by Agatha Altarovici

Thanks to shared resources within the Film Festival community, I just recently became aware of an incredible website that in my opinion every independent filmmaker should use to plan their Film Festival strategy and calendar. It has a very intuitive name: www.filmfestivaldatabase.com/

Being a spreadsheet geek myself and realizing how time consuming this must have been - I had to reach out to Michael Forstein first of all to thank him for his Indie initiative - by donating to his project - and then to find out more about how he put the whole thing together.

Who is Michael Forstein, the creator of the Film Festival Database ?

I’m a producer, filmmaker, and have worked in various capacities for film organizations and non-profits. I’ve been involved in film festivals in just about every capacity- as a filmmaker, audience member, juror, panelist, volunteer, employee, and festival producer. 

Can you tell me when you came up with this idea ?

In 2015 I was submitting a feature and a short to festivals, and I created a spreadsheet to keep track - maybe 50-75 festivals I was considering. It was vital for tracking my submissions, acceptances, and ultimately deliverables, screening dates, etc. I figured filmmakers and producers all over the world were creating similar things for their own films. It seemed like a lot of people reinventing the wheel, but I didn't know what the alternative was. 

 The following year I taught a film festival strategy class and shared my spreadsheet with the students. Some of them hadn’t thought to be so methodical about festivals, and others had but maybe didn’t have the time or energy to do it, so they really appreciated having my version shared with them. 

 Fast forward to last spring- a colleague asked if I’d be interested in starting a film festival in my hometown. I wondered- if I were to start a festival, when would I want it to be? I wouldn’t want to schedule it the same weekend as other local festivals, or during a busy weekend nationally. I searched online for some kind of visual calendar that would allow me to scan through the year and see when things were busiest, but I couldn’t find anything. So I started to make one, really just to satisfy my own curiosity. The first step was gathering data into a spreadsheet, and when I noticed that this spreadsheet was essentially identical to the one I’d made four years ago when I was submitting to fests, something clicked- the problem I was trying to solve from a festival organizer's perspective collided with the problem I had tried to solve several years prior as a filmmaker. I realized it might be possible to solve both problems at once. 

How long did it take for you to get this done ? Can you tell me a little bit about the process and apps you use ?

 If you add up all the hours, probably 3-4 months of full time work. I started working on it last spring, put it away for the summer, then picked it back up in October. I set a goal of launching before Sundance, which inevitably meant several weeks working 24-7 to get it done. In that way it felt no different than pre-production, finishing a movie, or the build up to a festival - no matter how well you've prepared, no matter how much legwork you’ve done, the final push is always a beast. 

As for the actual nuts-and-bolts process, just imagine two monitors, each with about 12 Chrome windows, each window with about 50 tabs open. Podcasts during the mindless clicking parts, instrumental or non-English music during the data input parts (so as not to cross wires), and constant riding the line of repetitive stress injury. Pretty glamorous.

I had some great help along the way: Isabella Matejka collected data on the initial batch of about 250 festivals. Paul Fischer, who has been a creative partner in some capacity on pretty much everything I’ve ever done, helped with the web, visual, and some of the creative and technical elements. Nick Baldwin wrote a custom script for the calendar portion of the spreadsheet (that’s the only piece of the project that’s automated - the calendar tabs populate from the info on the database tab each time I run an update function). And my friend Ryan Mattke, an expert on all things maps, helped me build the GIS map, which allows for more detailed interactive options than the Google Map. 

 What's the best way to submit an update to the database ? 

 If your festival meets the Guidelines for Inclusion and it’s not already in the database, fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrUsEDGm-4MseZBoMd0vnpLIGDBrcqyolxH2alCUyVyVz3gA/viewform

 If you notice an error or item that needs to be edited, email me at info@filmfestivaldatabase.com with a subject line:

“ EDIT - [festival name]”

 I welcome emails, and appreciate everyone who’s reached out so far! 

How can the film community support you in your efforts to keep this tool free and updated? 

