I wish the Film Festival Alliance well, though its mission will be difficult to achieve. The one thing I wish that all festivals would come to understand is that, they are not in competition with each other. So many festivals feel proprietary over selected films, and that insistence harms both the films/filmmakers and the festivals themselves. So many festivals fade away because of this illusionary bias. A sharing and mutual celebration of great works makes every festival that recognizes that quality effort shine as a beacon of good taste and trusted curation.
I go to multiple film festivals every year and the mix is between some of the biggest and some of the smallest. Each festival gives me something different, unique to each organization even when I am seeing films that have played the other festivals I attend. I chose festivals because of their character, their selection of great films and never have I not attended one because the films weren't in premiere status. It's not a competition, it's a celebration and we can all participate and bring our own spin to the spinning of plates of entertainment value to the show.
I think it is more of a problem with the sponsors. They think the premieres get them press and thus those brands want them. One might argue then the real culprits are the media who only cover those damn premieres. How to get more press for the character and selection?
It’s the way a festival pitches to sponsors that leads to the problem. They need to pitch the festival’s uniqueness, not the films it can bring. That gives long term loyalty to sponsors and fests. The most successful fests have a cachet all their own independent of the selection of movies they get. That’s what a true, sustainable sponsorship of a fest looks like. Then the problem of premieres greatly diminishes.
agree festivals need their uniqueness, what do they stand for and importantly what do they represent to their audience base, their community, what need do they serve and why will folks come see the films they show!
This was a great read, thank you for your insight! As someone who wants to participate in film festivals someday, whether as an audience member or a filmmaker, I'm eager to learn more about these practices and the future for film festivals.
This is great! One time years ago the film I directed was going to be screened at a festival in Australia which I thought was awesome so I traveled all the way to Australia for the event. But even though the film was listed as being screened “in the theater”, it was more specifically screened “in the concession/cafe area” of the theater. So there I was in Australia with my film projected on a small screen in in the cafe in front of a dozen people sitting on folding chairs, and anytime someone ordered an espresso, the machine was so loud you couldn’t hear the film. 😂
Thanks, I will forward the best practices to our team I didn’t know about them til I read this
I wish the Film Festival Alliance well, though its mission will be difficult to achieve. The one thing I wish that all festivals would come to understand is that, they are not in competition with each other. So many festivals feel proprietary over selected films, and that insistence harms both the films/filmmakers and the festivals themselves. So many festivals fade away because of this illusionary bias. A sharing and mutual celebration of great works makes every festival that recognizes that quality effort shine as a beacon of good taste and trusted curation.
I go to multiple film festivals every year and the mix is between some of the biggest and some of the smallest. Each festival gives me something different, unique to each organization even when I am seeing films that have played the other festivals I attend. I chose festivals because of their character, their selection of great films and never have I not attended one because the films weren't in premiere status. It's not a competition, it's a celebration and we can all participate and bring our own spin to the spinning of plates of entertainment value to the show.
I think it is more of a problem with the sponsors. They think the premieres get them press and thus those brands want them. One might argue then the real culprits are the media who only cover those damn premieres. How to get more press for the character and selection?
It’s the way a festival pitches to sponsors that leads to the problem. They need to pitch the festival’s uniqueness, not the films it can bring. That gives long term loyalty to sponsors and fests. The most successful fests have a cachet all their own independent of the selection of movies they get. That’s what a true, sustainable sponsorship of a fest looks like. Then the problem of premieres greatly diminishes.
agree festivals need their uniqueness, what do they stand for and importantly what do they represent to their audience base, their community, what need do they serve and why will folks come see the films they show!
This was a great read, thank you for your insight! As someone who wants to participate in film festivals someday, whether as an audience member or a filmmaker, I'm eager to learn more about these practices and the future for film festivals.
This is great! One time years ago the film I directed was going to be screened at a festival in Australia which I thought was awesome so I traveled all the way to Australia for the event. But even though the film was listed as being screened “in the theater”, it was more specifically screened “in the concession/cafe area” of the theater. So there I was in Australia with my film projected on a small screen in in the cafe in front of a dozen people sitting on folding chairs, and anytime someone ordered an espresso, the machine was so loud you couldn’t hear the film. 😂
I am so sorry to hear it but it is a testament to your fortitude that you can laugh at it. We NEED clarity and transparency from the start!