Movies and movie awards

THE MAGIC OF A FESTIVAL
Analysing the impactof festival nominations and awards on movies
TODAY Weekend • October 11, 2008
KENNETH TAN

SINGAPORE celebrated when My Magic made history in May as the first local movie to be nominated for the prestigious Palme D’Or (Golden Palm) award in Cannes. We rejoiced again recently whenMy Magic also became Singapore’s official submission to the Oscars in Hollywood. Film-makers strive to have their work accepted by, showcased in, and recognised at festivals and awards shows around the world.

How do such nominations and awards affect public perceptions and product performance? Getting a nomination for an award at a recognised and respected international festival is like a stamp of approval. It means your film is good enough to be shown alongside the work of other practitioners, who may be more established and/or better-known. Naturally, following a prominent nomination, consumer awareness, interest and confidence all increase as a result, boosting box-office earnings as well.

Take for example, Babe — The Gallant Pig. The film garnered a total of seven Oscar nominations. This happened in the later part of the film’s local run, and cinema attendances surged back upwards again, with many more sellout shows than before.

Many festivals are organised together with market events — trade shows at which international sales agents look for new and interesting acquisitions for their catalogues. A nomination or a win in a key festival category can be the stepping-stone to theatrical distribution opportunities that may not otherwise present themselves. Moreover, some national film organisations use “eyeballs” as a basis for funding decisions. The more people that watch a particular film, the more money that particular movie may qualify to get from a film commission or foundation. The nature of the cinema world is such that the best quality movies don’t always sell the most tickets, but can amass sizeable attendance if shown and seen at enough festivals. So nominations and awards can lead to more money, in more ways than one.

A further reason why festivals are considered important by many is the “break it big abroad, and then come home with celebrity status” syndrome. Fewer people will take notice of a local movie if it hasn’t “done the festival circuit”, so the argument goes.

However, festival nominations and awards aren’t everything. It is not possible for any festival programmer or selection committee to know, watch, and choose among an exhaustive universe of all qualifying films before making their nomination and award decisions. In other words, a “best” picture, in the strictest sense of the word, can’t really be the absolute, unequivocal best, because not all other contenders are known and shown at that point in time. Moreover, in festival and awards circles, the people contributing their opinions and evaluations aren’t necessarily representative of the general population. They aren’t meant to be. Selection and assessment criteria for festivals and awards don’t have to coincide with what consumers care about or want. The award for “best editing”, for instance, may not translate into “better entertainment value” for some patrons.

Over time, there has not been a consistent correlation between festival accolades and box-office results. A “Best Picture” Oscar winner almost certainly would not have fared as well (compared against itself) without that trophy, but there are plenty of non-winners which outperform honour roll productions. Spider-Man 3 didn’t need to be lauded by any committee or jury as “best picture” to become Singapore’s all-time box-office champion last year. In any case, the “risk” of non-certification is low at the movies. Buying a ticket to watch a film that hasn’t won any awards will cost you only the price of the ticket plus say your time and transport. In contrast, purchasing and consuming a drug that doesn’t have the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities could literally kill you.

In the final analysis, festival awards and nominations help films get noticed and sold, but they should be treated and used as an information guide rather than a definitive prescription for consumer decision-making. The real key to maximisation of movie enjoyment is a personal response to the entire viewing experience, contextualised — but not contaminated — by what the viewer has heard or read about the film previously. Film-makers and distributors can rightfully be elated with nominations and awards, but should not rely excessively on them as crutches. Just like in restaurants, it’s the quality of food that ultimately matters most. That said, My Magic is a true cause célèbre for Singapore cinema. The aroma of its curry is gaining progressive international recognition and applause, but its meat is also inherently juicy and tasty. What about its local box office numbers? Well, curried meat doesn’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea.

The writer is Chairman of the Singapore Film Society.