DIFF 2010 | Interview Colin Firth

[Music] I do it's quite Limited in my case because I'm not a technical expert you know um it's quite I'm always struck by the contrast between the the young people I know and how they use it and and and my limited abilities you know I can't um you know I I don't know how to look for a football game uh I know people who can hack into into television channels and and and do all that sort thing and who uh you know I always have to ask several people's help in in order to how to navigate to a certain site so I'm a product of of my rather slow to catch up generation but I have the iPad I have the iPhone um I use them mostly for news for writing and I've begun to watch films on them as well you know because it's um I have small children I don't get out much and uh it's it's a it's a wonderful way to stay connected to the world I'm mean my children I would say have almost completely stopped watching television we will we will put DVDs on um that is still a primary function of the of the big screen downstairs but they would much rather watch even their television now on the internet you can find episodes you have a lot more freedom the um the platforms are getting better you know the streaming is is of a better quality now um the downloading is faster and and uh it it seems to be where it's all happening and of course it's eventually going to be indistinguishable it will be on your television set I mean it already is but I think that's going to be Universal yes I I mean I I'll bring portable devices I you know as I said I've got the I've got the laptop the pad and the and the iPhone and um you know I used them for the kind same sorts of things I would have brought in hard copy I mean I'm you know I it's still my I'll read the guardian and uh the New Yorker but now I get subscription in there um but it's and it's also where I watch films I mean that's where I watch the films on the plane on the whole rather than what the the airline offers me I'll uh I'll have stuff that I've brought with me and um you know I think it's also it's a it's a powerful you know area of of social expression and of where the social debate is is going on um it's where descent happens I mean you just look at the Wikileaks thing I mean that's very largely thanks to social media the fact that this is you know questions are being asked now about censorship about secrecy um uh about you know what is really being said uh by people who control our lives and um whichever side of the debate you're on I think it's it's it's absolutely impossible now to ignore the role that uh that social media has it it it happens occasionally that people approach me um with readymade films um I am involved in the filmmaker website um which is the the competition for the small short three minute films uh with a A View to developing them into full length films the winner gets developed into a full length film bright wide um uh which is still in its very early stages of development is a site where uh people can uh submit films to our library and we not only are helping films get seen which uh might otherwise be struggle in in in The Wider distribution circuit um and we try to bring an audience to those films by by linking them with communities schools universities film festivals that sort of thing um but we also want it to play a part in a wider debate and lead to any kind of activism that people might choose as a result because I believe that um you know that uh Vig visual advocacy is a very very powerful social tool and I think it's neglected Often by the activists and the the the NOS the people who really want to affect change are very dependent on slogans they're very dependent on t-shirts and posters and all this sort of things some of them may have some effect but there's nothing quite like a narrative film uh could be a 15-minute film probably more effective it's if it's a 90-minute film but I've seen documentaries I've seen dramas at festivals which are not going to get seen at any other time uh producing an extraordinary passion in the room you get people standing up and it's often the younger people quite obviously standing up saying I am so uh incensed by what I've just seen the sense of indignation I'm so you know um you know full of this thing where do I take it where do I March what do I sign where do I take action and of course there's very little advice what we're trying to do with with the bright wide site is is to harness some of that and say give people a direction or a choice of directions and uh and also to encourage the activists and the NOS to make use of our site and and bring those two things together because I think that the you know there are a lot of there are a lot of people who are obviously trying to create forums for social political content but I think this you know is um is something which has been neglected as a as a tool of bringing those two elements [Music] together

Channel: Dubai International Film Festival

Views: 13,380

Keywords: DFF.Dubai, Dubai, International, Film, Festival, Zayed, University, مهرجان, دبي, السينمائي, الدولي

Id: _WiBafteYrA

Length: 5min 39sec (339 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 12 2010