Kat Jayme: 5 tips for making the most at the Banff World Media Festival
Finding Big Country’s director-writer-producer attended the 40th edition of the festival. Here, she gives advice to emerging filmmakers on how to make a big impression and find your community among 1,500+ delegates.
For the second time, I had the opportunity to attend the Banff World Media Festival. The festival — set in the incredible Rocky Mountains—hosts over 1,500 delegates from over 25 countries.
A few years ago, I attended as a recipient of the TELUS STORYHIVE BANFF Fellowship program. This year, I took part in the Banff-Netflix Diversity of Voices Program.
While the festival can feel insanely busy, the three days were also inspiring and productive.
Here are my top five tips for emerging filmmakers attending the Banff World Media Festival.
1. Do your homework before you attend the festival
When you register to attend the Banff World Media Festival, you get access to BANFFxchange, the festival’s exclusive networking platform. Here you can see all the delegates, speakers, and panelists attending and can privately message them.
Take the time to read their bios, visit their websites, and learn about their previous work to see who would be a good fit for your projects. When you find folks you’d like to meet, reach out and send a message to set up a meeting. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get too many responses right away. There will be other opportunities to meet these individuals once you’re there.
2. Come with postcards and printed pitch decks.
Film is a visual medium, so whenever I’m able to bring pitching material that can visually show what I’m hoping to achieve, it’s always an easier sell.
This year, I was pitching two projects and had postcards for each film in each of my back pockets ready to hand out in an instant. In my backpack, I had printed pitch decks that introduced my projects in more detail, in case anyone asked for more information.
3. Stand out from the rest of the pack
Since one of the projects I was pitching was my next film, the feature length documentary about the Vancouver Grizzlies, I wore my Vancouver Grizzlies jersey every day. In a sea of suits and blazers, it was easy to spot me. Plus, the jersey was a great conversation starter and an easy way to segue into pitching the film: “Oh, you like my jersey? Then you’ll love my film!” [Insert handing project postcard & a mic drop.]
4. You can book meetings at the festival
It’s valuable to have your meetings lined up before you arrive, but this year, I actually didn’t have that many meetings booked before I got to Banff. I was a little worried, but I also knew that once I got there and started to talk to people, the meetings would happen naturally. And they did.
By day two, my schedule was jam-packed. I got meetings by attending the festival’s events, panels and mixers; by striking up conversations with people in line for coffee and sitting down beside them in the lounge, and also by messaging people on BANFFxchange, who I had overlooked in my initial pass.
Pro tip: Include your cellphone number in your messages. This gives your contacts an easy and direct way to get in touch with you.
5. Check your ego at the door and find your squad
These networking conferences are a hustle and a grind; it’s easy to feel exhausted. The best piece of advice I’ve ever received about attending festivals and conferences is to make time to find your crew, even if it’s just a couple of people who you can sit down with and take a moment to breathe. Thankfully, I knew a handful of filmmakers also attending the festival who I could check-in with every day — and it made all the difference.
I want to extend a huge thank you to STORYHIVE, Creative BC, Netflix, and Banff for the opportunity to attend the 2019 Banff World Media Festival!
I learned so much from meeting other filmmakers and attending panels, I strengthened relationships with former colleagues, and I also made some very important connections that are already proving fruitful.
Kathleen Jayme is an award winning Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC, who is passionate about telling meaningful and personal stories.
Her latest project, Finding Big Country, has been a resounding success and has energized sports fans in Vancouver and across North America. The movie has screened to sold-out theatres and been met with critical acclaim everywhere it has played. It was the winner of the Vancouver International Film Festivals (VIFF) prestigious Audience Choice Award, as well as the Must See BC award as voted by the VIFF audience.
