The International Edition of your movie

The more risqué cut ? No … just a special edition of your potentially prize-winning film which you make before sending it to festivals in other countries.

Why mess with a successful work? Different cultures and languages mean your movie might be understood differently in other parts of the world. Even within the English-speaking world there can be problems. For example a Briton now living in Utah, Ned Cordery, remarks: "American voice cadences are very different to British - particularly here in the West. The commonest complaint here is that the Brits speak so quickly you can't catch what they are talking about. Many Brit and Oz documentaries are subtitled." Maybe you have to consider speeding up your speech when sending movies to those countries!!

When it comes to other languages and other cultures you need to be even more careful.

Get the Words Right

A clever, witty title or one which is at all "poetic" may not translate well. Do consider a change for the "Overseas Version". It is better to be prosaic and clear than to risk misleading audiences.

At a prestigious Austrian event, The Festival of Nations, a film called Moody Water lacked a simple, exact German translation. While "water" was immediately understood, the similar sounding German word "mütig" means "brave" which was quite misleading.

Most festivals welcome a note from the director (often called the "author") saying what the movie is about. Make sure your note is written in clear, simple English which they can translate easily.

For this purpose do not be coy. The sort of teaser introduction often used in programme brochures at home rarely works in other languages. Do not give away a twist ending, but otherwise tell them simply what the film is about.

For festivals where another language is in use, it always helps to provide the organisers in advance with a transcription of everything said in the movie - and of any significant text that appears on signs and captions plus any song lyrics heard. They may be able to get these translated and possibly spoken over your film.

If you can get your work subtitled in the relevant language that is worth doing and an interesting exercise. It is not usually expected and can make a festival warm more to your movie. It takes time. Google's translation system is amazingly good within limits (http://translate.google.com/m?hl=en) The trick is to stick to simple, declarative sentences so far as you can. Always have the translation checked over by a native speaker if possible - being able to email the text to friends overseas is a wonderful advantage in the internet age.

Get the Ideas Straight

Get it to them in Good Time

Look through your movie trying to spot any references which are specifically American. Though American films and tv shows are known very widely, a specific reference may be missed. If you can express the same concept in other words do that for the subtitles.

Be careful commenting on the current political problems or military campaigns of any country. Try to consider their culture and its taboos. Many countries where English is well-known dislike swearing. Most Muslim countries object to nudity. Generally film festival folk are tolerant and open to different ideas, but you may cause them unnecessary problems with their audiences or national censors.

Check the copy through carefully, then rewind it. Never have more than one movie on each tape or disc … some entrants send compilation tapes and expect the organisers to find one of the movies in the middle!

Some festivals ask for a specific length of black before the film starts. All projectionists appreciate a note of how long from the start of the cassette before the movie runs. If your movie is widescreen make it clear whether the print is 16x9 or letterboxed ... a simple diagram drawing or frame grab can put the message across.

Before packing it, label it thoroughly with title, running time, plus your name and address. Print in block capitals on entry forms and labels. Handwriting can be difficult to decipher, especially so if the language is foreign to the reader.

Whether or not a festival asks for them, always send some decent stills from the movie - either frame grabs or stills taken during the shoot. Add a brief note about yourself and the film team. If there are any anecdotes about it you can tell simply, include those. Festivals often seek publicity from local radio, tv and print outlets who respond well to a "story" they can tie to the event or a movie in it. ("Film maker broke his arm but got the shot ...")

Allow plenty of time for packages to reach their destination - the quality of postal services around the world is variable. 10-14 days transit time is not unknown.

It can be helpful to ask the festival not to return the tape. Cassettes and discs are cheap enough and from some places return postage can be very expensive.

Formats

In the USA and Canada the NTSC tv system is used. Many other countries use the PAL tv system and a few use the SECAM tv system. The festival rules will usually indicate whether they can accept NTSC or not. If you have a film that you believe will do well in countries using another system it is worth making a PAL copy. (SECAM is relatively rare and festivals using it can always handle other formats too.) Some expensive transcoder programs will let you do the job at home, but for most of us it is more practical to send the movie to a specialist service. Take a look for example at World Import or Amp Studio. Often festivals can play DVDs in the NTSC format.

The traditional 4:3 aspect ratio can be played everywhere and it may be safer to offer a letterboxed version of widescreen movies ... but most festivals can cope with 16:9. If in doubt, email them and ask.

Festival rules explain what tape formats they accept. DV, MiniDV, S-VHS and VHS are usually fine. DVDs are widely accepted but home-burned ones can be tricky. Use DVD-R discs and make sure your software "finalizes" them. (Usually described in the programs as "allowing them to play on most set-top players".)

Attend if you can

Every festival likes to have film makers attend. Some will give your movie favourable treatment if you are there. You can expect to be well treated and will have a chance to discuss your work with audience and, perhaps, the jury. It is also a great feeling to be called on stage to pick up an award - whether it is a paper certificate or a fancy trophy. Be sure to take some spare copies of the movie with you to sign and hand over to your fans.

If you are not there and the festival is the kind which judges films in advance, they may let you know a few weeks before screening that you have been awarded a prize - rush them a 30-second video thanks message. You can even send it to them via the web. They love to screen such acceptances - it makes their award ceremony more like the grand, televised ones.

Sending even a very short movie over the net - at full size and quality - can be difficult. The file is likely to be too big for an email attachment. A useful service is where you can "upload" your movie and it will stay in place for seven days. They send you a code number. You email that to the festival and they can download the movie to their own system. There is a basic free service which is perfect for this purpose, though you can sign up to pay for longer files and frequent use if you wish.

If you cannot master enough of the language to say thanks in their tongue, say it in your own and try to subtitle it. In one recent, memorable case a German-speaking film maker sent a tribute to a British festival director on the occasion of his retirement. The film was mainly striking pictures and music with a short scrolling text which had been carefully translated into English.

Be Patient

Competitions operate in a variety of ways. Most festivals have a pre-selection system to ensure that only the best movies get screened. Many European festivals have a jury which watches with the audience, then goes on stage to discuss and mark the films after each block of movies. In those cases you will not get any written critique just a prize or diploma. Other competitions have the judges watch the movies in private beforehand with the best films shown and prizes announced at the public screening. In those cases you will sometimes get a written comment from the judges.

How soon after the event they let you know what happened can vary a lot. Running any festival is exhausting. Some run for a whole week leaving all the organizers shattered at the end. It takes time for them to recover and do the follow-up work. This is even more so in the festivals where the work is mainly done by volunteers who have to return to their regular employment at the end of the event and can only do follow-up work in their leisure time.

It will all seem worth it if you pick up an award you can hang on the wall or take along to a club meeting!