Charlie's Holiday - The Best of BUSHO 3 - And the rest...

Time passes and once again all good things come to an end...and this was one hell of a festival. The people loved our little film - and we were the only film in the festival to get an applause from the audience. The humour translated well into a different culture and in fact it has given me a new impetus with regards to Caution Wet Paint. The future is bright, the future is milky...

And so I bought a ticket out of Budapest. The beautiful Keleti Pályaudvar was to be my final sight of this great capital. A ticket out to a different city, to a different country, a new destination. But I felt that I was leaving something behind. Something fun and joyous - a moment in my life that I would not be able to recapture. Budapest was special to me, in so many ways. It was a place where I got to interact with audience, film makers and festival organisers as an equal. I was able to learn so much from this fantastic festival. A lot was put into the organisation of BUSHO, and I got a hell of a lot out of it! What I learned from Budapest has accelerated my film making more than any other festival or seminar in my small film making career.



But it was not all filming. There were little gems hidden in the streets and the backwaters of the city. Some are more popular destinations, littered with tourists, others are parts reached by the many.



And culture that is so accessible. In London, we are so consumed by our own petty lives, that we rarely take time out to enjoy the city. Even here in Budapest, I did not spend as much time as I wanted immersed in the local culture. Budapest is a beautiful city, and a wonderful place to spend a few days. I spent a week here, I wish it was a lot longer. But like all good things, they must come back to an end. Already, I have been back for two days in London, and I remember very little of my life in East Europe. The sights, the smells, even the currency now a long and distant memory. Travel is great for the sould but it can also be heartbreaking when you leave. And that is what I feel about Budapest. However, I now will never get Budapest and Bucharest confused as I did in the past. Two wonderful cities, and as I left Budapest onward to the Romanian capital, my journey was tinged with a little sadness. I do not cry, but inside, I wept as I left this wonderful city. Thank you BUSHO and thank you Budapest for the memories and the wonderful time that I spent here. And I hope one day to return, a little bit wiser (hopefully) and a lot more successful (the dream)...

Charlie's Holiday - The Best of BUSHO (2) - 'Buda' and 'Pest'

There was a lot more than movies to be seen at the Budapest Short Film Festival - BUSHO. There was a city to explore. While there were movies galore in the afternoon and seminars (coupled with parties) in the evening, the mornings were usually free...to explore Budapest itself! And what a city to explore. With our hands held by the organisers of the festival, we got to see not just the popular bits and bobs, but also experience a few, well, I got to spa! Yeah, my first time in the steam room, all as a guest of a film festival. This is the high life!

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Where to start? Of course I knew beforehand that Budapest was a beautiful city, but just how beautiful I did not realise until I entered the city itself. Wow, what a city! Especially the central area. With the Danube dividing the city into the hilly Buda on the west bank and the flat plains of Pest on the eastern shore, this is a great setting for any city. It was interesting to note that while many of my continental (and local) co-conspirators on our sightseeing rounds were highly cynical about the Danube (it is green/filthy/boring etc), I was well impressed. Europe's longest waterway, much of it in recent history closed off to Westerners, and this mighty river flowing through the middle of this great city. I got a thing for rivers, the lifelines of humanity where we can trace so much of history along, and culturally they are an important part of society as a whole. Plus, in Budapest, the Danube is the great marker post of the city. If you find the river, you can find your way back...



Once you hit the city itself, you had to figure a way to get around. Believe it or not, Budapest is a small town, and it is better to cover it on foot. Taxi drivers are not even worth the hassle, even during the latest of nights when you are wandering the city. And when my poor feet got tired then it was easy to hop on one of the city's many trams that still crisscross the urban sprawl Fast, cheap and extensive, they are one of the most fun ways of getting about. Plus the fact that I was staying a two minute walk from a tram halt meant that it just made pure common sense to hop on one of this contraptions anytime that I was in a hurry. And trust me, much of the time, I was, but only because I had to get back to the movies! Also, if you compare Budapest's trams to London's own depressing network. They may not be as busy as South London's workhorse, but they pass through far more scenic streets! Hey, what would you choose - Croydon's Fairfield Halls, or Buda's Point '0'?



But what were the really cool things to see in Budapest? First, Buda. Castle in the hills, views overlooking the city, the rich, the posh, the swagger. Imagine Belgravia, but perched over the city, lording itself over the denizens below. It is a little snooty, a little tourist trinky but it is very pretty.



A few hours, a few days could be spent wandering its cobbled streets that wind around the walls and grand old buildings. A little village within the city, the air of the settlement is most definitely posh, but there are quirks to be found even on these tiny lanes that wind around Buda. It seems these posh gits have a sense of irony too...



But there is another side to the city. Fun, frenetic, and where the the lieks of you and me live, work and play. This is Pest, and this is the part of the city that entertains us once the monuments have been duly seen and ticked off on the list. The East bank of the Danube, flat but far from featureless is where you go to have fun! Bars, clubs, restaurants, plus trams galore ;) But of course, our time is up for one day. The sights of Budapest's more funky half I barely cratched. Imagine one whole boulevard of the city closed to allow piano playing and cafes to spring up along the entire stretch? Museums that cover everything from are to torture? Or the world's second oldest underground line?



