23 August 2012 Author Martin Wallace

Why would you make a film if you didn't want people to see it? Whereas painting a picture or making music can feel good as an end in itself, no other creative endeavour seems to demand an audience as much as filmmaking does.
 
Making films is hard - it almost always costs money, involves roping in other people and asking favours from strangers. Then, when your film is complete and meets its audience, there's a new problem - they're experts - they've been 'studying' film and tv stories since they were 2 years old! And what makes them even harder to please is they've mostly been watching stuff produced by large teams of seasoned professionals, made with no expense spared, full of well-known faces or exotic locations.
 
But showing your film to an audience is THE acid test - you might think you've created the most chuckle-worthy comedy or moving drama, but what do the audience make of it, how do they respond?
 
Liverpool Film Night and Young Liverpool Film Night are both near and are golden opportunities for filmmakers to have their work connect with an audience. This is real sharing. Anyone can throw a film on the Internet and get people to 'like' it, but which films can entertain a group of strangers in a darkened room? Which films can move them, challenge them and change them, by revealing a new angle on an age-old dilemma, or an exciting new way of thinking?
 
This isn't just a screening it's a chance for debate about the kinds films that are important and why.

Get involved. Be part of it. Submit your film or come along and have your say; see what you make of the films and quiz the filmmakers.