We have prepared another interview for you, this time with Zuzka, one of the founders of the Kino Brasil festival! How does she perceive the festival years later, how does she manage to work from France and what is she most looking forward to this year? Read on to find out!
[Bára] Zuzi, you belong to the founding members of the team. Do you think the festival is developing in the right direction? What is improving and what was better before?
[Zuzka] I think the festival is developing, which is important to me, otherwise I certainly wouldn't be satisfied and wouldn't enjoy working on the project if it stagnated. Whether the development is going in the right direction, only time and possible attendance and audience satisfaction will tell. After the first two years of the festival, we had the feeling that we already know everything and that we have what it takes to take the festival from Prague to other cities in the Czech Republic without local help. That was definitely a side step that we quickly backed away from. The current development of improving the Prague edition of the festival is certainly easier for us and perhaps more interesting for the audience. It's definitely better that we have more experience and more contacts, so some steps become more efficient and give us more time to focus on other aspects of the organization, such as the promotion of the festival. In the past, on the contrary, we had more time for everything - seeing each other, watching a movie together, and the organization itself. But it's probably inevitable that as the team gets older, we have other work and family responsibilities and can't devote as much time to the project as before.
[Bára] Your roles have changed during the 11 years of the festival. What do you enjoy/enjoyed the most out of your many duties and what, on the other hand, are you glad that someone else from the team has added?
[Zuzka] In the beginning, I was dedicated to fundraising for public institutions, and I'm glad that over time this role moved on, because over time, writing official requests becomes somewhat routine. I think I do well in coordination roles and at the same time I enjoy the creativity of marketing tasks, even though they are often very time consuming. I don't think I'm afraid of not quite popular tasks, where you have to talk about a discount or, conversely, money, so sponsoring and negotiating the prices of films also partly falls on me, and I enjoy this role as well.
[Bára] Which role did you take on this year?
[Zuzka] This year I'm already traditionally covering marketing, but of course I'm not completely alone, Bára helps me the most with the website and content for social networks, preparing content for the fans basically every day. At the same time, I still communicate with distribution companies, I try to find sponsors, and communication with media partners also fell into my lap. It is a relatively time-consuming task that basically has no limits, one could still approach more and more potential partners, and someone had to take it on. I don't mean that I don't enjoy it, I like to communicate with people, it just takes more time.
[Bára] You have been living abroad for several years. Has your approach to the festival changed? How do you manage to attend meetings and still be active? Will we be seeing you in person during the festival this year?
[Zuzka] Yes, the approach has changed a bit. I consider the festival to be my "child" and by being further away, I feel that I have a little less control over its fate. Although not only because of covid, I think we have adopted digital forms of functioning quite well. I try to attend meetings honestly, with exceptions, but it's difficult - basically half the year we have one evening a week blocked. And I'm in a new country building a new network of contacts and would often be tempted to attend a local event on a Tuesday night. But I take the festival as a commitment - the fact that we work on it voluntarily does not mean that this commitment does not have the same weight as work.
Since I have been in France, I have managed to come to the festival in Prague every time, and I hope it will be the same this year as well. Meeting satisfied viewers in the cinema is essentially the most important reward, without which it would be meaningless to me.
[Bára] You work for the festival voluntarily. Isn't it challenging sometimes? It really takes a lot of work. Does it fulfill you, or have you ever felt burnt out?
[Zuzka] Yes, it is challenging, as I mentioned above. But as I have already mentioned, it is important for me that the festival develops and that motivates me for further work - the opportunity to realize new ideas, gain new experiences. Of course, feelings of slight vanity sometimes come when we don't have enough money for our ideas, when we get behind schedule, etc. For example, last year I was looking for a new job around the festival, so theoretically I had quite a bit of time when I wasn't working at that time . And since I'm a person who doesn't like to give up, I also tried to cover the tasks of some other team members that they couldn't finish, or tasks that no one would have done otherwise. But I got the feeling that I wasn't looking for the right new job role for as long as I needed to. I'll admit that burnout wasn't far off. This year I'm trying to find a better balance between the time I can devote to the festival and the time I need to spend elsewhere, so hopefully I'll be able to stay at the festival for a while :)
[Bára] The team is changing this year. Great Brazilian reinforcement Adilson has been added and it looks like another one is on the way, also Brazilian, Carol, will join the team. How do you perceive it?
[Zuzka] Definitely positive! We haven't had a Brazilian in the team for a long time. Not that we were against it, but either we were dealing with a language barrier or a different perspective on planning and organization. And the Brazilian perspective on the matter and the festival certainly suits us. Even though everyone in the team is close to Brazil, sometimes we can miss some connections. Plus, at least I imagine that in time we will be able to pass the festival on to the next generation with new vigor and ideas. So the festival will continue to develop without us - for me, I don't have to be around forever, I just wouldn't like the event to disappear...
[Bára] What would you recommend to the audience this year? Why should they come to the festival?
[Zuzka] I would definitely not miss at least one event from the accompanying program, when there is really a lot to choose from this year. For example, tasting Brazilian food. At the festival, we always offer visitors a small Brazilian snack, but due to technical possibilities, it was never a full meal, more like fast food. And this year, thanks to the collaboration with Rotiseria Cruz, that will change! Brazilian cuisine is incredibly diverse, as is Brazilian culture, so I'm curious to see what they have in store for the tasting attendees! But the entire accompanying program before the festival is worth it. I'll probably arrive earlier this year too, so that I can catch at least some of the events. And as for movies, I think we have a busy schedule again, but I have a personal connection to the movie Betânia. I had the opportunity to watch it here in France with the director, and the atmosphere of the film appealed to me very much. The film received a standing ovation from French audiences, and not only because it pokes fun at the French, so I believe it will be well received in Prague as well.
Did you like the article? Check out other site content.
Kommentare