AV News 177 - August 2009
Geoffrey Round International AV Competition - 4 & 5 April
M ik e B ro w n ARPS
Impressions
Whilst quietly perusing the programme during an interval, I was pounced
upon and recruited to write my impressions of the event for AV News.
Protestations that as a recent convert to AV I was unsuitable for such a task
were jovially but firmly overruled, so here are some thoughts!
We were treated to two days of truly fascinating sequences and the great
variety was striking. One could hardly find a common thread, beyond the fact
that they were all AV's. Subjects varied from a moving documentary about a
prisoner of war in a Japanese camp, Arthur's
Secret, Sheila Davies, UK; Honourable Mention;
to an expression of pure joie de vivre, An Angel
Passed, Ricardo Zarate, Fr. Times varied from a
cheeky, humorous 15 seconds, The Owl and The
Pussy Cat, Keith Fisher, UK; to an illuminating 12
min. documentary on Bob Dylan, The Minstrel Boy,
Len Deeley, UK and intellectual demands varied
from a delightful child's tale, The Bear, David and
Carol Gillow, UK; Collin Ball's choice: to the
metaphysical challenge of creation, Creation,
Christian Matthys, Fr; Valrie Ellis's Choice.
In some sequences the photography shone through, in others emotional
impact, or skilful presentation of unusual interests. Thus the respective
merits of the sequences differed greatly in nature, so much in fact, that it
would seem impractical to categorise the entries in this type of competition.
Because the aims of the sequences and the types of skill displayed were
so diverse, one might be forgiven for thinking that it's an almost impossible
task to place them in a merit order and I would not attempt to do so. It would
be interesting to know what criteria the judges, Colin Balls FRPS APAGB,
Jean-Paul Petit (France) and
Valrie Ellis FACI, used to
choose between such varied
sequences. And yet, in a
rather intangible way, some of
them stood out in terms of the
impact that they made.
Isadora's Legacy, Eddie
Spence, UK, (see page 24)
was
selected
as
the
competition winner both by the
judges and the audience for
the session in which it was
shown. The Final Cut, Ian Bateman, UK (see page 28) similarly was
selected as the runner up by the judges and the session audience.
Page 20