylish photography. The Rouillards and their wives were popular delegates at the event.
	WOULD YOU RATHER SEE THE FIREWORKS? by Barry Lockwood charmed the festival audience at Chesterfield. Faced with one of those baffling on-screen tutorials filled with jargon, the animated student chooses to see the pretty display . with unexpected consequences. This too proved a hit with all film makers in the audience - especially users of Adobe After Effects.

In addition to the main programme we have two entries in the special one-minute movie competition. A pre-selection jury narrows the entries to 16. One evening these are drawn in pairs and each pair shown. The audience votes which of the pair should go forward to the next round.In the second round the 8 remaining films are paired, shown and voted on. And so on.

	SMITH, GARY is another piece of fast-paced, computer-manipulated video by Barry Lockwood. The often-conflicting characteristics of Gary Smith are flashed on screen as words and images to a thumping soundtrack. Liked by younger members of the audience this was screened but was not short-listed to take part in the competition. Its flashed titles suffered perhaps from "too much English, too fast"
	THE VISIT directed and edited by John Guile of South Downs Video & Film Makers is the tale of a mother-in-law who assumes she can arrived unannounced and stay while the decorators are in. This did reasonably well in competition though it took a moment for the joke to sink in when people were translating into their own tongues.

The festival jury of seven people included our own Dave Watterson working alongside colleagues from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Poland and Switzerland. In full view of the audience they watched all the entries then took turns speaking about the movies just seen. On the Friday night they debated the merits of all the 123 movies and chose a short-list for public discussion. On the last day they discussed those films and voted for which should receive medals.

The final official event of UNICA 2005 was the presentation of a special medal, minted in Korea mid-week, flown to Belgium and presented after the other awards by UNICA President, Max Hänsli, to the UK Intro film and proudly accepted by the star ... Brian Dunckley.

Dave Watterson was on the UNICA Jury in 2005 - click here for his report.

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