Monday, September 22, 2014
After one year of preparations, T.H.I.S Buddhist Film Festival finally arrived!
As a part of the film programming committee, our work began late last year. We curated more than 100 films from all around the world, including having open calls for film makers to submit their works for shortlist. We watched and discussed each of these films and finally came up with an official selection of 16 top-quality films to be part of this year’s festival.
It had been an exciting journey and all of us had voluntarily put in our share of time and effort to put together this event, which is currently in its 3rd edition and has been recognized as part of the local film festival circuit. The final 2 months were especially exciting, as we watched the box office sales came in. Some films moved faster than others, but support was continuous and it was heartwarming.
This is a film fest like no other – no big publicity stunts nor any fat budget to attract eyeballs. We relied mostly on donations and the help of the Buddhist community to spread the word about the film festival. There were so many Samaritans who rendered their help and support. I was touched.
Last Saturday, the Opening day saw 3 screenings which were all 100% Sold out. The response was so good that there were supporters who came to Lido without any tickets, and hoped to try their luck to get tickets from anyone who might want to return tickets for any reasons. We tried to help them as much as we could and made everyone happy.
2 Directors also came for their film’s screenings, including Ms Elsa Yang for “My Mandala”, a feature film from Taiwan. During the Question-and-Answer session after the screening, the outpouring of positive rave reviews even made her tear on stage. I guess it was the best response that any first-time film-maker could get. Another director, Geshe Jinpa, a monk from Nepal, were also present to take questions after his “108 Yaks” film. Once again, the audience gave very strongly approvals for his Project.
Over the weekend, I was in charge of the merchandise booth and sales were brisk as well. There were familiar faces here and there, because I’ve seen them buying tickets during our roadshows and they were here to purchase the limited merchandises too. In fact, some patrons bought tickets to multiple screenings, giving their utmost support.
As I’m typing this entry now, we’ve already crossed the 90% box office last week. There are still limited seats available for some of the screenings this week. If you’re interested and want to join in the fun, we’ll be there every day at Shaw Lido, right until the festival ends on 27th September.
人生是黑白的.
3:56 PM <3
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