NFTS alumnus Miikka Leskinen has just returned from the US of A and is brimming with energy and enthusiasm. After being awarded a travel grant through Film London's Film-makers' Festival Fund, he was able to head over to Outfest - one of the oldest film festivals in Southern California - to see his short, Small-Time Revolutionary,  in competition. In his own words, find out how the director took to festival life across the pond.


"Welcome to LA, honey!" Straight off the flight from London, my first encounter on arriving at LAX airport in Los Angeles was suitably memorable. Thirsty from the long flight I popped into the airport shop to buy a bottle of water. At the till I was greeted by a motherly black woman, Marcia, with a lovely raspy voice and a laidback aura about her. "Where you from, honey?" As I began to explain that I came from London but was, in fact, originally Finnish, she had already lost interest. Instead, she handed back my change with a wide grin and a wink as she welcomed me to LA and wished me good luck. And off I went.

I was in town together with my producers Alex Thiele and Dan Simmons in support of our short film Small-Time Revolutionary, which was playing at the 28^th Outfest film festival in a programme of international short films. Run since 1982, Outfest is considered one of the most important gay and lesbian film festivals in the world with over 40,000 filmgoers each year. One of its finds, Gus van Sant (Elephant, Milk), goes as far as stating that it formed the basis of his career in film-making. For us, we hoped it would offer an opportunity to meet interesting folk, feast on films and get a feel of how things are done in the movie mecca of the world.

Los Angeles is a curious beast. Littered with both world-famous landmarks and airbrushed celebrities, it is also a city of endless concrete sprawl and shattered dreams, where excessive wealth snuggles next to surprisingly extreme poverty. And then there is the smog, the palm trees, the gigantic traffic jams and the glorious sun-drenched beaches. Simply put, LA is one big bi-polar disorder of a city. And to my own surprise, I found myself completely fascinated by it all.

The Outfest headquarters were located in the Director's Guild of America (DGA) on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. The festival screenings took place throughout the city from WeHo's DGA and Laemmle Sunset 5, to the Redcat situated in the Walt Disney Concert Hall downtown and the Ford Amphitheatre up in the hills. On arrival at the DGA we were met by the friendly festival volunteers and chatted briefly with Kim Yutani who programmes both the Outfest and Sundance Film Festival. Right from the get go the festival atmosphere seemed laidback and fun - a nice antidote to the more hardcore festival experiences of Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

The days that followed were a flurry. In the mornings we attended the HBO Breakfast Panel Series, which covered various subjects - from finding agents to pitching your masterpiece to the industry and making it in Hollywood. What became clear was that in LA you won't get far without representation - production companies and studios won't accept unsolicited scripts and arranging a meeting with them is difficult without a recommendation. Outfest has acknowledged this by organising what is called Access LA - Industry Link, which aims to connect emerging film-makers with established studio executives, production and distribution companies, as well as agents. I was paired up with Brian Schornak, VP of Production at Back Lot Pictures, known for such American indie flicks as Sunshine Cleaning and Hollywoodland.

Whilst there are no golden rules, the key pieces of advice I took away with me were to have a clear plan of where you want be heading, finding those keen to champion your work (advocates make a world of difference to getting your project off the ground) and persisting. Having a complete script to support your pitch is vital - in today's climate treatments are rarely enough to attract interest, let alone investment. And if you are without representation, finding an agent becomes more likely when your project is in a more fully formed state. In other words, once they are more certain to make money by representing you. Of course, having your work shown in festivals is also a great way to be seen, as you never know who might be sitting in the audience.

The screening of our short film took place in the morning of the penultimate day. We were programmed into Screen 1 at DGA, which has 600 seats. And amazingly for a Saturday morning we had an audience of well over four hundred people. The response to our film seemed enthusiastic; with the humour stirring laughter and a few people even admitting that they had also got a little teary-eyed. It was great to see the film working so well across the pond, in spite of the story being set in 1980s Britain.

That night a film-makers' party was held at publicist Howard Bragman's private villa situated in the Hollywood Hills off Mulholland Drive. As the guests congregated around the pool in the balmy LA night, suddenly the lure of the Hollywood dream became strikingly real. It made sense why so many flock to this town in search of their big break - and why there are so many of those who don't find it.

The festival concluded with a screening of Spork at the Ford Amphitheatre, a madcap comedy about a teenage hermaphrodite. The outdoor venue was the perfect setting to finish the festival off with and we even spotted a shooting star crossing the sky, which felt fittingly magical (if a little cheesy). The after party was held on the rooftop at Madame Tussaud's on Hollywood Boulevard.

As people busted moves among the wax celebrities and the hostess, a towering drag queen called Mama, blew air kisses across the crowds, there was a distinct air of the surreal. Looking down at the bright neon signs of Hollywood I thought to myself that taken with a pinch of A-grade salt this city and its film industry is actually a whole lot of fun.

Miikka Leskinen
Director of Small-Time Revolutionary