Week 1 – The definition of a festival
Festival = a day or period of celebration; lat. „festivus“ = to feast
Functions of film festivals
- networking (professionals)
- viewing new films (sometimes the only public screening)
- key link in a film distribution – exhibition chain
- marketing / visibility
- funding / training opportunity
- CULTURAL EVENT
- pedagogical role
- celebration of cinema
- culture and economy impact
- political impact
filmfreeway.com – website containing festivals
screendaily.com
Why go to a festival?
- build your own reputation
- networking
- watch the movie with audience (your mom doesn’t count)
- get valuable feedback
- get awards / gain funding
- learning opportunity
- „know your enemy“ – watch other people’s film
- discussions with other professionals
- key in film distribution
Week 2 – History of film festivals
Why study history of festivals?
- patterns in history -> knowledge
- e.g. switch to online format during covid pandemic
- as filmmakers:
- look at past events / programme
- Do I have chance of being accepted?
- Is there a opportunity for funding / awards?
- look at past events / programme
- Bigger festivals
- Prestigeous
- Big budget -> prizes
- Larger programme
- BUT exclusive and expensive
- Smaller festivals
- More experimental with ideas
- More personal
- Easy to submit to
- BUT less prestigeous
To get Scarlett Johanson to a gala at Cannes,, you would need at least 500 000€. Or you can send her by a bus… just saying…
Week 3 – A festival circuit
- festival circuit = volatile term
- all the festivals
- top tier festivals (critics say they are on „festival circuit“)
- journey of a film through the festivals
Advantages and disadvantages of huge body of festivals
- plenty to choose from
- overlapping – you cannot go to all you would like to
- large value of festivals devalues the prestige of being accepted / winning
- risk of festival disappearing after a year or two
Excercise
Scenario 1:
- Maverick Movie Awards (Award Event)
- Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival (Budget with early submission)
- Edinburgh Independent Film Awards
- British Independent Film Festival
- Halloween Horror Festival (1st Year festival)
Scenario 2:
- Abbeville Bird and Nature Festival (Free, Prizes, Niche)
- One World Festival ( 🙂 )
- Brussels Capital Film Festival (1st Year festival)
Scenario 3:
Week 4 – Festival Programming
Programming is a craft
- Selecting films
- Logistical section
- Grand opening and ending
- Divide the films into block according to:
- Topic / Mood
- Venues and location
- Additional activities (Q&As, discussions)
Considering when assessing a programme:
- Does it meet entry criteria?
- Is the film good enough? Does it stand out?
- Personal selections, scoring system
- Does it fit the theme?
- Other reasons (premiere policy, person involved)
The problems programmer face:
- Watching a lot of films, difficult topics
- Logistical issues
- Communication of events like award ceremonies
- Theme issues
What to do to improve submissions:
- create separate categories
- manipulate fees / subject / other criteria
Problems with attending film festival as filmmaker:
- watching your film / other people’s work