THE MAKING OF THE GUERNSEY LILY FESTIVAL

Peter Rouillard

Peter and Richard Rouillard have been making films since 1966. They were inspired by the very first Ten Best programme screened by Guernsey Cine Club in 1967 - the only time they brought the programme to the island. The club invited Charles Haydon-Brash from IAC over to give a talk in 1968 and the Rouillards showed him their latest b/w ghost thriller. He suggested it go to the SERIAC competition. They sent it there and it won a Certificate of Merit. Their next film got a Highly Commended in LAFF (London Amateur Film Festival, the forerunner of the British International Film Festival.) In 1971 their film The Wager won the Best Sound Trophy at LAFF. They kept making films on 8mm until the mid 1970s winning more awards at IAC festivals and the Ten Best competitions.

In 1975, a fateful connection was made with the lady who was to be the third festival founder, Joan Ozanne, who was already a tireless worker for all the Arts. When a pageant of Guernsey History was presented in son-et-lumière form, she roped the Rouillards in through a group called Theatre Projects. To mark the naval exploits of Admiral James de Sausmarez, the Rouillards shot footage of people in appropriate uniforms from the top of a tower by the sea, so that they appeared to be on the deck of a ship-of-the-line. This 10-minute sequence was projected onto a makeshift 24 foot screen by a Martello Tower on the West coast. A16mm xenon projector hired from the mainland was set 250 feet away up the beach, sheltering under the fly-sheet of Richard's tent. A huge sound system was in place and Peter, hiding in the rocks, controlled the firing of scores of explosive maroons placed along the shore to simulate canon-shots in synch with the film, producing bangs and smoke. It was one of the biggest theatrical events on the island and attracted 5,000 people.

On Guernsey the local Gaumont cinema closed down in 1985 so naturally they joined a committee to try to save it. There they met Joan Ozanne again and their discussions included talk of having a film festival in Guernsey. It took a few years for that dream to become reality.

The next step was to organise an "Amateur Oscars Night", mainly as a chance to present their two latest 16mm films to the local public but also to show just how good amateur film could be. With the help of Leonard Robinson, then assistant to the IAC library officer, a gentleman who was one of life's enthusiasts, they put together a package which included films like Trophy by Gerry Gavigan and Eurynome by John Straiton. They managed to fill the Beau Sejour Leisure Centre cinema which seats over 400 people. That was in 1991. The following year they tried to repeat the success but insufficient advertising and an unfortunate change of night gave them an audience of about 80. But from those events grew the scheme to run a festival themselves rather than just drawing on winners of mainland competitions.

They approached the Tourist Board who helped with £4,000 of sponsorship and acted as a postbox for entries, compiled entry lists and so on. The States of Guernsey continues to support the festival to this day but with a much reduced budget.

In the early 90's, a film festival meant ciné, hiring high-powered projectors from the mainland and transporting prints on standard 8mm, super-8mm and 16mm plus having early video projection systems to cope with all the entries. About 30 people came from the rest of the British Isles to the first Guernsey Lily Festival.

We attended the first Guernsey Lily which took place at a time when the video upstart was only a dot on the far horizon, and frankly no-one could even imagine a day when the tape medium would dominate. From the very beginning, Richard and Peter had high hopes for their baby and made a supreme effort to make visitors welcome, from the vin d'honneur at the harbour yacht club through the whole weekend. The film shows took place at Beau Sejour, a large performance venue, with two projectors throwing very large pictures from the front row of the balcony. We were delighted with the projection and Annabelle's Super-8 film The Gray Team, about the Whitbread Shire horses, even finished among the awards. The tiny but devoted team of the Rouillards, their lovely ladies, Afifah and Mary and the indomitable charm of Joan Ozanne assured the ultimate success of the event. We were back to take part in the highly organised judging sessions the following year and, though it was a hard weekend's work, the Rouillards somehow managed to take us around to see most of the island and have some memorable meals. One freshly caught sea bass meal ranks as one of my all time favourite fish dishes - eaten in one of those out of the way coves that only a Guernsey native could know about. - Reg Lancaster

Publicity for the festival went out in the IAC magazine and Moviemaker. There were 66 entries and the first three or four winners all came over too. The first winner was Tooshka Productions with Square Rainbow. Among the other attendees were people from Channel Television who have remained staunch supporters.

The festival has made a point of bringing in a guest judge from the UK to join the panel. That first time it was Tony Rose, hugely respected editor of Moviemaker magazine. Tony Rose judged three festivals and several times he came to give a Sunday morning talk about moviemaking.

The festival took off from there. Entries got as high as 137 one year. They tried holding the festival in a cinema that formed part of a hotel complex but it proved awkward to fit around commercial screenings. Then they moved into the first of a series of hotels so that the social side of the event could be developed along with screenings.

Joan Ozanne came up with the title and symbol of the festival: the Guernsey Lily and that attractive flower blooms about festival time in late September / early October. People came and found the event very informal and friendly. For example Richard usually appears in his shorts except for the gala evening show when the winning works are screened. At that time the IAC festival was still a bit more formal and so by contrast theirs became distinctive.

In 2004, Joan decided to retire from an active role in the festival, though she still offers to host the final judging session in her home. She has made so many friends among festival visitors that everyone hopes she will continue to attend the event. Mary, Peter's wife, took over the financial administration of the event two years ago to reduce Joan's workload. Afifah, Richard's wife, has been taking over some of Joan's social role in helping make visitors very welcome.

Computers have helped with the administrative tasks and the team have gradually built up a pool of equipment so that hiring is no longer necessary. Presentation is easier in the digital age because programmes of films, captions etc are compiled onto a single tape for simplicity.

What surprises them?

"People who send in blank tapes. People who send tapes without moving or breaking-off the safety tab. People who do not use a fresh tape so that other material pops up after their entry. And NTSC entries - we do have it in the rules that we only accept PAL. NTSC entries are no problem to view as most UK equipment plays it, but trying to record it onto a compilation for the public shows is tricky. John Gaisford of Studio 8 transcoded some NTSC material for us." - Richard Rouillard

All entries are previewed by both Peter and Richard, working separately. They provide a written note to all entrants. The festival still offers generous prizes but the cost of printing, postage and so on keeps rising and local sponsorship is dwindling. The trend towards lower ceilings in all hotels makes it difficult to allow everyone a good view but they like their new venue in La Villette Hotel.

So long as they are able, they both intend to carry on - though if anyone is keen enough to help out and take it over they would be very welcome - they both insist.

- based on an interview by Dave Watterson at BIAFF 2005.

Whether you enter a movie or not, you can sample the relaxed pleasure of the Guernsey Lily Festival. (In 2005 it runs on 7-9th October. ) There are flights from most parts of the UK and many regulars make it a holiday by adding a few days. La Villette Hotel is keeping all it's accommodation that weekend for festival guests, so mention the Guernsey Lily Festival when making a booking.. However, if the hotel is full, there are many others a few minutes walk or car ride away. You can find more on the festival website or for real friendly Guernsey help and advice contact Peter and Mary Rouillard, Moneta, Marette Road, St Martins, Guernsey, Channel Islands, GY4 6LB Tel: +44 (0) 1481 236461. Fax: +44 (0) 1481 236461 Email: rouillard@cwgsy.net

Visit the official website.

Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source