Festival News 2008 - Tampereen 38. elokuvajuhlien verkkolehti

The technical quality of trash films is improving

Mikko Koivisto
Johanna Huiskonen, photo
Miia Sillanpää, translation

Toni Lahti

Toni Lahti in front of the Student House (yo-talo), the place of Trash Film Festival.

In February Toni Lahti, Producer of Tampere Trash Film Festival, has waded through dozens of film clips sent by amateur filmmakers and selected the ones most suitable for the festival. He tells that the festival features some fifty flicks this year. The length of the films varies from ten to a little short of thirty minutes.

Lahti has noticed in particular that the films are of better technical quality than in previous years.

– I haven’t come across any utterly hopeless messes. The execution of the films has been of surprisingly good quality, and people have made an effort making them, Lahti says.

Focus on sketches and mockumentaries


Action films will not be strongly represented this spring. According to Lahti, the festival will focus more on light and humorous films. The programme will feature sketches, comedies and mockumentaries, among others. The term mockumentary refers to a completely fictional film that is merely filmed in the style of a documentary.

– On the night of the festival, the audience will see, for example, a fake documentary about a man who builds a time machine in order to travel to the days of World War II. In the past he plans to meet his grandfather, Lahti says with a laugh.

TrashVideo

TrashVideo group at the after party.

The Trash Film Festival is now organized for the seventh time in conjunction with Tampere Film Festival. It is a film night held at Ylioppilastalo and comprising of films made by amateur filmmakers. They have had the chance to take part in the festival with under-thirty-minute films that will definitely not be seen on national television channels.

Updated 14 March 2008 14:33