The freelance Australian independent film producer, Jacqui Fifer, collaborates in the II International Tirant de Mòbil Festival, through her company Lazy Darling Productions.
What is an Australian producer doing in a short film festival in Valencia?
I had the opportunity to meet Francesc Fenollosa i Ten, the director of Tirant de Mòbil, and after he told me a little bit about the festival I wanted to get involved in the project. I translated the website into English and am going to be on the festival jury. A few years ago I worked for the Canberra International Film Festival and independent film is my passion. Film festivals inspire me, both personally and professionally, and I believe wholeheartedly in the role they play in bringing to the public everything from the most marginal and least known stories and visions to the most experimental films, passing through everything in between. An online festival dedicated to short films for mobiles is a visionary concept, very in keeping with our times, and I’m delighted to be involved.
Were you already familiar with the concept of a film festival for mobile phones?
No, it’s actually the first time that I’ve seen it and I think it’s fantastic. It doesn’t surprise me at all that there has been such a surge of interest in creating new spaces for the exhibition and dissemination of content that has been created specifically for mobile devices. More and more, the markets are opening up to embrace formats and content that are more flexible and technologically relevant. Without doubt the adaptation of media content for these types of ‘mini-screens’ is a growth area.
As you know, the Tirant de Mòbil festival is a Premis Tirant initiative (Tirant Awards www.premistirant.com). Is there a film festival in Australia that incorporates such a diverse range of media formats?
As far as I know, no. There are an ever-increasing number of festivals but they tend to be somewhat more format-specific. Having such diversity within a festival makes it dynamic and is a great way to appeal to a larger number of people and tastes.
How did your interest in Valencia come about?
It’s funny because at the beginning I had never really thought much about Valencia and then a few years ago I missed a connection here while travelling and maybe that’s how it snuck into my consciousness. Over the last few years I’ve made friends with quite a number of people from Valencia and have had regular opportunities to visit and, bit by bit, the city has succeeded in seducing me to the point of liking it enough to want to come and live here. It strikes me as a city that’s looking towards the future, a city that wants to stand out and be noticed. I’ve observed over the last few years that Valencia is growing in many aspects, particularly culturally, and it’s becoming a very interesting city, a national and international point of reference.
How do you see the Valencian media panorama?
Valencia is a city in expansion in every sense. It walks an interesting line between modern/avant-garde and historical/traditional and you can see it clearly as you walk around. As to how this affects the media panorama, you can notice it in the initiatives and projects of not only the Government but also those of many production companies and institutions here. Obviously the creation of the Ciudad de la Luz film studios has put the Valencian Community at the forefront of the audiovisual industry nationally and, more importantly, within Europe. The Government really supports local production, especially that which is produced in Valenciano (the local language), which is great and doesn’t happen in every country, but from a foreign perspective I think there could be more of a commitment on the level of private investment and greater emphasis placed on distribution outside of Valencia, and even outside Spain, as this would further strengthen the industry. There are so many films made here, compared with the roughly 20 Australian feature films made in Australia each year, I don’t see why more of them couldn’t make a splash in foreign markets. Spain generally has a good reputation in terms of its film output and I feel that Valencia has the opportunity to expand.
Tell us about your production company, what types of works are you interested in producing?
I like to focus on feature films but really it’s not the format that’s important. Lazy Darling’s philosophy is simply to create intelligent and innovative works: drama with soul and purpose; stories that are personal and revealing without losing universal appeal; passionate documentaries; interesting television programs. I think that it’s possible to appeal to the public without having to be formulaic. When I sit in front of a screen for 90 minutes or more, it’s important to me to be able to walk away from that experience and take something with me. I want to see something special somewhere in the production: a performance, the story, the script. I want it to touch me and affect me in some way, to learn something. My goal is to produce works that give that same feeling to their spectators.
Are you currently working on any projects?
At the moment I’m writing the script for a short film that I’m going to direct and I’m also going to be working with some producers here on various projects including documentaries and content for television. A feature that I’m co-producing with New Thought Productions is currently in post-production. In spite of being an Australian production with a shoot that took place in Sydney this past summer, we’re doing the post in London as the other producer and the director live there. We’ve got an amazing, well-known cast and we’re really excited about how it’s looking. It’s a micro-budget project and it has been a real challenge to get it to this point, constantly negotiating deals and searching for creative solutions in order to get it across the line. The wardrobe designer working with us has compared it to the Olympics. Making a film under these circumstances gives you the confidence to know that you are capable of doing absolutely anything.
You’re going to be on the jury for the second edition of Tirant de Mòbil, what do you think of the level of the works that have been submitted?
There are some really interesting shorts amongst those that I’ve seen until now. They are varied and are based around a huge diversity of ideas and techniques; I’m enjoying seeing how each film utilises the format to achieve very different end results.
Would you like to add anything else?
I’d just like to reiterate how excited and thankful I feel to have the opportunity to be involved in such a pioneer film festival. I’d love to repeat next year and I hope that my participation and contribution towards internationalising the website help Tirant de Mòbil to continue to grow, both inside and outside of Spain.
We hope that you enjoy your time in Valencia.