 Donations help a lot! A small handful of people have donated already, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I made and shared this on a hunch that it would be valuable to people but I really had no idea. I’m thrilled to see how many people have used it so far. The donations to this point have covered most of the actual cash expenses I incurred in creating the project, and donations going forward will help maintain it.

 Ultimately, I’d love to add Canada, Europe, and the rest of the world, but long-term sustainability, and scale-ability, would require an organization or individual with significant resources getting behind the project. In the meantime, donations are deeply appreciated! 

or visit the website:

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Agatha Altarovici is a marketing consultant for Independent Filmmakers & the Art House community.

To find out more about her services, or how she has helped other filmmakers, visit her website: www.thecible.com

If you’re looking to raise support for an upcoming film idea, then a video pitch is one of the best tools you can use. It allows you to better capture the attention of your audience, by using imagery and clips to help bring your idea to life. However, there are a number of common pitfalls you can fall into which will make your video far less effective. So, to help you get started, here are four top tips for creating a great video pitch for your film idea.

1. Keep it short

Executives and producers are very busy people and they get pitched multiple film ideas every single week. As such, you need to make sure your video pitch is to the point and tells them exactly what they need to know and nothing more. Anywhere between four and eight minutes is acceptable, but keeping it to the lower end of this scale is best.

2. Identify your hook

There needs to be something special about your film idea if it is going to get any kind of support. Most importantly, you need to make this hook clear within your pitch. The best way to do this is to throw in your hook near the very start. This gets the audience’s attention. Afterwards, you can pull back and give a brief overview of the entire film idea.

3. Why you?

As well as supporting your idea, the filmmakers will be backing you as well. As such, you need to make it clear why you have the skills and expertise to write a great film idea. If you have low amounts of direct experience then don't worry, don't let this put you off. Instead, you will need to show endless enthusiasm and passion for the project.

4. Give them a teaser

The great thing about a video is it allows you to incorporate visuals into your pitch. So, feel free to add in some teaser clips that you've already made for the idea or to even show a few brief clips of previous work you’ve done. Again, you want to get the audience excited and involved in the video, instead of just sitting there listening to you drone on for five minutes.

Here at THE CIBLE, we work with passionate filmmakers to help them market their film idea and gain greater levels of exposure. Our team of marketing experts have years of industry experience and are always looking to support more independent filmmakers. If working with us is something you might potentially be interested in, then it’s time to find out more about our services.

With the AMERICAN FILM MARKET (AFM) right around the corner (November 1st-8th), here are 8 tips to help first timers get ready for this major networking event:

-          PREPARE: a little bit of preparation can go a long way. Don’t think that by just being there you will get results. Make the most of your AFM by not simply attending the marketing but in-depth-preparing your market attendance.

-          MEETINGS: set up your meetings beforehand. Define your strategy to reach out to key people and have a clear goal as far as meetings are concerned.

-          RESEARCH: Do your research. Before your meetings, do your research on the company and make sure that your project is in alignment with their business / distribution strategy.

-          NETWORKING: Have a great business card! They are not overrated. AFM is a networking event. So be prepared to give out your business card. So many are exchanged and most of time, you will be asked for a business card to shorten the conversation. So, don’t go for conventional and make that business card a keeper.

-          SOCIAL MEDIA: Have a social media strategy in place. There are a lot of meetings and a lot of people navigating on their phone. Have content and social media events ready for your followers.

-          1ST IMPRESSION: First impression is key. Be aware of what the first impression is about your film or your company. You only have One chance to make a first impression. Don’t show a boring looking sales sheet or presentation and expect a follow up call. Don’t think that you’ll do better next time. Do the best you can with the resources you have now!

-          PITCH: Prepare your elevator pitch. You never know who you will run into and who you might be able to pitch your project to or introduce yourself to. In just a split second you may be taken off guard if you are not prepared with a great elevator pitch.

-          FUN: Be Fun! Create a buzz. Easier said than done… Just start by showing your passion. Only those who don’t try, don’t achieve. Dare doing stuff out of the box.

NEED MARKETING SUPPORT TO GET READY ? CONTACT US NOW!