Be a Festival Maker & Volunteer for one of the Coolest New Festivals Around.

Not only is the St Albans Film Festival an amazing place to be entertained, it’s also a great place to work and we still have some space for those of you interested in volunteering with us! We’re still looking for promotional staff for the upcoming weekend and during the festival we have spaces for ticket checkers and stewards in our venues, so if your interested read on to see if you fit the bill and be sure to contact us at: volunteers@stalbansfilmfestival.com

As a volunteer you’ll be responsible for creating an unmissable atmosphere for the festival. To do this you should be an enthusiastic individual who wants to make the festival a success, it is our volunteers who have created and enhanced the uniqueness of the film festival.

Anyone can volunteer, you could be a community member, student, film fanatic and event enthusiast, a mum or even a family. Our volunteers span a range of ages, however under 16’s do have to be accompanied by an adult. Since our volunteers are predominantly locally based, this helps to provide a community feel to the festival.

The majority of our volunteers are hoping to help the St Albans community and to support the efforts of Leoni and what she has created with the film festival. Many of our volunteers saw the positive effects that the festival had on the community last year and decided to take part  again this year in order to be a part of that experience.

We still have a few roles available for you to volunteer for and the responsibility depends on the role you volunteer for. You can choose to take on a lot of responsibility, which looks fantastic on a CV and gain really valuable experience in a relevant field for you!

We’re completely flexible in terms of your availability and we really do appreciate any time you can spare to help us. So if your only available between 12 and 3 then that’s the only shift you’ll be scheduled in for!

Sound like fun? Make sure you get in contact with us at the email address above and get the opportunity to be a part of an amazing festival.

Lauren 🙂

Lauren’s Top Picks for St Albans Film Festival 2014

The St Albans International Film Festival from 1st – 4th May 2014 is a brilliant film festival in its 2nd year with a short film competition and loads of fun for everyone whether you are filmmaker or simply a fan of movies. Since the programme for the Film Festival is jam-packed these are my top picks for those of you who are looking for some incredible entertainment for your May Bank Holiday weekend… and maybe take in some new films while your at it! Our full schedule can be found here if your more of a pick and mix type, otherwise read on for our tips for an awesome May Bank Holiday. 

Our opening screening on Thursday 1st May from 6:45 to 10pm of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ is an excellent place to start. Not only do you get to see an incredible classic film with there is also live music, the real Hedwig from Harry Potter will be making a flying visit through the Cathedral and the venue will be turned into an aviary for the night.. with a licensed bar and a stunning venue to boot, it’s pretty much the perfect evening and a brilliant way to start an exciting (long) weekend! 

The ‘Magic From the Movies’ event on Friday from 7 to 9pm is a must see for anyone who wants to be blown away by some incredible sleight of hand skills… be wowed by this highly skilled and charming magic circle magician, Wayne Fox.  You’ll even get to see how some of your favourite screen tricks were created! Will Dynamo’s secrets be revealed….. 

On Saturday from 7pm we have our screening of Jaws in Westminster Lodge’s pool. Yes, that’s right. IN THE POOL. It’s probably going to be equal parts amazing and terrifying. But definitely an unmissable experience!

There are two feature film Premiere’s being screened – both which will have cast and crew attending and most definitely some celebrities to spot! The Paddy Lincoln Gang, at the Pioneer Club on Saturday will be followed by a live gig from the band who appear as the lead roles in the movie & Seven Cases – starring Steven Berkoff, Saffron Sprackling (Republica) and Sam Fox will screen on Sunday. 

Speaking of Celebrities – don’t miss the star studded film Muse of Fire – with Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellan, Baz Luhrman, Ewan McGregor and many more this is the last chance to see this film on the big screen as it makes its final festival outing as the closing film of our festival. 

and my best top tip for the festival is… want to come and enjoy the films for free? Then be a festival volunteer over the weekend and get a festival pass in return to get into some of these brilliant event. just email volunteers@stalbansfilmfestival.com 

This really was just a taster, there are around 50 events so take a look for yourself – http://www.stalbansfilmfestival.com 

I hope your all as excited for the programme as I am! See you there. 

Lauren 🙂 Official Festival Blogger 2014

 

 

Top Festival Picks for Students – St Albans Film Festival 2014

The St Albans Film Festival which takes place 1st – 4th May 2014 is an excellent place to learn more about the film industry and to pick up skills and tips from those already in the business and so as a student hoping to get into the film industry it’s most definitely a great way to spend your bank holiday. 

Since the programme for the Film Festival is jam-packed we thought we would give you a helping hand and break down the weekend into the top picks for students  Our full schedule can be found here if your more of a pick and mix type, otherwise read on for our tips for an amazing weekend. 

On Friday 2nd May we have two all day workshops, both running from 9:30am to 5pm the first is ‘Pitching and Developing Ideas’ and the second is ‘The Art of Writing Screenplays’. Both workshops are going to be amazing in terms of tapping in to insider knowledge and by making a choice between the two you can’t really go wrong.

