The QUACK! Film Festival is taking place within the department of Theatre, Film, Television & Interactive Media between 1-16 June, with all the films being screened in TFTI in the Holbeck Cinema on June 17th. It’s a fantastic opportunity to make some short films with your friends, and the festival creator Max Roach sat down with Vision to talk more about the film festival.
Can you eggs-plain what eggs-actly QUACK is?
QUACK is a student film festival run by students, made by students, that’s open to everyone. It’s a film festival where every film has to be under five minutes and has to include a duck in it- a duck, the theme of a duck or the word duck, in any way possible. I think it opens up a lot of room for creativity. It’s all about how you use the brief.
What made you want to set up a film festival at the Uni?
I’d done two Freshers Film Festivals beforehand and they were both really fun. I wanted to see how creative the cohort can get. And, as a course rep, I’d always wanted to try and get our year more closely tied, as we’d never worked on anything before, due to that dreaded virus. I wanted us all to work together on projects, give us a chance to celebrate something and really show the department what we can do without the restrictions that a lot of assessments hold, especially on time, availability and working in groups.
There are restrictions with the time limit and getting a duck in there, but are there any different categories and awards that are part of the festival? Are there duck-umentaries? Narrative films?
Well, there’s 15 awards, as well as ten badges. Awards will be handed out by a different society, and each society gets the opportunity to hand out an award, such as Best Duck-umentary, being given by York Vision. We also have Best Picture hopefully given out by York Student Cinema and the Rubber Duck Award for best comedy given out by ComedySoc. Then there’s the ten badges, which will be handed out for special awards such as film with the Most Mentions of a Duck in it, Best Mention of a Duck or Best Title. We wanted to try and find a way to make sure that everyone who comes to the festival is being rewarded. I’m looking forward to watching Long Boi’s IMDb grow over the weekend.
There’s already a film festival within TFTI, LUMA. How does QUACK differ from that?
I’ve been working very closely with the LUMA team to make sure we’re not crossing over each other’s paths. The difference is that QUACK is about people making films in a limited time frame and having a fun theme. None of the films from QUACK have an explicit budget, and they’re all made with people’s own equipment and none of the department’s. The winner of the last two QUACK Awards, when it used to be called the Freshers Film Festival, were both filmed on smartphones. I think QUACK promotes the guerrilla style that a lot of independent student filmmakers choose, and I just want to try to give it a space on the big screen for us to watch it all together.
How is this year’s festival going to be better than last year’s and how are you going to ensure a ducking great time?
This year being in person rather than online will really make the difference. Every single year we’ve had an after party and it always seems to be a highlight of the event. This year, with it being all in person and also being on the same day as the as the YUMAs, I’m hoping we see more society links, between the Union and the department too. I really hope that lots of people get involved in lots of films. It’s the first year where multiple years can take part and you’re allowed to use anyone on your crew, as long as the producer is a TFTI student. I imagine we’re going to get some really interesting stuff made.
What are you most looking forward to about this year at QUACK?
I’m looking forward to the involvement of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. We have a special guest in attendance and the whole festival is being sponsored by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, who will be collecting money at the event for donations. I wanted to put this platform to good use. I’ve been in contact with them, and they’ve been absolutely amazing, so I’m looking forward to seeing how much money we can raise to save the ducks and to save the wildlife from stuff like pollution and climate change. Finding a way to give back is probably the thing I’m really looking forward to, and seeing how much we can pull together.
Equally, I’m looking forward to spending time with not just the students, but also the staff. I’ve sent a personal invite out to all the staff members in the department, challenging them to make their own films and see if they can put their money where their mouth is.
They have the ability to mark our assessments down for their personal opinions, so I thought, well, let’s have a look how their films differ from ours. They’re so confident, they’re lecturers in film, they should be qualified. If they can write all these comments about what they think of films, and it’s hard to say the same back, I think it’s time to give some power to us and to have a look at their creativity and what the limitations can do to them, because a lot of these department members have been in the industry for years. And obviously a lot of the students have never been in the industry or never been on a professional set, so there seems to be this bias that all the stuff they’ve created is great, even though a lot of stuff they’ve done has involved a wider team or money from the industry.
I think by including the staff it adds this extra layer. It tells us more if they submit a film or if they’re not submitting a film. It depends on who’s scared. It definitely separates certain members in the department who have certain opinions, so I’m looking forward to seeing if they can live up to their expectations and what their IMDb page says about them.
Are you going to be making a film yourself?
I have two films in pre-production at the moment and I’m planning to make a third. The most I’ve ever made at a festival has been three. I’m going to try and aim for four this weekend. I have a really fun one called Budgie Smugglers that’s in the works, as well as one called Breadcrumbs. And I have a few more little ideas that I want to see if I can implement. Who knows what I’ll end up making?
Pre-production is allowed before the festival, as is getting your groups together. Hopefully over the next few days, there’ll be a spreadsheet available in support with YSTV to try and find people crew. So if you’ve never made a film, or if you really want to be involved, look out for channels such as YSTV, who should be supplying a production spreadsheet. YSTV has the equipment, the means and the producers to create films so if you have an idea, make sure you come along to our weekly production meetings and I’m sure your idea will be heard, as well as our weekly writers’ rooms that are on Mondays and I’m sure Emily there will help you get your film into production. We’ll try and find a crew to make sure that everyone’s ideas can be made, and they’re all seen on screen. I think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of people and I just hope people don’t put it to waste.
What would you say to people wanting to get involved?
Keep an eye on the QUACK Instagram. Start wherever you want and get making. Speak to your cohort, speak to people that you know who are part of the department and speak to societies such as YSTV who have a lot of information about it and, hopefully, we get to see your films on the big screen. I’m looking forward to seeing what people make. I think it’s going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of people to see how creative we can get on campus.
Do you have a favourite duck related joke that always makes you quack up laughing?
You must be yolking? Umm, let me think. What do you call the tail end of a duck? A butt quack.
If this hasn’t already got you thinking of some ideas for films to make for this year’s QUACK Film Festival, then be sure to follow Quack Film Fest on Instagram. Feel free to contact Max on social media or email [email protected] with any questions you might have about the festival, and have an egg-celent time at this year’s QUACK!