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- Letter from the President
- Report on UNICA Activities
- Report of the Friends of UNICA
- Sequence of screenings at UNICA 2003
TO THE UNICA MEMBER FEDERATIONS
Ladies and gentlemen, dear film friends,
The UNICA 2002 Congress in Luxembourg now belongs to the past. Even if it had only some 200 delegates and we did not reach the number of participants we had targeted, it appeared once again that a UNICA Congress of that size offers better opportunities to socialise and tighten existing bonds of friendship. Many thanks to the organisers who did their best to fulfil all the wishes of the attendees. The Organising committee did an excellent job and we were delighted to see the amount of personal commitment they displayed, which was a sure guarantee of success.
All the buildings made available for the Congress were up to our expectations and, this year just as in Tallinn last year, enthusiastic spectators were offered excellent technical quality, due in particular to a 8.5m- screen (in diagonal) and outstanding clarity of sound. We would like to thank the organisers for their efficiency and dedicated performance.
The General meeting was held with
simultaneous translation, and this is also applied to the public jury meeting
for evaluation of films. This showed that we can hardly do without such a
system if we want to gain invaluable time by shortening the translation process.
All organisers will have to pay attention to this question in the future.
The whole agenda could be tackled without difficulty. Here are the points for which significant decisions were made:
- - a new deputy auditor was elected, he is Austrian.
-
- two national federations were accepted as new members South Korea and
Tunisia.
The Korea Visual Arts Association was represented by Chang Chan Joo, the President of KVAA and Sang Tack Park. They were assisted by Mrs. Ung-Nam Di Janni who took care of the translation between German / English and Korean. This organisation has no fewer than 200,000 non-professional film makers or film friends. Once again, we proved that language barriers can be overcome with the hands ...
Tunisia, a former member was reintroduced into the UNICA family. We recall that Tunisia was the organiser of a UNICA Congress in the past. Considering that we are dealing with the same institution, it was not a matter of approving the application, but rather re-establishing the federation as a full member.
Both federations were welcomed into the UNICA circle with a round of applause.
- Regarding the "finance" item, it was confirmed that the method adopted this year on a provisional basis - of allowing membership fees to be paid in EUR or CHF - will be continued. Accounts will be held as before in both CHF and EUR, using the rate of exchange applying as per December 31st.
The next UNICA congresses will be organised as follows:
- 2003 in Poland (Warsaw)
- 2004 in Germany
- 2005 in Belgium, as this country has now applied
- 2006 … well … what about ... Korea, as the President of the South Korean delegation suggested?
As a matter of fact, the idea of holding again a UNICA Congress in a non-European country is very attractive.
Future: As could be expected, the item "Miscellaneous" was an opportunity to discuss the matter of the "future of UNICA". Eight national federations had responded by mail to the president's letter and put forward their proposals. Several delegates also made suggestions during the discussion. Here are some of the ideas:
- shortening the duration of the UNICA Congress to a full week, i.e. from Saturday to Saturday, with the journey back home on Sunday.
- reducing the cost of the items included in the congress card and, as far as possible, using lower-budget hotels.
- maintaining the excursions (whole-day or half-day) as, in the opinion of many speakers, the UNICA Congress is still part of their annual vacation time.
- shortening the minimum projection time (currently of 60 min.) down to 50 minutes.
- no organising of the UNICA Congress at a fixed place, without changing venues.
- maintaining the Competition as it now stands, with national programs performed as a whole (not distributed over several sessions).
The committee will examine this significant point in the next committee meetings and will make decisions that are in the interest of the greatest possible number of federations.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the federations that responded and expressed an opinion, either by mail, or orally in Luxembourg. Thank you very much.
An innovation: The committee decided to promote the idea of "trailers" (short films introducing the national program) by awarding a gold medal to a film of outstanding quality. We hope that a growing number of federations will seek through this initiative to introduce their country with a short film of this type. We trust that you will answer this call. This year's prize was awarded to Great Britain.
You will receive by separate mail - free of charge - an 80 minute video cassette with a selection from the films presented at UNICA 2002. We ask you to circulate this cassette among your clubs and thank you in advance.
Thank you very much.
