The finest Q&A I ever attended was not related to film - it was a discussion with Peter Saville (Graphic Designer) to run alongside an exhibition of his work at The Design Museum.
I'm not even sure he had a moderator, but I do recollect him starting the whole thing off by saying that he didn't want attendees to have to sit there listening to him answer questions about subjects that they had no particular interest in.
Instead, he invited questions from the audience straight off and then spent 15/20 minutes talking about that subject in detail. Was informative, engaging and refreshing.
Great to read, thanks Duncan. You've hit on so much that I find challenging and satisfying about moderation work around film and filmmaker Q&A's. The Turnaround from Jessie Thorn has been really generative in my thinking around what constitutes a good interview and asking good questions. There's a lot to this podcast, but it's well worth a listen
Great piece Duncan, orchestrating good Q&As is an artform. I was reminded with a chuckle of Nanni Moretti's sketch in Io sono un Autarchico where at the end of a screening of an experimental film the organiser steps on the stage and announces "a discussion" about the film. Moretti, asleep in the audience, wakes up and runs out screaming "No, il dibattito no!" ("Not a discussion!"). https://youtu.be/QsSpf5gesjo
The finest Q&A I ever attended was not related to film - it was a discussion with Peter Saville (Graphic Designer) to run alongside an exhibition of his work at The Design Museum.
I'm not even sure he had a moderator, but I do recollect him starting the whole thing off by saying that he didn't want attendees to have to sit there listening to him answer questions about subjects that they had no particular interest in.
Instead, he invited questions from the audience straight off and then spent 15/20 minutes talking about that subject in detail. Was informative, engaging and refreshing.
Great to read, thanks Duncan. You've hit on so much that I find challenging and satisfying about moderation work around film and filmmaker Q&A's. The Turnaround from Jessie Thorn has been really generative in my thinking around what constitutes a good interview and asking good questions. There's a lot to this podcast, but it's well worth a listen
https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/the-turnaround-with-jesse-thorn/?_paged=2
Thanks Ruari!
Great piece Duncan, orchestrating good Q&As is an artform. I was reminded with a chuckle of Nanni Moretti's sketch in Io sono un Autarchico where at the end of a screening of an experimental film the organiser steps on the stage and announces "a discussion" about the film. Moretti, asleep in the audience, wakes up and runs out screaming "No, il dibattito no!" ("Not a discussion!"). https://youtu.be/QsSpf5gesjo