April 18, 2005

Here's a thought or five about film festivals… the fact that I am in Palm Beach might just be coincidental…

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

What's the biggest mistake I see at small festival after small festival? Too many movies... too much crap.

There are, ultimately, a finite number of good independently made films in the world. Most of them will try to premiere at Sundance. The rest will go out into the festival circuit, perhaps premiering at SXSW or LAFF or Seattle or some other major local fest. Now and again, one will slip through all of the bigger nets and turn up premiering at a local fest. One. .01 percent of the time, two. Three... nope. It is still quite possible for a foreign language film to premiere in the U.S. at a local fest. But true indies... rare, rare, rare.

Having a lot of movies at a local festival does not insure quality. Nor does it help build the festival, since every really bad film a festival patron runs into incrementally reduces the odds that they will spend money on tickets again.

BOARDS MUST BE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL... THE FESTIVAL MUST NOT BE ABOUT THE BOARD

The first conversation you hear about any festival that has an opening for a director is about how difficult the festival's board is. Same as it ever was. Great festivals have either great powerful boards that really add to the discussion over how the festival works or great directors who control the board (whether they know it or not).

Here's a newsflash... having the ability to make, marry or inherit a lot of money does not make you artistic. Being on a local governing body and getting involved in an event that builds your local profile does not make you insightful about art. Being a good fundraiser does not make you an expert on spending funds.

Celebrity chasing is one of the most popular activities for bad boards. This doesn't mean that celebrity does not have its value in a festival or especially in fund raising. But perspective must be maintained. A world class gala does not make a world class festival. But a world class festival can make a world glass gala even more profitable and even less expensive.

If you want your picture with a celebrity, go to dinner at The Ivy in Los Angeles. It'll be cheaper and you won't have gas from the dinner. If you want a film festival, figure out a way to have the money raising gala without making it such a separate part of the festival that the hypocrisy makes your skin crawl.

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

What is your film festival all about? If you can't answer the question in 30 seconds or less, your festival is either one of the biggest in the world or a mercurial mess.

As noted above, festivals tend to expand as their leadership realizes they can expand. That ticket sales money is just sitting there for the taking and, heck, you have the theaters booked all day anyway. But as the expansion comes, the focus tends to disappear.

It's perfectly alright to have a nice local festival that means nothing outside of your town. And if that is the case, you don't need to bother reading any further. But if you are a local festival that wants to get a national following, you need to focus. What is the reason why Joe Powerful would bother to spend days of his/her powerful schedule going to your little soirée? Why would Hank Obsessive decide that your festival is the place to play out his/her wildest obsessions?

Many of your movies will suck. Ok. Anyone who loves film is heading to the fest to find the stuff they will love. Give them a hand, willya?

IF YOU DO IT, DO IT WELL...
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT, DON'T DO IT

If you are in a warm climate, an outdoor screening seems like a great idea. But just because it's a good idea, doesn't mean it will be a good event. For instance, you could do a free public screening on a Sunday night. Kinda dumb, huh?

Muscials are often the best outdoor screening opportunity because people forgive so much when they get to sing along. But the sound better be good.

Comedy on an outdoor screen needs a picture big enough and sound good enough to envelop and audience the way comedy needs to in order to engage the audience. Nothing is forgiven a comedy.

Do it right or don't do it.

If it doesn't quite fit, get out of the box. How many indie festival filmmakers would kill to have their film projected on a big outdoor screen? Most of them. If you are half-assing it, why not give filmmakers the benefit of the effort?

ANYWAY... it's 2am, Palm Beach time... buenas noches.

READER OF THE DAY: EASY BZ writes: "Geachte meneer!

The Ides only falls on the fifteenth in March, May, July, and October.
It's the thirteenth in other months, including April. (The Ides
always falls eight days after the Nones. Helpful, eh?)

Go and sin no more."

E-ME: What festival mistakes have you suffered?