Cerritos Filmmaker Banned from Newport Beach Film Festival

March 25, 2009 - PRLog -- Cerritos, CA - For Angelo Bell, a local filmmaker and writer, the First Amendment guarantees his right to express himself on his blog. However, for the Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF), such expression makes Angelo an unwelcome volunteer. After Angelo left unflattering remarks about the film festival when his independently made feature film, The Broken Hearts Club was rejected by the festival, the NBFF summarily banned him from participating in the festival as a volunteer.

Filmmakers play the waiting gain often in their careers. They wait to learn if they'll receive funding for their film. They wait for the actors. They wait for locations. They wait for their film to get out of post-production. They wait to submit to the right film festival and then they wait to hear from that festival. It's a painful waiting game. Unfortunately at the end of the game is often more bad news:  Sorry, but your film wasn't accepted into the festival.

This usually signals the end of the waiting game. Well, at least one version of the waiting game. There are numerous film festivals to submit one's short film or independent feature. Rejection is a part of the process. While painful, the classic form-style rejection letter often received at least puts an end to the wait. Unfortunately for one aspiring filmmaker, the rejection letter was just the tip of the iceberg. Having a film rejected by a film festival is one thing. But being personally rejected by a film festival is something else entirely.

A week to the day after independent writer/director, Angelo Bell received a rejection letter via email from the Newport Beach Film Festival regarding his self-funded romantic comedy, The Broken Hearts Club he received a telephone call from the film festival's volunteer coordinator.  "I was shocked," says Angelo about the phone call he received from the NBFF volunteer coordinators office. "I played it cool, but internally I was furious."  

"I was working on website updates for the film at http://www.brokenheartsclubfilm.com, when I got the call."  Angelo had submitted both his film and his resume to the festival. Thinking he might cover two bases, he was prepared to volunteer at the festival if his film wasn't accepted. Considering his experience as a volunteer at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards, one might think Angelo would be a good candidate for a volunteer. However, when his film wasn't accepted, and Angelo blogged about his experience and his feelings with his usual sarcasm, it quickly became evident that the Newport Beach Film Festival didn't want, "his kind" as a volunteer.

The fateful call came from the NBFF volunteer coordinator's office. The woman on the other end confirmed Angelo's scheduled orientation meeting that weekend. But then the call took a drastic turn when she stated that she didn't believe that Angelo was "...the kind of person we want to have as a volunteer."

"What makes you believe that?" He quickly asked.

The volunteer coordinator stuttered for a second but quickly gathered her thoughts. "It's because of certain comments we've read. We don't think you represent the kind of person we want interacting with our patrons."

Angelo's romantic comedy film, "The Broken Hearts Club" was rejected by the film festival for whatever reason. No one knows for sure. But to be personally rejected by a film festival and essentially banned from volunteering at the festival because of personal remarks on a blog is ridiculous. Angelo maintains two blogs, one at http://www.AngeloBell.com and another at http://www.319prods.com. He and many other filmmakers routinely blog about their personal distaste with how many film festivals operate. Does that make him a malicious malcontent, ready to spit a venomous diatribe as he ushers moviegoers to their assigned theater seats? No, but he never had a chance to explain or defend his comments. The NBFF had already made  up its mind.

Are filmmakers supposed to go quietly into the night after each festival rejection and make a conscious effort not to bad-mouth a film festival for fear of retaliation? Is there a film festival festival Black List circulating in Hollywood? Are the NBFF's actions indicative of rampant biased festival politics and of what many independent filmmakers have complained?

Search the Internet and you'll find blogs, articles and rants about the subjectivity of film festivals, the theft of the "independent spirit" by celebrities who've overtaken former indie spots at festivals, and out of control submission fees. Festivals routinely promote receiving upwards of 5000 film submissions for only 200 film slots in its festival.  If an independent filmmaker sold 5000 tickets to a movie in a theater with only 200 seats she'd go to jail.

These events raise further questions about whether a film is judged on its own merit or on how festival programmers perceive the filmmaker. Suppose Angelo's blog comments were bitter. Is this not human to have feelings of rejection after being...rejected?

It's now very reasonable to assume that festival programmers and their minions are trolling filmmaker blogs, social media, websites, etc to ensure not diversity, but conformity. For many festivals It's only prudent to showcase a filmmaker with a voice if that voice is en vogue. It's becoming more evident that many--not all--festivals are more like high school cliques: If they don't like you, they won't like your film.

It is a scary thought. Independent filmmaking is about expression as an art form. Festivals often promote themselves using this same mantra. But what happened to the First Amendment? Is bad-mouthing a festival the exception to free speech as far as festivals are concerned? Angelo quips, "Bad-mouthing a film festival is as bad for a filmmaker's career as yelling "fire" in a crowded movie theater? Hmmm...there must a reason why 'movie theater' has been used in this analogy for so long?"

When NBFF was approached by Angelo's mentor, Tony Comstock, a successful independent film documentarian for an explanation about the situation they declined to comment.  Seems as though the festival has no problem exercising its Fifth Amendment rights.

Angelo is now playing the waiting game again. "I'm waiting on word from a festival of my peers, The Hollywood Black Film Festival." The Hollywood Black Film Festival fosters diversity in Hollywood by promoting the work of African Americans and other people of color.  "I've gone 0-7 with top tier film festivals," says Angelo. "After this last one I'm focusing on smaller local festivals and a few in Western Europe that recognize the independent filmmaker as an asset, not a liability."

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About Rehab-Jiiczi Films: The independent film production and distribution company promotes the rights of filmmakers and bloggers. The company is self-releasing three films direct-to-DVD this year. See more information at http://www.AngeloBell.com/pulp-fusion/