Having had the Festival of Nations highly recommended to us by Jan and Dave Watterson, we decided to attend this year. We duly entered our film Innocents in the competition, which was to be held during the week of 18th to 24th June in the beautiful Austrian town of Ebensee.

The river Traun running through Ebensee on its way to the Traunsee lake.	Langbathsee - a nearby nature reserve and resort lake ideal for family swimming and picnics.

From the moment we had our first glimspe of the area through the train window, we were entranced by the superb scenery. We checked into our hotel where the proprietors were friendly and welcoming. We were thrilled to see that our room, which was spacious, clean and comfortable, had a balcony with a view of the lake and the mountains.

As we reached Ebensee late on the Sunday, we missed the first day's programmes but Jan Watterson left the Kino (Cinema) to come and welcome us, a gesture that we appreciated very much.

Franz Ausweger, an Ebensee friend, showed us round Langbathsee.	The Festival of Nations programme displayed by one of the cuddy bears which are prizes.	The Austrian rail service is fast, cheap and reliable - you can see all the journey details on the internet.

(Jan and Dave had actually come to the station to meet us but we foiled their plans by ignoring the comprehensive travel arrangements that Dave had spent several sleepless nights preparing for us and by somehow managing to arrive on an earlier train!) We were pleased to discover that the film shows started at the civilised hour of 10.00am every day, allowing us plenty of time to enjoy our breakfasts in the company of our film-friends.

The venue was perfect with excellent presentations of all the films shown. We knew that our entry, Innocents, would be screened during the evening session on Monday so we were keen to see some of the other entrants' films during the day. Were they any good? Suffice it to say we seriously considered sliding under our seats or donning disguises whilst our little effort was on.

Some of the Monday films ...

Le Coucher de Soleil	Hasta La Muerte	Innocents	Sen - Das verlorene Licht	Jan, Amelie und die anderen

Naturally, we cringed during the seven minutes of Innocents but we were gratified to hear the very kind remarks of the jury members and the discussion that followed, which indicated that the film had been well received by the audience. We were very impressed by the system employed at the Festival, whereby the viewers and authors speak about the films as well as the jurors.

The main jury (see below) was joined one day by Kurt Palm a director and another by Mercedes Echerer an actress.

Although the jury comments are delivered in German, do not despair if you have little grasp of the language. The atmosphere of the Festival is so friendly that someone will be pleased to translate for you. We were lucky enough to have the ever-patient and helpful Jürgen Richarz to interpret for us.

Jürgen Richarz (film maker)	Simone Schinerl (Festival Assistant)	Jan Watterson (UK visitor)	Markus Schwarz (Festival webmaster)	Pierre Daudelin (film maker)

We were surprised and delighted by the number of film-makers who attended the Festival, including Pierre Daudelin from Canada who was following his film Nothing Girl around the European festivals in which he had entered the production. So we met up with some old friends and also made some new ones!

Erich Riess, the Festival Director, his wife, Eva, and all the team did a magnificent job of organising the Festival. Included in the week's highlights were the trips to the lake for al fresco dining, the visit to the 'Wildpark' which was followed by supper at a restaurant where we sampled the local delicacy of knoodles, and the evening of 'Bunter Abend' (local entertainment).

Three times the festival had picnic lunch by the lake.	Eva and Erich Riess handing out prizes.

The culmination of the Festival was the Awards Presentation Evening at which we were joined by some of Ebensee's local dignitaries. The general standard of the films shown throughout the week was extremely high. We were, therefore, quite astonished when Innocents gained a Silver Bear, which we have named Erich, of course!

Peter Rouillard (right) and some of the other Silver Bear winners.	Erich Riess talks to Peter Rouillard on stage at the awards.

We are looking forward to receiving our copy of the Bäroskop (the video diary of the week's events) which was put together superbly by Karin and Bernhard Hausberger. Segments of the Bäroskop were shown to the audience each day.

So congratulations to all involved with the organisation of the Festival of Nations. Our first visit will definitely not be our last! Ebensee, sie waren wundervoll!

- Peter & Mary Rouillard, Guernsey.

See also Dave Watterson's report and the Festival of Nations website

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Page updated on 21 March 2008

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

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