Festival Trends
Here are some thoughts based on recent happenings and trends seen before the pandemic started.
Marketing film festivals has become untenable, especially with the rise of competing events in almost every community — not other film festivals, but other social gatherings such as music, beer, food, art, pet, you name it festivals. Social media is flooded, and an effective (ie: overbid) Google ad campaign has become exorbitantly expensive.
Audiences that are willing to attend, or even plan to attend, an event — or even know HOW to go to a movie theater — are aging. Younger audiences have no cinema-experience other than attending blockbusters. They have little appreciation for film as an art form, and most rely on small screens and streaming for a large percentage of their non-gaming content.
The pandemic will set filmmakers’ finances back to the point where they will not be able to afford attending festivals, let alone for submissions. We should expect a garage of fee-waiver requests in the coming weeks.
The financial setback of filmmakers will also mean that they will produce less content in the coming seasons, as film funds will be diverted to other needs.
Sponsor spending is on hold, and when finally released, will be realigned with new priorities of community building and corporate goodwill. Sadly, arts will be an afterthought for many of them.
We, as an industry, MUST change. The old model of a multi-day screening event with invited filmmakers and sponsor-driven parties needs to be rethought.
So what should we do?
Rethink our missions and visions, and refocus them with laser precision to our communities, leveraging our individual strengths. Who do you really serve vs. Who should you serve vs. Who are you capable of effectively serving.
In the new paradigm, it will not be enough to just show indie films, but to show indie films that are selected to attract a highly targeted subsection of your audience. Maybe that is genre (or subgenre-) based, locally-based, or based on other very specific criteria. We can no longer be all things to all people — even for existing genre events.
With precision programming objectives comes increased initiatives for inclusion or equity — whichever your organization is able to effectively integrate. Again, this goes back to the rethinking of mission and vision, and what your organization should do vs. what it can do vs. what it is best at doing.
Online screenings must be embraced. They are not a replacement for physical screenings, but can be used to attract new audiences, shows films you want to program, but do not have enough screen space for, and to give ALL filmmakers, whether programmed, submitted, or just exploring your event, a chance to see what you are about.
Since filmmakers will not be able to afford travel, and festivals will have fewer travel finds (and filmmakers this Fall, especially, will be overbooked with all off the rescheduled events), interactive experiences in a time of technological advances where everyone has a camera in their pocket should be rethought. Pre-recorded interviews can replace live Q&As with less tech hassles than a live Skype session — and can be edited for online use, as previews before films, and in your marketing campaign.
Because of future financial restraints, we need to rethink how our physical events look. Maybe a 5-day event should be shortened to 3, with the additional of online to accommodate the screenings for the other 2.
The idea of individual tickets and passes should also be rethought, taking some cues from live theatricals, including pay-what-you-want events, and premium pricing models for best seats or VIP experiences. Along with this should be the reexamination of non-profit entities vs. for-profit structures.
The hardest decision will be whether your organization has outlived its purpose, or would be better served merging with a similar organization. EVERY event has a lifespan. Would it be better to have a great run for as long as you can manage, then close down (or merge) shop before the event gets stale, lost it’s reputation, goes broke, or is usurped by a start-up organization created by individuals who believe they were never served by your mission? With the rapid growth of film festivals — from fewer than 300 worldwide in 1995 to over 6,000 in 2020 — 25 years (a 2000% increase) — at some point a natural contraction has to be expected.
I have been a stalwart champion of our industry for the past 20 years, and have always put into action what I have preached. I am aware that many of these comments are unpopular, and I am good with that. If at a minimum, this gets you to think about your future, the future of your organization and event, and the future of our industry, then I would have succeeded in posting this. It it calls you to action — even better.