SeTs ry in the person of its Chairman, joined the HEFFI team again this year for the Helsinki Education Film Festival International (HEFFI 2022), in an evermore front seat role in both the organization and hosting of the event for Independent Film Makers (Indie), and also providing in-house education expertise for the event organizer, KEG Oy
This festival was created in the belief that...
' Visual education is the methodology of our time'.
HEFFI has been going from strength to strength every year, and this year, its fourth, was particularly special for two reasons. Firstly, we partnered with the Marski Hotel, by Scandic for the first time to host the main event screenings over two weekends. Secondly, because we (KEG Oy) carried out our first pilot field test of the FilmVIA mobile APP that we have been planning and developing for the film industry.
Breakfast at the Marski
The Marski Hotel, by Scandic in central Helsinki sponsored the HEFFI event by providing the facilities and even a small room/suite for the KEG workaholics to store their gear and sleep over during the weekend. Sunday morning 'Breakfast at the Marski' was belly-filling delight that went a long way to help compensate for all the hard volunteer work we had all been doing. Jouko the hotel manager even came out on Sunday morning to personally help fix some IT technical problems, for which we are highly appreciative.
The hotel made a fantastic venue for the event over two weekends, that started on December 11th and 12th, and concluded with the main event the following weekend. The first weekend was a little slower, as could be expected, but for the main weekend, even more film makers directors and their crew turned up from all around the world (America, Italy, Holland, Spain, Belgium etc.) to enjoy the event, see a lot of really good independent films for and about education, and the workshops in which the directors got to talk and answer questions about their experiences in making these films. In between we had screening events at other local venues, such as Chappel in Iso Omena shopping center, who have been venue sponsors since the very beginning. We also had visits to local schools and education establishments, such as the Haga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Porvoo, where we had some very lively and good discussion with some students and their tutor.
The main weekend event kicked off on Friday night with a meet & greet 'get together' for a few low-alcohol ;-) drinks in the Foyer of the Marski hotel, along with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine on the house. The evening was capped, with an impromptu Hip Hop street dance lesson by Ricky for our guests, and anyone else in the Hotel brave enough to join in, including the Helsinki SLUSH event attendees staying at the hotel, and with whom we quickly became friends. The Marski hotel manager also seemed to appreciate the event and has promised to team up with us again next year to facilitate an even bigger event. We were even visited by the Ambassador of the Chinese embassy in Helsinki, and some other high ranking dignitaries from other nation states.
After that the event continued with a plethora of really good independent films, discussions and good social company in a friendly and lively group atmosphere that quickly gelled together. The event culminated in the award presentations on Sunday afternoon/evening, from which most of our guests departed with a warm and happy feeling. Some of my personal favourites were:
We Left The Camp Singing, by Sofia Tapinassi from Italy (see pictures of the workshop/talk in the small studio)
Open minds, Sharp brains, Big hearts, by Bengt Olov Danneborn and his amazing wife (the main protagonist in the story about innovative education programmes), from Sweden
Flourish with Art, by Erik Franssen, from the Netherlands (Holland...)
AFRYKAS and the magic box, by Isabel Rivero-Vilá, from the U.S.
The Block Plan, by Bryan Beasley & Steven Hayward, from the U.S.A.
For more information about HEFFI, the films selected for presentation at the event, and, the awards given, please visit the HEFFI website.
FilmVIA goes HEFFI mobile
The FilmVIA project finally got its first test release of its mobile app version ready in time for a little pilot field testing at the HEFFI event. Despite some initial teething problems, as is always to be expected, our guests were able to give their ratings for all the films they had time to see during the event.
In the future, some of the awards will be made on the basis of this democratic voting, and educational networking system.
The general feedback about the APP design was good, but the most important thing that clearly rang out, was that not only was HEFFI just what the education industry needed, their own education film festival, but it would be well supported by the APP and the plans we have for its application in the future. Interest is consistently growing, with offers of collaboration or any other contributions people can make for which we are very grateful. As always in start-up businesses, development funding is the single biggest obstacle and limiter to developing it further, never mind its true and full potential that we all so passionately believe in. So, in particular, if you are an investor looking for a great new prospect, then please get in touch with Ricky Carranza at KEG Oy as soon as possible.
The HEFFI team @KEG: Ricky Carranza (KEG & HEFFI Founder, Film Maker & Street Dance Teacher), Reo Matugas (Street Dance Instructor, Video/Film Editing & Technical), Michael Lusardi (Camera & Technical), Jouni AlWindi (K12 Educationalist), and Chris Spencer (SeTs founder, project management, sports coaching & Higher-Education Vocational Teacher)
Special thanks also to our other friends and guests who turned out just to support us, including Jouko (Hotel Marski General Manager), Cynthia Carino of the Salad Masters, and, Ricky's young son who stoutly endured the whole weekend event with us, including sleeping four to a room on Saturday night!