Max Hänsli (CHE), President of UNICA
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REPORT ON UNICA ACTIVITIES - Zurich, November 2nd, 2002
With these reports, I would like to try to inform you - as a UNICA member federation or a UNICA film friend of the activities of our organisation. If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to submit them.
| The UNICA Committee met from October 24 to 27, 2002 in Samobor (Croatia), at the invitation of the Chairman of the Committee, Zeljko Balog. The meetings were inaugurated by a reception hosted by the Mayor of Samobor and then held in the local House of Government. Many thanks for this hospitality. |  |
Retrospective of the UNICA 2002 Congress in Luxembourg
The Committee
was very pleased to recognise that the event had been perfectly organised,
with a magnificent hall - unfortunately slightly too large - offering optimal
conditions for film projection and sound quality. The half-day excursions
were well planned and very interesting, offering some 200 participants the
chance to become better acquainted with the host country. The meals served
in the Congress Hall itself were also well managed.
It was only a pity that the hotel where the majority of Congress participants were accommodated was relatively far from the venue. However, the organising committee had made all necessary arrangements to provide transportation whenever needed. Simultaneous translation was provided for the General Meeting and the public session of the jury, which considerably facilitated the running of the event. We recommend this idea to future organisers and suggest it be taken as an example.
Videos tapes kept for the UNICA Film Library
I would like to give a special thank-you to national federations for facilitating the supply of videos meant for the UNICA Film Library. As a compensation, each national federation received an 80-minute cassette with a selection of excerpts from the programs of various countries presented at UNICA 2002. I hope that these cassettes will be put into circulation among the clubs of the national federations, so that a large public gets a clearer idea of the kind and quality of the films shown at the UNICA Congress.
"Film school films" in the UNICA Competition
There is some uncertainty as to the definition of such films. Some national federations enter in this film category works that have been created by young people studying in schools where this is part of their education and/or the curriculum. This is a wrong interpretation. The "film school film" category is meant only for work made, for example, in educational institutions such as schools of cinematography or fine arts academies with a cinema department and other comparable establishments. More generally, we refer to those institutions which provide tuition and training for young people to prepare them for a career in the film-making industry, and - as such - produce films with resources and equipment that are not available to normal film authors.
Public film discussions with the jury or with "experts".
I am aware that this will be matter for debate far into the future. The Committee will - once again - examine the issue at the next meeting in Spring (in Germany), hoping that a suitable solution can be found soon.
The UNICA 2003 Congress in Warsaw
Anyone who took part in the UNICA Congress in Warsaw six years ago knows what this country can offer in the way of cultural events. Who does not have fond memories of the opening ceremony or the grand piano concert in the open air, on an island in the middle of a park in Warsaw? Poland has again offered to be the organiser of the Congress. In the interim, the hotel has been completely renovated, and a new wing has been built. The theatre where screenings take place has also been revamped. This is why the organisers chose to use the same premises. Apart from the very attractive price conditions offered by the hotel (for instance, a double room for EUR 58), there is another bonus: the congress will not cost EUR 200 but only EUR 170. Moreover, negotiations are currently being held with LOT (the Polish national airline) regarding a discount for UNICA participants. Another important point: the Committee has decided that the duration of the UNICA Congress will be shorter in future, i.e. opening on a Saturday - in the late afternoon- and closing the event a week later on Sunday. This will reduce expenses notably, which is obviously in the interest of participants. (Day of arrival = day of opening, saving one hotel night.)
The UNICA 2003 organisers in Warsaw will arrange a mailing to all former participants and send them all relevant information about the event (including a provisional program) and forms and documents for registration).
Make a note of the dates: 16th to 25th August 2003 for your participation in the UNICA 2003 Congress in Warsaw. You will not regret it!
General Assembly of the UNICA 2003
Congress 2003 will be an election year for all members of the UNICA Committee. Although no resignation has been announced so far, all national federations have the right to nominate new candidates for the committee. If you want to make use of this opportunity, please do so before March 31, 2003. In accordance with the Articles, proposals can be submitted at a later time, up to the very day of the General Meeting. Nominations should be submitted to me or to the Secretary-General Arie de Jong. Please provide a short curriculum vitae. However, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that travelling expenses to attend Committee meetings and the expenses of hotel and meals have to be paid out of one's own pocket. The allowance for each Committee meeting is only EUR 100.
