Dr. Richard M. Pettigrew

My impressions of CINARCHEA

E-mail to Dr. Kurt Denzer, May 4th, 2006

Dear Kurt: I'm happy to tell you that I was very pleased and impressed with CINARCHEA. Before you invited me to be on the jury there, I had no idea what to expect, as I had not attended your festival before. Allow me to express my gratitude for your hospitality and share with you some impressions from my visit there this past week.

The most important part of any film festival is the content, so I was especially interested in what films you would show. Overall, the films were excellent and remarkably diverse. I have some experience with securing films for this purpose, as we have held our festival (The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival) three times already and I know how challenging it can be to bring together quality films in such a number. But beyond the films themselves, you brought together an array of talented people to introduce their films and answer questions from the audience. And judging from the numerous questions they posed, the audience clearly was interested. The result was a very diverse event that offered stimulating films as well as stimulating discussions about the films and the issues they raised.

I took notice of the projection system you were using and the great skill with which the technicians were able to project the films without any delay or technical error, despite the variety of film types employed and the complexity of the schedule. I don't know how you managed to accomplish that, but I know from experience how easy it is to make errors with projection.

Another complexity your group seemed to handle without problem was the transportation of participants, despite the distance to the Hamburg Airport and the many comings and goings of people such as myself. The staff and volunteers who performed that task were efficient and very friendly.

I must say as well that the participants in the Festival, including the film makers and other professionals, were a highly educated, dedicated and friendly group. I very much enjoyed meeting them, sharing in their stimulating conversations and just having fun together with them. The quality of the assembled people there was a credit to you and your organization.

Speaking of organization, your team did a wonderful job of making the event take place smoothly. I know that unforeseen events can disrupt the proceedings, and I'm sure that problems arose, but they did not become evident to the festival-goers.

I very much hope that you are able to continue CINARCHEA in the future. This event is of high value for the genre of archaeological film, which needs the kind of reflection and criticism that your festival encourages. It also is important for Kiel, because it brings to your city important recognition for its cultural contributions as well as the economic gain from the many out-of-town participants. I'm quite sure that, were it not for your festival, I never would have come to see Kiel as a place I would experience--after all, there are many cities to visit in this world, especially at a distance of 10,000 km from my own! I hope to come back and see more of it, perhaps at the next CINARCHEA.

Thank you very much for your wonderful hospitality and generosity to me at the festival. This has been an experience I will never forget. I came home with many new ideas inspired by the event and with newly made friendships that I hope to maintain for many years to come. I very much hope to be able to reciprocate in connection with our own festival next year (1-5 May 2007) here in Eugene. We will be looking for ways to broaden the international participation at our festival, which means we want to be able to bring to Eugene people such as yourself and other archaeology film festival organizers.

Please pass along my best regards to Frau Denzer and to your staff and volunteers.

With gratitude and sincerity,

Dr. Richard M. (Rick) Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA
President and Executive Director
Archaeological Legacy Institute
Eugene, OR 97405
USA