Film festival projecting Bognor onto world stage

The number of awards on offer triples this year; Bafta-accreditation is on the horizon '“ and so is a series of screenings this autumn in Boston.

Very rapid progress for a festival no longer fledgling but definitely flourishing.

The eotp Film Festival is poised to put Bognor Regis on the map. In fact, it's already doing so.

The festival puts the focus on short films from independent film-makers and draws entries worldwide.

But for this year, Bryan is putting greater emphasis on the screening of feature (full-length) films. And it's looking likely that he will be taking a mixture of shorts and features out to the States this November.

Already he's going one better than Cannes where simply to screen a film can cost thousands.

Bryan's aim is to make it affordable, cementing Bognor at the heart of a growing European network which will maximise potential exposure in a growing number of countries.

Big plans and big ambitions are being realised.

"We are hoping to have some kind of link or be accredited with Bafta soon," Bryan said. "That's something that's going to go ahead, fingers crossed.

"It's very important from the festival's point of view because it gives us more credibility.

"The more links we have with national bodies, the more credible we are as a festival."

This year the festival will be offering a much wider range of awards to film-makers, no longer just best drama, but also best director, screenplay, director of photography etc.

The idea is that the wider range of awards, coupled with increased accreditation, will mean that it will really count for something if you can say that your film was "nominated for best screenplay at the End Of The Pier International Film Festival."

The hope is that it enhances not just the film-maker but also the festival.

Also moving the festival forward this year will be Bryan's links with the World Content Market which he discovered in Prague earlier this year, a new initiative pitched mainly at the eastern European nations.

"What I am trying to do through it is to get buyers to come to the film festival."

And for that he needs to up the emphasis on the feature films. The End Of The Pier International Film Festival will remain focused on the shorts, but the features will become more and more apparent '“ perhaps one day in their own spin-off festival.

But the key thing will be to get the buyers in, whether it be for TV, DVD or theatrical distribution.

'What I would like would be to have a branch of the Market to run alongside the End Of The Pier International Film Festival.'

To that end, Bryan has helped foster a loose association of film festivals throughout Europe.

'There are 50 different film festivals that are all willing to share content with one another.'

For Boston in November, Bryan is hoping that the screenings across successive weekends will be organised according to country of origin for the films, Britain, France, Italy, Spain etc.

'The idea is that we are exporting the film festival.

'It means that from a film-maker's point of view, if you submit to the End Of The Pier International Film Festival, there is a very good possibliitiy that the film could be screened at festivals across Europe and also go out to America '“ all through one submission.

'It's an amazing opportunity for film-makers to get their work seen. What the End Of The Pier International Film Festival is all about is getting exposure for young independent film-makers.'

l The festival is based at the Regis Centre and runs from April 25-May 3.

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