How will this year’s event be?

We expect great enthusiasm at this year’s tour. After the widespread success and visibility of three digital feature films last year (The Celebration, The Cruise and The Last Broadcast), the awareness and possibilities of digital filmmaking are out there.

Besides the event, you’re publishing RES magazine. What kind of things are you doing there?

I think that the magazine captures the spirit of the Festival on paper. The staff of the festival – John Scalise (Managing Director) John Turk (Production Manager) Colin Metcalf (Art Director) are instrumental in the production of the magazine.

Just as with the Festival we put the attention on the individual artist. Unlike other digital video trade magazines we don’t put products on the cover, rather people.

Each issue we profile filmmakers, broadcast and web designers, music video directors and other that are pushing the envelope of the moving image.

Who are the remarkable artists for you?

The 1997 festival featured an exceptional film, “Wood Technology in the Design of Structures” by Eric Henry.

In 1998 we showcase an equally stunning film, “Roadhead” by Tommy Pallotta and Bob Sabisiton. This film was an animated documentary – AND Bob wrote his own software that was used to make the film!

These two films represent in my mind the types of films that could not have been made without the digital technology that was used. And yet they are not defined by that same technology. This is a glimpse into the future, as more artists grasp the technology and begin to use these tools in ways that no one has imagined.

What do you think about Japan?

I get very excited by all the new digital tools/toys that emanate from Japan each day. What is more exciting though is how filmmakers and artists use these tools in ways their creators could not have expected. Who at Sony would have thought that Thomas Vinterberg would shoot a feature film (Festen aka Celebration) on a one-chip Sony PC7 camcorder, transfer it to 35mm film, and win the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival? I look forward to presenting RESfest in Tokyo (I got to visit several times as a child when my Father lived there) – and seeing innovative Japanese digital films submitted to RESfest!

What will RESfest be like in the future?

The challenge is to stay ahead of the curve. Two years ago few people had heard of digital filmmaking, in the next two years we expect that most film festivals will begin using digital projection to present some films.

RES
Address: 109 Minna St., Suite 390, San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: +1 415 437 2686
submit@resfest.com
https://www.resfest.com