Your Film Has Been Accepted by a Festival. Wonderful! Now, How Do You Fill Those Seats?
By Ariana Farina, Chair of Narrative Features Programming and Senior Producer at Dances with Films Festival (DWF-LA)
My last article dealt with creating a marketing strategy to find your audience for your film festival screenings before you apply to a festival. Once you have been accepted, it’s “go time” for you to execute your marketing strategy to fill those seats.
First you’ll want to think about what you will need to add tactically for the specific festival you are screening at. I suggest to write out a timeline leading up to the festival with tasks you must complete before then. You will want to look at local organizations and groups in the area of the festival that you can reach out to see if they will help you market your film, whether it be social media posts, emails blasts, website posts, etc.
You will also want to look into hiring a local publicist that can help you get write-ups and other press for your film screening. When picking a publicist, make sure you are asking them about their previous experience publicizing indie film screenings, what sort of press they were able to obtain for the film, and how many people actually attended. Also, ask them if they have any creative ideas to publicize your specific film. They will likely ask for your “Press Kit” or “EPK.” Essentially this is information that you can offer to press for your write-ups. Make sure you have your trailer, film stills, and information about the film itself, its journey to get made, and bios about the writer, director, producer, and stars of the film to share with your publicist. You can draft or work with your publicist to write a press release, including the most compelling info. about your film to share with the press. Having a unique angle that will appeal to each relevant media site’s audiences helps for press pickups. This is where what’s unique about your film really comes into play. Here’s a special tip: frequently the press likes to have film stills and trailers that have not yet been released elsewhere on the internet, or otherwise in press coverage, so be sure to have these handy for your publicist.
Think about what materials and “shwag” you will need to create to help market your screening. Some common things filmmakers create are posters for their film, cards they can hand out with information about their film and screening days and times. Filmmakers often create t-shirts, buttons, hats, and other unique and creative wearable items with their film printed on it to hand out. People wearing these items then become walking publicity for the film, and the more clever the idea, the more effective they can be. Other ideas for paraphernalia are items that people find functional in their everyday life. Thus, they are more likely accept and then later use the item you have given them. An example of this would be a pen with the film name on it. These are just a few ideas. Feel free to get creative here! I have found that people love to talk about the creative ideas people had for film paraphernalia at the festival, and again this discussion becomes free publicity for your film!
Plan out your posts on your film’s social media pages leading up to the festival. In these posts you may release fun tidbits from your film to entice an audience, including photos, short video clips, and of course the film trailer. You will also want to create a social media event invite where you can invite all of your friends, family and contacts to the screening including a link to purchase tickets. This helps you keep track of who is attending and remind people to purchase their tickets.
Look at the other films that have been programmed at the festival this year. You may want to consider reaching out to those filmmakers either via social media or your personal contacts connecting you with them. I suggest to lead the conversation with what you thought was interesting about their film. The conversation then naturally tends to go to them asking about your project as well. Make plans to say hello in person at the festival and express your excitement for attending their screening.
Plan to attend the festival yourself. Sometimes nothing beats personal one-on-one contact with local patrons to interest them to attend your screening. Discuss with the festival beforehand the resources you will have at your disposal for promoting your film. Ask them about any policies they may have about handing out cards, shwag, displaying posters, etc.
Once the festival has officially started, it is time to start carrying the plans you have made. The mistakes I’ve seen too often are not attending your screening, only showing up to your own screening, and acting aloof and standoffish. This is the time to have fun, turn up the charm, make connections with people, and show that you are the friendly and the down-to-earth person that you are. Now is the time that you connect in person with those filmmakers who also have films screening at the festival you had connected with via email and social media. Make sure you attend their screenings and support them. In turn, they will be more likely to support you and attend your screening. If you really make a positive impact on them, they may even bring some of their friends and industry contacts with them to your screening. Some may become your collaborators on future projects! How great would that be?
Each day at the festival leading up to your screening is an opportunity to connect with local patrons, whether you are handing out flyers or cards in the lobby, or meeting up with local groups in person that offered to help promote your film. Your personal presence is truly the most powerful tool you have because people like to connect directly with the filmmaker. However, a lot of us have to work day jobs, so even if you can’t be there every day for the festival, have a team of trained people from your film handing out cards, shwag, and discussing your film at the festival. Strong positive of mouth can really help bring an audience to a film that may have otherwise had low awareness.
Be sure to attend the events, mixers and talks with industry professionals that the festival has put together. These are for your benefit and are one more opportunity talk to potential patrons about attending your screening.
And don’t forget to have fun of course! You get to watch a bunch of cool new indie films! These can be quite creatively inspiring. And remember, all of this networking is for the benefit of your film and may also lead to future opportunities for you as well, like putting together your next film project.
Ariana Farina is the Chair of 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 Dances with Films Festival 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.
