Stating 'purpose' crucial to judging process

Each year, veteran documentary filmmaker Neil Curry puts together a judging committee in his homeplace of Africa. These judging groups use the information that

Neil Curry

entrants list under "purpose" to help them make judging decisions, and all too often, the details have not been provided.
 

"As usual, some producers lose marks because they ignore the question of ‘why was this film made,’ on the entry form," writes Curry. "But more importantly, if the makers themselves don’t know precisely why they made the film – and can spell it out in a couple of sentences - it explains why so many of their films end up as simply catalogues of stunning shots and sequences, but without any real direction or focus to hold them all together in the end."  

Good information to keep in mind as we look toward next year's competition. The final judging stages for 2015 are nearing completion so we should be able to announce the overall winners and the Best of Festival (Grand Prix) nominees in just a few days.