UNICA-Jeunesse at the 2003 Congress in Warsaw.
I will provide information on this matter after the next Committee meeting. The Warsaw organisers will do their best to invite a large number of young film makers, as far as possible, those with a film as part of the national program.
In conclusion, I would like to submit an important question to the national federations and to the Friends of UNICA.
Film Schools Category - your views?
Three years ago UNICA introduced the "Film School films" category, with films made by future professionals. I have already had the chance to explain why this category was created. The questions are as follows: What do you think about it? What experience do you have of it, for example with films-makers who have taken part in a UNICA contest. We refer in particular to the views of both film makers who were trained in a Film School, and film-makers who do not regard themselves as eligible for this category. We would also like to hear the opinion of national film federations.
Please tell me before March 31, 2003 what experience you have of this matter. Thanks in advance.
The future of UNICA.
The committee examined this question thoroughly. Decisions, such as the shortening of the duration of the UNICA Congress, the reduction in the cost of the congress card, less expensive hotels - as far as possible - have already been made. We also wonder how the process of evaluating national programs could be improved. The problem was looked at from various angles: the question of the projection time available for each federation, a limit of 4 films per country and taking the results of the 4 films as a whole for setting up the list of awards. Various procedures for judging can be envisaged even in this case. We are currently examining these possibilities to work out an interesting way to assess all national programs.
However, we are aware that UNICA cannot be expected to open itself up to individual members since the fundamental members of UNICA are national federations. But national federations have the option of accepting individual members, and some countries already do so. Films entered by individual members could be shown at a UNICA Competition as part of the national program.
The concept of individual members might usefully be examined by individual federations where it has not yet been adopted.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all the national federations that responded to my question about the future of UNICA. All contributions were submitted to discussion in Committee and we will go on considering them. Thank you very much for your interest.
With kind regards
Max Hänsli, President of UNICA
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FRIENDS OF UNICA 2001 - 2002
Since my previous report in 2001, many things have happened
for the Friends of UNICA. Our current membership is 75. We had to send a
reminder to 23 of them, since they have not paid their membership for three
years. The number of lifelong members has risen from 22 to 23. Four editions
of the Info Newsletter have been issued and dispatched - usually but not
always with the UNICA NEWS. An appeal was launched in the latest Info to
the Friends of UNICA, requesting them to give thought to the designing of
a new logo. The Friends of UNICA annual get-together in Tallinn was the climax
of our activities. Kaufmann and Graber presented a video and many friends
were pleased to remember those pleasant times. Again a successful party,
thanks to participants and members attending.
- Wolfgang Freier, Friends of UNICA, Hirschackerweg 32, D - 66453 Gersheim NG -
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SEQUENCE OF THE SCREENINGS of films
at UNICA 2003
and the projection time limit per country:
- Poland (POL) - 70
- Luxembourg (LUX) - 75
- Czechia (CZE) - 60
- Finland (FIN) - 75
- Tunisia (TUN) - 60
- Switzerland (CHE) - 70
- Latvia (LTV) - 60
- Iran (IRN) - 70
- Italy (ITA) - 70
- Korea (KOR) - 60
- Slovakia (SVK) - 60
- Argentina (ARG) - 75
- Georgia (GEO) - 60
- Andorra (AND) - 60
- Bosnia-Herzegovina (BIH) - 60
- Spain (ESP) - 75
- France (FRA) - 70
- Austria (AUT) - 70
- Slovenia (SVN) - 60
- Lithuania (LIT) - 60
- United Kingdom (GBR) - 75
- Belgium (BEL) - 75
- Netherlands (NLD) - 75
- Ukraine (UKR) - 60
- Russia (RUS) - 65
- Hungary (HUN) - 60
- Croatia (HRV) - 75
- Sweden (SWE) - 75
- Estonia (EST) - 70
- Macedonia (MKD) - 60
- Liechtenstein (LIE) - 60
- Germany (DEU) - 75
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