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THE TAMPA FILM REVIEW GUIDE

The unauthorized review of the Tampa Film Review monthly film festival By C. A. Passinault

TAMPA FILM FESTIVAL SCORES

Guide Pending

The Tampa Film Review Film Festival Event Scorecard
2006-2007

Please note that a score of 5 is average.

Concept (1-10): 6
Good concept, but not as professional as it needs to be due to the casual theme. The concept is now, more than ever, in need of a serious overhaul, as the participants only seem to tolerate it because it is the only game in town. Seriously, the mish-mash films of various quality and the loose organization do tend to make the Tampa indie film scene look bad to anyone who is not actually a part of the scene.

Venue (1-10): 6
Mismatched venue. A busy retail store in a party city, with noisy, often intoxicated customers, is not at all appropriate for a film festival. Tampa Film Review participants can expect lots of rude distractions as the store activity clashes with the film festival. This was much better two years ago in a coffeehouse café!

Vendors (1-10): 1
There are no vendors, or sponsors, outside of the sponsoring retail venue. This is part of the problem, as vendors would give The Tampa Film Review the capital that it needs for major professional improvement. The lack of vendors is also a missed opportunity, and proof that the organizers do not see this as a business. With the lack of business-mindset, how far can this go, and how long can The Tampa Film Review last?

Organization (1-10): 3
The Tampa Film Review is plagued with poor organization and a casual, unprofessional execution which, perhaps, is an offshoot of the concept behind it. The production standards are amateur, the same technical problems occur with each event and solutions are not even attempted, and it is too difficult to meet and network with the few professionals among the fanboys. Again, a professional business mindset would do wonders.

Entertainment (1-10): 4
You get what you pay for, and in this case, it really is true. The Tampa Film Review may be free, but count the costs of wasted time, parking, and gas, and you may not be too happy. Sometimes The Tampa Film Review is entertaining for unintended reasons. As a film festival, however, it falls way short. The organizers intend to show every indie film submitted to them regardless of the quality, and don’t bother screening them. Some Tampa Film Reviews don’t have a single good film to show. Others may, but prepare to endure the onslaught of bad films before you can see anything even approaching mediocre.

Attendance (1-10): 6
Usually moderate, the attendance is only as good as it is because this is the only monthly film festival event in Tampa, for now. While it does demonstrate that people are interested in film festivals and indie films, you can’t help but wonder if the attendance would be much higher if the film festival was professionally organized and executed, which it is not. The participants largely tolerate the shortcomings of The Tampa Film Review because it is presently the only game in town.

Features (1-10): 4
The only features would be indie films. The only purpose of the event is to sit and watch indie films of mixed quality. There are reviews of said films, which could be considered to be a feature, and the reviews can be seen on the Crazedfanboy web site every month. Some of the reviews are quite good, and add to the entertainment value.

Admission Value (1-10): 3
The Tampa Film Review is free, and be glad that it is. There is no direct admission cost. When you add gas and parking, however, expect to shell out around $10.00 for the privilege of attending.

Overall Event Score (1-10): 4
An overrated monthly film festival, successful in spite of itself because it is currently one of the few events of its kind. The Tampa Film Review seems to always be organized at the last minute, is held in a venue which is ill-suited for a film festival, always has serious technical issues, has no accommodations or support for serious professional networking, and is often hard to participate with.

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The Tampa Film Review Film Festival Event Scorecard
2008

Please note that a score of 5 is average.

Concept (1-10): 5
-1 deduction from previous score.
Tired concept of people getting together to watch indie films of mixed quality. It’s simple, but extremely limited. The professional networking is not effective, either, as there is little time to meet others and to network after the networking meeting ends and the film festival begins.

Venue (1-10): 8
+2 improvement from previous score!
Much better than the venue last year. The current venue is the first venue from 2004-2005, and this full circle is a good one. Close to the parking garage and you don’t have to cross two streets to get there. Additionally, no obnoxious shoppers to distract you from your indie film goodness!

Vendors (1-10): 1
Same as previous score.
Hello? Vendors? Maybe the TFR is too small and too short for vendors. There are none.

