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mad on docs
Andy Glynne reveals the origins of Reel Madness, as Shannon Kane-Meddock reports
Ask Andy Glynne, founder
of the Documentary Filmmakers Group, or DFG, why he did it and he’ll tell you the whole thing was just “a complete mistake – I mean an absolutely brilliant and lucky and fantastic mistake, albeit a mistake.”
At just over a-year-and-a-half old, DFG has become something of a phenomenon in the docu- mentary world, but like so many good ideas, it all started one night at the pub.
Glynne, a clinical psychologist, had been living in Australia for a few years, and while there, had started getting involved in docu- mentary filmmaking. He decided to return to England, in part because he felt the higher profile of documentaries here would mean more opportunities.
“When I arrived in England I didn’t know anybody who made documentary films; I had no idea how to get involved. I remember one day – I’d been back a few months and I was staying in the doctors’ residence in a psychi- atric hospital – and I just thought, ‘Christ, I need to get out and meet people who make films!’”
Glynne posted a message on Shooting People, the online film- makers’ network, asking anyone interested in meeting to talk about making documentaries to come along to a pub in Crouch End, north London.
Expecting five or ten people to turn up, Glynne was blown away when “this first time, about 50 people came, from all over the place... I thought it was com- pletely bizarre, and they all just
wanted to meet people, they wanted to collaborate on proj- ects... and there was this amazing vibe and this fantastic energy.”
The vibe was too good to let go, so Glynne and a few others decided to organise DFG’s first ever event, to be held a few weeks later on the top floor of the Crown & Two Chairmen in Soho. “We got Stanley Forman, the filmmaker, to come down and give a chat and we had a couple of other people present- ing their work, and it was packed,” Glynne remembers.
The group has since moved venues twice as its numbers have burgeoned; and as its popularity has grown, what started as “mainly a community, a meeting place” has become much more. DFG now regularly holds “DFG Forums”, which draw crowds of over 100.
These evenings feature screenings, talks with directors, producers, commissioning editors and others, and pitch sessions,
giving filmmakers a chance to connect with potential collabora- tors. In addition, DFG runs training courses, provides a career con- sultation service for newcomers to the field, and moderates the Shooting People UK Documentary Network.
But of all the DFG initiatives, the Reel Madness Film Festival – taking place this month at the ICA and featuring films on mental illness and the mind – is the venture most clearly linked to Glynne’s back- ground as a psychologist.
“The idea behind it originally came from wanting to do a DFG event, what we call the ‘forums’, and have a few films about men- tal illness. And when I put some feelers out, I realised that actually this is a massive, massive thing, why not make it a festival?”
The DFG teamed up with Mental Health Media and Rethink to establish the festival, which is the first of its kind in the UK and has won the support of Dame Judi Dench, now the festival’s patron.
Reel Madness will feature a range of films from fiction to doc- umentary to animation, as well as debates, educational events, and Q&A sessions.
Highlights of the programme include Completely Cuckoo, a documentary about the making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, award-winning Dogme film
Kira’s Reason and the classic documentary Titicut Follies.
The fest will also showcase films made by those with personal experience of mental illness, such as the Emmy-winning Dialogues with Madwomen.
The festival’s organisers have chosen BAFTA as the venue for their launch party on June18.
“We wanted it to really make a statement to the British film industry and to the television industry,” Glynne explains, “and also to say that we’re actually fill- ing a gap that isn’t being catered for much by broadcast- ers or by UK film releases.
“We therefore chose BAFTA because it represents the seat of the British film industry in many, many ways, and hope that by having the opening launch here, we will attract those people who would come and give it attention.”
The Reel Madness Film Festival runs from June 19 – 22 at the ICA. Tickets are £6.50 each, discount- ed to £4.50 for BAFTA members on presentation of your member- ship card.
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