Oh yes, Pest is far from a pest (allow me this pun!) on the time of the tourist. Add to this one of the most distinctive Jewish quarters in existence on the continent including the famed Synagogue which is reported to be the largest in Europe!



Buda may have the castle and the hills, but Pest can match its twin any day when it comes to architectural splendor. Thankfully the city was spared the worst ravages of both WW2 and the Soviet occupation, unlike many other parts of Eastern Europe. And to be honest, no blog post on Budapet would be complete without a pic of one of the most stunning pieces of political architecture on the planet - the Hungarian Parliament building. Personally, I despise all politicians with they forked tongues and honey coated words. But, I do like the opulence they attach themselves too, even if they are sponging our taxes. In Hungary it is no different. A beautiful building with cringe worthy inhabitants. Still, they are lucky, they only have one set of wankers to deal with...



All right, I am out of here. There is a lot more to say about this city than one blog post can provide. And my brief stay here cannot hope to even do this grand settlement. I will return to Budapest one day. A lot of memories here, most of them not just good, but damn good! Jay and Kay have caused me a hell of a lot of aggro, but getting Budapest was worth a lot of the pain endured for these two little guys. And hey, you never know where next the films may carry me. But before I go, here is one more shot, of one Budapest's prettiest structures - the Szabadság híd, but even this pretty dainty thing is not as iconic as its older and more famed cousin upstream. Oh, and that will be another blog post tomorrow...

Charlie's Holiday - The Best of Busho (1)

The Budapest Short Film Festival - BUSHO. When I got that e-mail way back in July, I was ecstatic. This was Jay and Kay's first film festival. My little guys, plus those two Milk Bottles were getting their outing on the big screen. And their first international jaunt...

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Budapest. The big bad city on the Danube. A city steeped in history, and more recently, intrigue as it was behind the Iron Curtain for so long. But like much of Central Europe, Hungary has emerged from Communism, has joined the EU and is now only a cheap flight away for us Brits. So why have I never made a beeline to this wonderful city until now? After all, I am a great traveler, not needing much of an excuse to head off somewhere, anywhere. And to be honest, I had a great time in Budapest. Six days in total spent here, far too short a time, especially as I was enjoying so many movies, but, ah, what the heck! New EU here I come! I will be describing this city in the upcoming days, and here is a taster of what is to come:

Budapest in all its glory, straddling the mighty Danube



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But let us return to the festival. Screened at the Vorosmarty Cinema, right in the centre of town, what a location! What a venue! For a film maker such as myself, this was a venue and a half. But frightening as well. You see, I made a comedy, and laughs are a tricky thing to export. Will it work or not, will the audience love it or will they snore through it all? And the worse thing was that my film was to be screened on the penultimate day of the festival. On the big screen, with those big speakers highlighting every sound snippet I made in post production. Ouch!



But BUSHO had more than films. We film makers were put together, in touching distance of each other. We were also spoilt. In the morning we had guided tours of the city, trips to some of the highlights of Budapest. By night we had an insight into the underground music scene of the city. Hey, by the end of the week, I could have passed for a gu who had lived there for months rather than days, such was the knowledge imparted to me by the festival organisers. And there was one very important event organised by the festival. The Jury Consultation!



Now, this was an interesting premise. Let me go from the beginning for those unfamiliar with the whole festival system. Most film festivals have prizes awarded to films. A jury, a group of people chosen by the festival organisers, usually with a link to the artistic/cinematic world, deliberates the best films to be awarded. There is usually an audience prize as well.

Now the jury usually makes their decisions in private. Same here at BUSHO, those decisions would be made in private but, their thought processes would be laid out in public. Deliberation Time, when there would be a chat between the film makers whose films had been screened that day and the jury who had sat through each screening. They had 85 short films to watch and at the end of the week, had to decide whom to award the festival's prizes to. This would give the film makers present, a unique insight into what the jurors, and in a wider sense, what film festivals are looking for. After all, for someone like me, unschooled in the art of film making, this was a golden opportunity to seize.

Plus, I would be able to take advantage of watching so many great films on screen. Seeing how short film is evolving, where it is going and what film festivals are looking for in terms of subject matter and quality. Believe it or not, I managed to catch 79 of those 85 films and so had a good idea, as an audience member, what films I did and did not like. But for me, it was not all movies, movies, movies. There was also quite a bit of sightseeing to take in as well. And as you can see, I enjoyed myself a fair bit in this fair city!



(to be continued tomorrow...)

Jay and Kay Save Budapest...

Now the festival is over, the party has finished, and the film makers from across Europe head off home to a life a little more ordinary, but a lot more fulfilled.

More importantly, what did Hungary think of Jay and Kay?

What did they think of the milk?



The most terrifying thing for a film maker is to not get a reaction from an audience. And comedy - well, there is only one reaction you are looking for, and if it is not received then you hang your head in shame...



But they loved it! A packed cinema, and here is something that was great for the lot of us. The only film where the audience clapped - really clapped at the end of the credits. And trust me, I saw virtually every film screened and the audience was in stitches. From beginning, threough the cartoons and right at the end with Captain Goldtop's laugh. We entertained.

Damn straight. Who ever said milk was good for you?