We also have ‘Blood, Sweat and Fears – How To Make Horror’ taking place between 8:30 and 10pm, which will give you a unique insight on the practicalities of shooting your first film, whether it be horror or any genre – Mike Tack will take you through how to start from scratch to getting your work seen by the right people. 

On Saturday at 10am and again at 1:30pm we’ll be running a ‘Stop Frame Animation Workshop’ where you’ll be shooting your very own stop animation film using the latest software and techniques. If your interested in animation we’re also running a ‘Studio Ghibli & Anime’ event during which you’ll be privy to rarely seen shorts and a Q&A with Studio Ghibli experts.

The ‘How To Direct Actors’ workshop between 10am and 12pm is a must for any aspiring directors out there who need to gain some practical experience directing professional actors. And for the more adventurous film makers out there we have a ‘Filming Extreme Sports Workshop’ running between 11am and 1pm, which will help you learn the best equipment and techniques for filming in these high intensity situations. 

There is also a ‘Writing For Screen’ event which encompasses four talks and workshops from 11am to 4:30pm with different industry insiders who can help you with all aspects of screen writing.

On Sunday we have our Student Film Shorts competition from 2-5pm where you can come along and see what other students are producing, maybe pick up some tips and get to know the people behind the shorts. In the spirit of networking you should also check out the ‘Awards Ceremony and Closing Party’ from 7:30pm, it’s an excellent opportunity to network with people in the industry and hopefully make some useful connections and most importantly have some fun! Jezus… we even have the incredible Cassetteboy rocking the after party at Club Havana till 2am… and tickets are only £10 for that. With 5 million youtube hits Cassetteboy Vs DJ Rubbish Comedy Disco is a brilliant way to spend a bank holiday Sunday and to have a laugh with your new found filmmaking friends.

Photographer: Steve Ullathorne 

But to be honest even if your not a film lover, you honestly can’t go wrong by stopping by for one of our feature films or perhaps one of the talks if you find one that piques your interest!

And as always I’m more than happy to chat with anyone of you about what you’ll be going to or to answer any questions about any of the events!

I hope your all as excited for the programme as I am! See you there… 

Lauren 🙂 Official Festival Blogger 2014

Top Family Picks at the St Albans Film Festival 2014

Since the programme for the Film Festival is totally jam-packed with awesomeness… we thought we would give you a helping hand and break down the weekend into the top picks for you and your little ones to enjoy. Our full schedule can be found here if you would like to browse the entire programme, otherwise read on for our tips for an awesome May Bank Holiday. 

For Families  

It can be hard to know what to do to keep the little ones entertained over a bank holiday weekend, without being bored yourselves, the Film Festival is a great mix of child friendly and entertaining for the adults!

On Friday between 10am and 12pm we have a Parent & Child Screening of ‘Mamma Mia’. You come along with your little ones and Singalong, chat along or just relax and have a brilliant morning. Tickets also include Greek treats (served from 9:30am) and tea and coffee, is there a better way to spend your Friday morning?

Saturday is full to bursting with kid friendly events. It kicks off with ‘The King and The Mockingbird’ at 10am. It’s widely considered one of the best animated features of all time for both little ones and grown ups. Tasty treats are provided by My Mustard, who are sponsoring this film too. http://www.mymustard.co.uk/

The first of our free events takes place on Saturday ‘Birds of Bray’ takes place from 11am – 3pm and features a whole host of birds that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to see up close and luckily they’re not camera shy so you’ll be able to take lots of pictures to reminisce.

We also have a ‘How to Fight Like a Superhero Workshop’ running between 10am and 12pm, for ages 7+ (under 12’s must be accompanied by a parent) you’ll be the coolest parents around once the kids can suitably impersonate Batman.

Our ‘Harry Potter Costume Characterisation’ event is going to be unmissable for any Potter fan. You’ll have the chance to look at the original mood boards and costumes from the Harry Potter films. The event is open to all ages but is geared towards an aged 7-12 audience. However there are plenty of adults (me) who are equally as excited to get up close and personal with the original costumes from the films.

At 1:30pm on Saturday we have ‘3D Prehistoric Birds – ‘Alive’ at the Natural History Museum’. There are exclusive clips from the series and a Q&A with St Albans based director Dan Smith and producer Mike Davis. It’s not only great for kids but for adults too, judging by the overwhelming success of the programme aired on Sky earlier this year.

The Children’s Short Film Competition will also be taking place between 4:30 and 7pm on Saturday evening.

On Sunday there are two more free events taking place, the ‘Red Arrow Falcons – Parachute Display Team’ will be performing from 11am in front of Westminster Lodge and following on immediately from that performance is a display by Skyvue Media at 11:30am who will be showcasing the gadgets used to create the amazing aerial shots we’re all used to seeing on the big screen.

Finally, at 10am or 12pm there will be a ‘Playing With Shakespeare’ event which gives 3 to 5 year olds their first taste of Shakespeare in this interactive workshop based on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

There’s so much for grown ups too – so book your babysitter, watch quality films and come party, the city will be buzzing!

http://www.stalbansfilmfestival.com

By Lauren Smith, Official Festival Blogger.