Organization (1-10): 5
+2 improvement from previous score!
Much improved, although the organizers seems to be more apathetic about things. The improvement seems to be more about getting into a routine than actually planning and executing a film festival.

Entertainment (1-10): 5
+1 improvement from previous score!
It’s more fun that it was. A few better films and some unintended comedy. It’s more fun if you go and quietly make fun of the films to your friend sleeping beside you. Better yet, try bad film transference, where you pretend that characters in the film are people that you know. This was great fun for me and friends when we watched bad films such as the late 80's remake of “The Blob”, and the recent horror film “Devil’s Den”! Since the TFR shows shorts, however, this may not be easy to do, since most films are short and have few characters to mock.

Attendance (1-10): 4
-2 deduction from previous score.
Lost in Ybor........ How many muggings happened as a result of the wandering flocks of film fans searching for the secret venues of The Tampa Film Review? This, and questionable programming and the trademark TFR organization, led to lower than average attendance for most of 2008. Oh, and skipping the October TFR was a bad move. Were the organizers afraid of the large horror film festivals in October, and they gave up and rolled over without a fight? It would have been interesting to see what attendance would have been if there was an October TFR, although at least they would have tried.

Features (1-10): 4
Same as previous score.
Well, there are films. And announcements that were probably easier to listen to. Oh, and there was networking, but that didn’t work well, either. That’s about it, again.

Admission Value (1-10): 4
+1 improvement from previous score!
It’s still free, and still what some may refer to as a guilty pleasure. Watch bad films, and like the proverbial box of mystery chocolates, you may luck out with an occasional good film, but usually not before choking on some bad ones. The venue is closer to the parking garage, which limits the danger of the walk in many ways. Did I mention that it was free? May I add that you still get what you pay for?

Overall Event Score (1-10): 5
+1 improvement from previous score!
A little better, but still a flawed Tampa film festival. With a year to make improvements and to fix what was wrong, this is a case of too little, too late. If you are interested in checking out The Tampa Film Review, if only to see if this review was right, do it while you can, because we expect this rickety train ride to derail in 2009 and crash into a ditch. If you do it, do it just to say that you were there once!

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The Tampa Film Review Film Festival Event Scorecard
2009

Please note that a score of 5 is average.

Concept (1-10): 6
+1 improvement from previous score!
TMoving it to the Italian Club and putting more effort into the lone 2009 Tampa Film Review finale helped.

Venue (1-10): 9
+1 improvement from previous score!
The Italian Club is a great venue, with lots of space, and you don't have to croos 7th avenue from the parking garage to get to it. This is the peak of The Tampa Film Review and its game of venue musical chairs. Question: What did they do with all of their chairs after they ended The Tampa Film Review?

Vendors (1-10): 1
Same as previous score.
Still no vendors. What is this, and undergroind film festival?

Organization (1-10): 7
+2 improvement from previous score!
With this last, and final, Tampa Film Review film festival, it finally gets some organization. Way too little, too late, however, to save it. Did the organizers simply give up?

Entertainment (1-10): 9
+4 improvement from previous score!
IThe programming was exceptionally good for a Tampa Film Review, as they showed all of the best films from the five year run of the monthly film festival series. Our favorite? To Live Is To Die by Chris Woods. There was also a lot of people in attendance.

Attendance (1-10): 8
+4 improvement from previous score!
Record setting attendance, as many who showed up had no idea that The Tampa Film Review even existed before, and there was a lot of coverage preceding this film festival. Question: Where were all of the people who knew about The Tampa Film Review over the years, when the film festival needed them?

Features (1-10): 8
+4 improvement from previous score!
The short films were the best reviewed from the five year history of The Tampa Film Review. Good showing of some must-see short films. They finally cut out the crappy films. This is how The Tampa Film Review should have been all along!

Admission Value (1-10): 7
+3 improvement from previous score!
Worth going to this time.

Overall Event Score (1-10): 7
+2 improvement from previous score!
Finally, what The Tampa Film Review should have been. The film festival finally limped to its potential, although there are still some areas that could have used improvement.

END OF REVIEW

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UPDATED 12/05/09