Finding an Audience For Your Film Festival Screening: Considerations to Make Before You Submit to Festivals
By Ariana Farina, Chair of Narrative Features Programming and Senior Producer at Dances with Films Festival (DWF-LA)
At festivals I’ve seen sold-out theaters, and I’ve seen theaters with a much smaller audience size. With the latter, the filmmaker often will wonder, how did that other film get so many attendees while my film didn’t? The films that often get the most attention and attendees are the ones that create and execute a clear marketing plan to promote their film, gain buzz, and ultimately “get butts in seats.” So I can’t emphasize enough that filmmakers in advance of even submitting to a festival, ask themselves not just, “Who is the audience for my film?” but also, “How do I find an audience for a film festival screening of my film?”
Think of it this way — how much money do you think a studio spent to market and promote that latest blockbuster film you just went to see at your local theater? Probably millions of dollars! So if they had to spend millions just to get people to come to a huge film that is likely already part of a franchise starring their favorite actors and conveniently playing at their local theater, wouldn’t you think you also would have to do some marketing to get people to come see your indie film? This is the challenge that many indie filmmakers will have before them.
Before I elaborate further on how to find an audience for your screening, I want to side bar that some audiences will show up without a filmmaker’s marketing efforts. An example of this is, for film festivals that take place in small towns where the festival is the only big thing that happens that time of year, these festivals might draw a local audience and/or audience that travels to that location specifically to attend the festival. Also, general marketing by the festival itself often times brings in “walk-ins” and sometimes industry professionals. However, for many festivals, especially in major film-oriented cities like Los Angeles and New York, it can be especially beneficial for filmmakers to bring in additional audience members. This is partly due to the fact that these cities have so many other diversions going on every single night of the week. So as a filmmaker, you have to really think about how you are going to rise above all of the noise with your film and entice an audience to attend. It could be especially advantageous to build a large screening audience in these cities because it is cities like these that might be more convenient and local to attend for film executives, buyers, managers and agents who are looking for independent films and fresh talent. Also, it is likely a better way for you to showcase your work rather than just “sending a link” upon request. Thus, there is a benefit to consider playing at or premiering at festivals in these cities.
Okay, so when in the process should you start thinking about finding an audience for your screening? Well, some folks are surprised when I suggest at the very beginning, when you decide on the concept of the film you want to make. You may want to consider choosing one of your ideas that you think you could find an audience for your film. For instance, you may ask yourself, “Which one of my ideas is associated with specific devoted fans or groups?” One example of this might be a football film. There are many groups of football fans. It might be a good idea to join those groups, become part of the culture, so that when you are ready to announce that your film just got into a festival in their area, they will already be excited about and supportive of you! It will be much easier at that point if they are invested in you to encourage them to attend, and they may even be willing if asked directly to help promote your film in their social media and email.
When you put together your filmmaking team, choose a supportive team where everyone contributes something that they can take pride in. This team will become the core of your grassroots marketing team that supports your film and helps bring in that audience when it comes time to having a film festival screening.
It’s important that you write out your marketing plan for your film festival screenings. It might even be beneficial to do this before you shoot your film, so you can capture assets that can be used in the promotion of your film, and you’ll know what your plan will be once it is complete. Of course, you can modify it as you go, but it will give you the comfort of a backbone of a plan to spring board from. When I suggest writing a marketing plan, a common question I get in response is, “Sounds great! So what exactly does that entail?” There are plenty of books on this topic, and expert producers who understand marketing. I even go into this in greater detail in my talks around the country. But here are a few key pointers to get you started.
One of the first steps is to think about, “Who is your target audience or audiences for your film?” Back to my example of a football film. You may list that football fans are your target audience. Maybe this film is also family friendly, so your target audience might also include families. This is a great place to start, thinking about who it might appeal to and listing why it would appeal to them.
The problem is, sometimes filmmakers stop there. They assume these groups of people will learn about their film and then show up. The truth is, they will likely not do that. You will want to think about and write down specific groups to reach out to and specific ways and when you and your team will reach out to them. You will get even more detailed in this section of your marketing plan as your decide upon your target film festivals because then you will know the screening location, and thus the specific groups and organizations in that area for football fans, etc. As you create assets to promote your film, you can create and share them on social media to engage your growing audience well before you’re done with the film.
In your marketing plan you will also want to consider hiring a publicist and creating paraphernalia to hand out associated with your film. I will elaborate more on all this in my next article, where I address the steps needed to help fill those seats once you’ve been accepted to a festival. Stay tuned!
Ariana Farina is the Chair for Narrative Features Programming and a Senior Producer at Dances with Films Festival (DWF-LA) in Hollywood. She has screened films of all types and formats for DWF-LA and previously other genre festivals. In addition to festivals, Ariana is a Film Competition Judge for prominent film competitions in Los Angeles and a Jury Member to festivals worldwide. Currently, Ariana is touring the country as a guest speaker at filmmaker events presenting Film Festival Strategy. Also a filmmaker, Ariana produced the film The Garlock Incident — the first film of its kind, blurring the lines between social media, participatory storytelling, and feature film. Currently she is helping produce a feature documentary called, “You Don’t Look Sick,” which will explore the topic of autoimmune disease through individuals who have these diseases as they navigate their everyday life and the healthcare system.
