Film festivals are organized every year to welcome aspiring filmmakers and directors to showcase their films and to show their talent. These are as important as a review to the new film. With film festivals, budding filmmakers and directors find a great way to unite with film communities across the continent or globe.
Still, here are a few points that explain why film festivals are very important.
- Showcasing new and fresh content to the audience
Most of the audience gets bored with the same and repeated content every time and they then need fresh content, fresh stories and fresh faces to watch along with freshly crafted execution. Film festivals are a great way to introduce them with such fresh contents. A good film festival always showcases the films and content that are relevant to the perspective of the audience who is expected to see it. This is done with independent faces that work on independent ideas and express it through these festivals.
- Test screenings of the films
In past few years, we have seen that most of the filmmakers use the film festivals as a platform to screen their films. They get to attend the festivals in the same way as most of the corporate or big filmmakers do to screen their films and it is always to have your film featured on a big platform to get the audience’s response towards the film content.
- Marketing Experience
The importance of film festivals basically relies on the marketing perspective of the film festival they attend. They also get to know how they need to market their film to get more footfall to watch the film. Whether they are a big filmmaker or a small, they do the marketing of their film accordingly. The difference is that large budgeted filmmakers hire dedicated public relation officers to do that.
- Awards: Every filmmaker wants their film to get awarded in the particular category whether big or small. And if the award is from a prestigious film festival, it doubles up his fame and happiness.
- Reviews and Interviews: When the film is being reviewed and the filmmakers are being interviewed about the film, then it tends to create a buzz among the viewer and the audience about the film and it indirectly has a great impact on the marketing perspective of the film.
- Film Selling: Film Festivals are a good way to attract film acquisition executives and commissioning editors to their screenings. These are the film buyers and they attend the festivals in hope to get movies on hot and trending topics sooner than their competitors.
- Learning Perspective: Many film festivals organise an engaging jury panel discussions about filmmaking and direction which is a great place to learn for budding filmmakers and directors. It is also a great place to learn for the attendees about what exactly is going on in the film industry.
- Building Connections- The film industry is considered as a people’s industry. You will be judged according to the people you know and not what you know. These film festivals serve as a great place for those who wish to make strong connections with the prestigious people in the film industry.
- A good platform for emerging talents– Film Festivals are a great place where big filmmakers and directors usually attend to find fresh faces and talents to cast in their movies.
- Promote tourism and local economy– Organizing such film festivals promotes the tourism in the particular country and it comes as a bliss to the local communities as well. For a local shopkeeper, it is not only the red carpet event but it includes all the hype surrounding a festival. It’s all about jobs the festival creates, the hospitality that is provided to visitors and the buzz which is created around the commercial establishments in the festival area. We can never forget to mention the hotels, snacks and meals festival attendees provided at the festival that also boosts the economy of their segment as well.
- A review before theatrical release- Film Festival usually runs at the theaters. And this is a great place to get their movie reviewed and judged in front of the audience before a theatrical release. When it is reviewed in front of the audience, it will create a buzz among them and who knows, it will win an award also.
- Engagement within communities- With film festivals, many communities can unite. A film festival is attended by a wide range of people who come to enjoy films,to connect with big filmmakers and the stories that are being told with verve and enthusiasm by the aspiring filmmakers. They share their ideas, film-making experiences and other valuables.
- With film festivals, we celebrate diversity- By film festivals, we get to know the diversity of our society and our social issues on which many films are being made. We actually represent these issues through the cinema. What are the diversities that are found in different religions, cultures, societies and regions are represented through cinema and cinematic experiences.
Film festivals are important because these festivals give the aspiring talents, filmmakers and directors a chance to connect with the global film community and to showcase their work in front of people through a platform. We can’t emphasize many social issues but we can’t do it directly. Cinema gives us a scope to address those social issues with the means of theater.
