Plume & Pellicule 2011 – Day by Day
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Last day
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
With all the consultations and workshops behind them, the screenwriters were able to enjoy a field trip to the Castle of Chillon and lunch on a cruise that toured Lake Geneva (called Lac Léman). The breathtaking views were graciously donated by the Swiss Tourism office – what a perfect way to unwind after the intensive week of work and to mark the close of the screenwriting lab.
A sponsor cocktail gathered all the contributors to P&P ’11 and honored them with live piano music, champagne and hors d’oeuvres. After dinner everyone gathered for a farewell party which preceded the final farewell the next day. The following morning was full of departures as each of the participants and consultants left the castle to go to their different corners of the world.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 7
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
William Ivory generously continued his presence with two additional school screenings for Sierre’s youth. Along with the Casting Day, these screenings represent DreamAgo President Pascale Rey’s commitment to bringing unique opportunities for young people to be introduced to the world of cinema in the hopes that any future filmmaker or screenwriter will discover a passion through these events.
Tonight marked the end of Plume & Pellicule’s screenings with one last short, “Ich bin Helmut”, by Nicolas Steiner and the feature film, “Les Femmes du 6éme Etage”, in the presence of director, Philippe Le Guay. It was an audience favorite and closed the festival on a joyous note.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 6
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
Intensive work in the Acting workshop continued all day today when the other language groups got their turn to explore their characters. The groups are divided by the three languages, French, English and Spanish, so that the participants can work in their native language (with an interpreter) to have the most direct access to their emotions.
The big event of the day was the arrival of William Ivory, the screenwriter of this evening’s screening, “We Want Sex Equality” (Made in Dagenham), a heartwarming film about the Ford factory women’s strike in Britain (1968) that led to the groundbreaking law that made salaries for women equal to men. After a thunderous ovation, Mr. Ivory answered all of the enthusiastic questions and was joined afterward by a special guest, Gabrielle Nanchen, one of the first delegates of the Swiss Parliament who actually voted for the equality of sexes.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 5 – Acting for Screenwriters
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
In celebration of Swiss Mother’s day, P&P screened the documentary, “Le Premier Cri” (The First Cry) which explores the pregnancy to birth journey of women in different countries, followed by a Q&A with the screenwriter, Marie-Claire Javoy. In addition, spectators could come in the afternoon for the screening of “The Constant Gardener”.
Back at the castle, consultant Maggie Soboil began her work today with the screenwriters in her workshop, Acting in 3-D. The goal of this workshop is to find the emotional truth of the characters, especially in pivotal scenes of the story. She helps screenwriters to think of and write more multi dimensional, believable characters. Working with Maggie this year was the actor, Didier Flamand, who did the earlier reading, and who contributed his acting chops to help screenwriters connect to the emotion of, and find the necessary depth to, their characters.
The day finished with a screening of Cairo, Exit, an Egyptian independent film, in the presence of the writer/director, Hesham Issawi.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 4 – The consultants!
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
A special treat was in store for our participants this afternoon when they got to see the Oscar nominated film, “Son of the Bride”, written by one of their consultants, Fernando Castets, a screenwriter (television and film) and a playwright from Argentina. To be able to see in practice the writing techniques that have been suggested to them in their consultations was an invaluable learning experience.
Consultants are the cornerstone of this screenlab. With input from people such as Arturo Arango, a novelist, essayist, and screenwriter who teaches at the International School of Cinema and Television in Cuba, J.Todd Harris, who was highlighted yesterday and Maggie Soboil (whose acting workshop starts tomorrow), writers can take their script to a much higher level than they would have imagined.
At night, the festival screened the movie, “Tous les Soleils” in the presence of the French director Philippe Claudel and his family who joined us for our special evening out, a five course meal of “raclette”, a melted cheese Swiss specialty.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 3 – Script & Screen
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
What makes the difference between a screenplay and the final film? This question was explored today through the reading of a short film by Yvon Marciano, “Emilie Muller”, by the well known French stage and film actor Didier Flamand. The reading was immediately followed by a screening of the short film. With this contrast, the audience was able to see firsthand just how an actor brings a character to life and how the final film differs from the read screenplay.
The “actor” theme continued with “Casting Day” in which a panel of casting directors discussed the role of the casting director and the difficulties and importance of finding the right cast for each movie. Ronnie Yeskel, a casting director from Los Angeles who cast, among other things, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and who is a P&P consultant as well, led the discussion panel which included Tatiana Vialle, who gave the French point of view of the casting process, Laurent Nègre for the Swiss, and Didier Flamand for the actor’s perspective.
Meanwhile, our screenwriters continued their important work with consultants throughout the day but were able to join the townspeople of Sierre for the evening screening of “The Kids are all right” in the presence of producer J.Todd Harris who is also here as a consultant for P&P to give our participants his insight on the production end of things..
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 2 – Official beginning – P&P launches!
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below!
The first official day of Plume & Pellicule 2011! Writers began their serious work with the consultants getting precious feedback on their screenplays, both on the screenwriting component as well as from a production standpoint. The whole object is to get their script “screen ready”. Many scripts never see the light of day as a film, so helping screenwriters get their stories closer to becoming films is what P&P is all about.
The city of Sierre and the festival sponsors were honored in an evening VIP cocktail where city officials and distinguished guests gathered together to toast the opening of the film festival while listening to the wonderful voices of Richard Charest & Xavier Druot who sang songs from movie soundtracks. After the festivities, it was time for the screening of “Even the Rain”, directed by Iciar Bollain, and written by Paul Laverty (go to our Programs tab for more info), preceded by the short, Le Télégramme by Coralie Fargeat.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com
Day 1 – Arrivals
Don’t forget to watch the video resume below for scenes from the first day!
Plume & Pellicule is back for its seventh year and its 2011th edition! The chateau was a hive of activity today as the DreamAgo team welcomed the new arrivals as well as put the final finishing touches on the yearlong preparation that each P&P entails. From India to Colombia, Los Angeles to Cuba, participants and consultants have come from around the world to the hamlet of Sierre, Switzerland and its breathtaking emerald rivers and snow capped mountain peaks. Housed in the beautiful Chateau Mercier, which itself is situated higher up on the mountain slope than the town, the screenwriters have an idyllic location for the intensive week they will spend working on their screenplays.
This screenwriting lab is the “Plume” (or quill), while the film festival, which starts its evening screenings tomorrow, is of course is the “Pellicule” (or film). In a fully packed movie theater, screenings are presented by a guest of honor (the director, the screenwriter, the producer, the star, the lead actor, or the cinematographer) with a Q&A at the end for the audience. After a get together cocktail, everyone got to enjoy a delicious meal from the Chateau’s in house chef, Antonio.
For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com