SciFi London Film Festival 2016: Fanarchy Review

Lauren Burgess reviews Fanarchy

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The lines distinguishing fan films from glossy Hollywood productions have never been blurrier. With high quality cameras and editing software available to anyone who wants them, the latter often for free, a film can be brought to life with a much smaller budget and in less time than ever before. Support from a Hollywood studio is no longer a requirement for producing a film with a compelling story, talented actors and impressive special effects. In fact, fans now produce more content than all of the movie studios and TV networks combined. Have the geeks officially taken over?

Donna Davies’ Fanarchy is a fascinating insight into the rapidly expanding world of fan films. It takes an in-depth look at the history of the genre and presents many of the best examples from the past few decades. It goes on to explain how these films have changed and grown over the years, and discusses the copyright issues that are threatening to quash the creativity of these filmmaking super-fans. So many of those that are featured in the documentary are simply trying to capture some of the magic of their favourite films and characters for themselves.

Whether it be by producing a shot-for-shot remake on a shoestring budget like the group of 12-year-olds who made Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation in 1989, or by creating a film that features a character that they felt had been misrepresented. Such is the case for Maya Glick, who had been disappointed with the meek and prissy version of comic heroine Storm that was shown in the X-men films, and so decided to cast herself in a fan film that showed Storm at her most “bad-ass”.

As with so many fan films in the past few years, Glick’s was funded entirely through online crowd-funding. The internet has afforded these filmmakers opportunities that were previously unimaginable. Thanks to social media, there is a clear and tangible connection between fans and the subject of their adoration, and they’ve never been so close to one another. Filmmakers are able to utilise this to get projects off the ground and get them seen by thousands of people.

The tone of Fanarchy is hopeful and optimistic. The interviewees imagine fans and studios will soon be working alongside each other, with studios being able to recognise the talent and passion in fans and ultimately offering them jobs in the industry. The present balance is maintained because fan films are unprofitable ventures. Should this change, the future might not look quite so rosy. But for now, the young-at-heart geek has plenty to get excited about in the world of fan films, and Fanarchy will tell you all about it.