Features

Australian International Movie Convention: Meeting the right people

Hollie Andrew and Libby FrielsWriting/production partners Hollie Andrew and Libby Friels won the Encore competition and attended the Australian International Movie Convention in Queensland. Andrew now tells other filmmakers why they should consider the AIMC in their future plans.

If we were asked four weeks ago to explain our objective of flying into the Gold Coast, arriving at Jupiter’s Casino, collecting our AIMC show bag and receiving our official AIMC lanyard, we would have said “What is the AIMC?”


What we didn’t realise was that the AIMC was to become the best networking week of our careers. Knowing that we may not be known in the industry as a team, we felt this was a sure fire way to grab some attention amongst the key players. The strategy seemed to work and we soon found ourselves in amongst many great conversations with our fellow lanyard-wearing acquaintances.
This initial conference experience was crucial. It helped us realise, as writers of our first feature, that it will be challenging to also direct and act in our own project, but
that with the right contacts anything is achievable.
The key discovery was that we only had four days to learn quickly and listen carefully. Opportunities to meet key decision makers in social environments are a rarity and we had every intention of making the most of it.
Preparation is something that both Libby and I are used to when it comes to acting, however when given two weeks notice about attending the AIMC, this task became priority. We busted our proverbial balls (we are chicks, remember) to create our pitch package. Creatively tailoring loglines, poster lines, synopses, flyers, websites and business cards (under pressure) was an amazing experience. It allowed us to see the vision of our project in real terms, rather than a story on paper.
Throughout the AIMC week (while constantly checking each other’s teeth for food) we were able to put our project preparation into practice. Unlike other pitch circumstances, we found the environment relaxed and accessible. It enabled us to articulate not only our pitch but also the premise behind the film and our vision as a “female triple threat” (write/direct/act). We felt this to be a key point of difference for us as first time filmmakers.
Both Libby and I have worked professionally in film, TV and on the stage as actors, but when surrounded by some of the most influential managing directors of the biggest distribution companies in our industry – it was our point of difference, confidence and preparation that allowed us to fit right in. We learnt that confidence and preparation is a key part to your pitch, as important as the story being created.
The other benefits of attending the AIMC came from having a mixture of business types at the conference. Mixing it with distributors and exhibitors was a real treat.
From a distributor point of view we were able to see the upcoming slates that each major was putting forward for the following year. This reinforced the importance of trailers; it might sound like a no-brainer, but observing which trailers stood out and why – especially after watching 20 of them in one sitting – really hits home which qualities and elements work and which don’t and why.
Then we had the exhibitor hall, where many other key players from the cinematic experience were on display. The exhibitor side of the game is one area that is quite
often forgotten in the filmmaking process, but as we discovered, the film industry is an end-to-end beast and the exhibitor plays a massive role in the entire experience. Knowing that knowledge is power, we felt learning from all areas of the industry was only going to make us better film industry professionals.
Despite jumping into the deep end, and being openly accepted by the majority of the people at the conference, we still found on the odd occasion that some people in the
industry just don’t take young women seriously. There were a few occasions while perusing the stands that we thought we had our “invisibility cloaks” on.
Our overall impression from exhibitors was exceptional. They really have their ‘fingers on the pulses’. Their opinions on marketing within their own cinemas were fantastic. They see the reality of who attends on a first hand basis, and they proved to us that knowing your audience as a filmmaker is invaluable.
After another couple nights hanging at The Network Bar – “where the real magic happens”, we wondered why more filmmakers haven’t caught on to the advantages and
possibilities that this convention has for all players in the industry. Perhaps it’s an accessibility issue, as it’s not cheap for individuals to attend. Nevertheless now that we have experienced it, we would highly recommend that up and comers make the investment.
The AIMC showed us that there is still plenty of passion for film at the top end of the food chain, and while our industry is a business, it comes back to the passion of
entertaining people.
The question that was posed on the final night through a karaoke rendition of Gun N Roses “Sweet Child of Mine” was, “where do we go now?” After the AIMC we are in a fantastic position to build on our momentum with our film project and as filmmakers; it allowed us to build a network of advisors and mentors, plus find potential business partners for our project. We are already planning our outfits for next year so that we can continue to be a part of industry that has so much potential.
Hollie Andrew is an AFI-nominated actress and singer. Libby Friels is an emerging actress who has worked on TV and theatre. Together they form TrueGrytt Productions and are currently developing their first feature www.ebonnythefilm.com

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