Four, rarely do they (reviewers) talk w/ other folks or even organizers. If I were to gripe about the ticket system in Annecy, the terrible opening ceremony at Fantoche this year, or the sometimes stupid projection in Ottawa, I’d first approach a festival rep and say, hey man, how come your ticket system is lousy? What’s with that loser slam poet on opening night? Then they can give you some explanation and you can take it from there. Better still… just because you hated the ticket system, maybe others liked it. I'm not saying u need to be more critical necessarily.

Fest. organizers (except me) are not consciously trying to be evil so why attack them in print, but at the same time, if there are some fundamental problems people are having at festival, the festival people need to hear this of course. And, hey just because YOU had a poor time because you lack basic social functions or didn’t like one to two programs doesn’t mean that it was a bad festival or program. Ask other people. Even if you liked it, ask the programmer why they chose what they chose. Ask other attendees what they thought of the tepid student competition. Also be aware of cultural context.

I read reviews by people saying... WHY didn’t they do this? Why didn’t they do that? Well… kids… festivals do not exist on equal playing fields. Ottawa doesn’t get anywhere near the state support that Euro. Fests like Annecy or Zagreb or even Holland get and so sometimes we (for example) have to make decisions based on those economic realities. And this is where experience goers are a pain in the ass. They go to Annecy or Hiroshima, let’s say, and are treated in one way, maybe they get meal tickets or there are a lot of parties (i.e. free grub) and then they start expecting doggie bags everywhere. Hell…we even get people who call us asking if there are any parties…they don’t apparently care about the films (this stems from 1996 when studios dumped a truckload of money at festivals resulting in an orgy of parties).

Point, again, is that you cannot employ the same sweeping critical standards/expectations to all festivals. Why would you? This was the problem with ASIFA festivals of the past. Everyone looked the same. What’s the point then?

Not to contradict myself but there are also dangers when experienced people are reviewing. Take Pat Raine Webb’s Annecy 02 review in AWN for example. Pat (a former ASIFA board member) is a good person, goes to animation festivals every year. Problem is that she goes to the same ones all the time and has a particular fondness for Zagreb (perhaps connected with the free hotel and passes that Zagreb provided ASIFA board members w/ for many years). On the whole, Pat’s review is fine. She briefly talks about some highlights from competition, but it’s the last few lines that got my goat.

“If you want lots of action and don't mind crowds and queuing and more screenings then one human being can handle, then Annecy is the festival for you. But if you want to find the true spirit of animation you have to go to Zagreb!”

I’ve nothing against Zagreb, “nothing angst Pat,” but it irks me that she makes this GRAND SWEEPING statement about Zagreb w/o EVER ONCE visiting, not just Ottawa… but more importantly, Holland, Fantoche, Anima Mundi or even Tough Eye (granted a young festival). And why hasn’t Pat visited these festivals? Because they didn’t pander to ASIFA board members? Pat’s a respected figure and it’s asinine to make such a myopic statement. Maybe I’m overreacting, but the downside of the ASIFA system that existed for so many years (and Ottawa was one of the big beneficiaries of it) is that other festivals who did not seek out ASIFA approval got neglected, pushed aside, ignored.

Holland has been around since 1985 and I’d argue that it’s FAR more relevant and true to the spirit of animation (whatever the fug that means) than Zagreb is today. And let’s not forget Stuttgart, a very underrated, well programmed German anifest. A fest that was largely ignored by ASIFA as well.

Do festivals even need these reviews? They’re written right after the event. Sure I can throw it in the reports that we sent to the government funders, but do people actually use these reviews to guide them the next time the festival comes round in a year or two (that’s a question)? Oh and I guess a glowing review earns the reviewer some points w/ the festival organizers. But really... given that most of these reviews are so sort of superficial, are they really helping the festival improve itself? If not, then what is the point of these reviews beyond being 1,500 word advertisements for a festival? Magazines need to re-think why it is that they are reviewing a festival and what it is they are trying to convey through these reviews. Meantime… kids... at least write honestly.

One road is to give us an honest reflection of your experience at the festival. I mean you can’t properly sum up the whole experience of the event so at least give us yours… and that doesn’t mean what you saw…but everything… give us the whole kit baby… the hangover, breakfast, what was on Croatian TV? Do they still have hard-core porn for free there? What about the local liquor? Is masturbation more exciting in a foreign country? Did you screw around? Was it your first festival? Were you shy? Did you stay by yourself, maybe only going to screenings because you didn’t know anyone? Give us the truth man.

How was the flight? Did the festival peeps meet u at the airport? Did you spend a whole day just sitting round the Bonlieu shooting the breeze w/friends and colleagues? What about the city? Did you check out the thermal pool in Baden? Walk along the river? Festivals are not just about films. They are social and cultural experiences, a chance to meet new people and gab about life. All these things are part of a festival experience.