Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

in cities all over the country— are the people who evaluate all Festival entries, and nominate those judged outstanding enough for the Blue Ribbon competitions. Typical of the Pre-Screening Committees are such 1962 Committee chairmen as Dr. Leo Leveridge, co-ordinator of the Medical TV unit of the New York University Medical Center, who supervised Pre-Screening of the "Medical Sciences" category; John C. Gibbs, director of the Audiovisual Department of the Conservation Foundation, chairman in the "Nature and Wildlife" category; Richard Gilkey, director of the AV Center of Indiana University, in charge of the group that nominated entries for the "Language Training and Literature" competition; Masha R. Porte, head of the AV Department of the Dallas Public Library, chief Pre-Screener for "Citizenship, Government, and International Relations"; and Robert B. Konikow, Managing Editor of Advertising, and Sale Promotion, who was in charge of the Pre-Screening of films and filmstrips in "Sales and Promotions." These hardy souls and hundreds more expended hours, eyesight and e.xpertise enough to rate nearly 600 entries last February. Each Committee member evaluated every film he saw on an official rating sheet with regard to such painstaking standards as (for a utilization specialist) "appropriateness of vocabulary for specified audience" and ( for a subject-area expert) "freedom from imdue bias, prejudice, or misleading emphasis." In addition to an objective rating based on 15 such criteria, each PreScreener gave each entry an overall subjective rating, stated whether or not he believed the entry belonged in the category in which it had been Pre-Screened, and made general comments— which are available to the persons who submitted the film concerned. The composition of Festival Blue Ribbon Juries is similar to that of the Pre-Screening Committees, and Jury voting is similarly detailed and precise. The Blue Ribbon Award is determined by a total rating in which a Pre-Screening tally and a Festival Jury vote are each responsible for a possible 50 out of a potentially perfect score of 100. Thus the different conditions of the two judging situations complement each other— the suspense and finality of the Festival screening balanced with the more leisurely atmosphere of the sessions where all entries in a category, including those not judged of Festival calibre, are Pre-Screened. Both Pre-Screeners and Festival Jurors do hours of eyestraining service for no compensation except the interest and satisfaction which make almost all of them volunteer for duty again "next year." Members of the EFLA Festival Committee who have reviewed the rating sheets frankly state that there is considerable diversity of opinion in some of the judging groups, but the applause which salutes the announcement of the Blue Ribbons at the annual Festival Award Banquet can almost invariably be taken as a solid endorsement of the averaged-out judgment of the hard-working Committees and Juries. But the American Film Festival is much more than bunch of Blue Ribbons. It is many things to many people-in 1962, more than 1,200 who attended the screenings and discussion programs. For a producer ike Hans Moller, who is responsible for several of Nearly 600 film and filmstrip (■iitii< o ij\. <1 the; Festival PreScreening Committees this year, which rated each film on 15 ohjective criteria, as well as over-all snhjcclive effect. William F. Gottlieh (left) receives award from Paul C Reed, Editor of Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide, for the filmstrip, "Understanding Number Bases." See page 441 for further details. the Canadian National Film Board's Blue Ribbon filmstrips, it is "the only opportunity of the year to meet with my colleagues, see their current work and discuss mutual problems." Film librarians, film program administrators, and educators also benefit from the opportunity to meet and talk with people in their fields; but for them the great value of the Festival is the chance to see a really large, really comprehensive group of good new films. As EFLA's Emily Jones reports, "The record at the moment is held by a man who claims he saw 44 films at the 1961 Festival. The EFLA statistician estimates that by careful planning and split-second timing, a hardy soul could see about 100 films. Any Festival registrant who would like to challenge the title-holder is welcome to do so. All statements must be signed and notarized. The prize will be a de luxe bottle of aspirin, and a free pass to Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — August, 1962 437