End of the Cinema? - pt2

On the other side, money gives us also movies like Cuaron's "Gravity". I am absolute fan of this master. Y tu mama tambien, Children of Men, the best Harry Potter of the whole series, and now this... Cuaron, you've got me. Also during the FFG (film fest Gent) we were able to see this movie.

I don't have to explain the story of this movie. I just can say everything is perfect. The story, the acting performances, the sound design, the emotions, the tension created by the amazing cinematography...
The director thought about the metaphors (the first shot representing safety reminds me to an embryo in a womb), as you can see in this picture:

Also the whole struggle of the main character, is not about struggle against getting lost, or to die, in space, but also about imploding, getting lost in sadness. I love all the hidden layers in this story, so it is more than just action and tension. I also liked the fact the lead was a woman. This becomes a trend to cast more female heroes, which I like a lot. It breaks stereotypes about women in films, always in shadows of their "knights". The character has really nice layers, and I am very glad with the portrayal and performance by Sandra Bullock.

I saw this movie also during the FFG. Probably this movie can survive, and can get attention, without help of any film festival. Still, why are film festivals so important, and why do directors love to be opening or closing films for (big) film festivals?

Promotion.

Exposure gives you chances to create more.

It also gives money.

Also, during my internship, I realized (again) that culture needs money. For centuries, artists get funded. The painter Rubens could only earn money, coz the Church and other rich people paid for his paintings. The Belgian cinema is becoming big, but every movie is funded by the government. Money is still a factor. Even in a film festival, there is a lot of money involved, mostly from sponsors. The winners of film festivals get money to distribute their movies in cinemas, and so their work got promoted... and so they got more chances to keep making movies...

In this world, I feel it becomes more important how many youtube, facebook... likes you have than how many tickets you sold. Look at music videos. You don't earn money if 10 millions of people see your movie. You get money paid in advance... but there is a difference between 1 million or 10 million viewers. You get the attention of sponsors...

(be continued)