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Have Films, Will Travel
They're flexible, affordable and inclusive, but are traveling festivals just a fad or are they here to stay?
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| Had to be Made Film Festival’s co-founders Donna Du Bain, Mike Kyle and Richard Green at Penny Lane in Pasadena, CA. |
The traditional film festival is defined not only by its film selections, but by its geographical location. Cannes wouldn't be Cannes without Southern France, Sundance wouldn't be Sundance without Park City, condos and skiers. For moviemakers, attendees and distributors, navigating the festival circuit means extensive travel plans. Increasingly however, some festivals are offering the opposite: mobile venues.
Scott Beibin and his Lost Film Festival will spend 200 days on the road in 2003. During the trip, the fest will play its 30 films everywhere from major film festivals like SXSW and Sundance to community centers and college campuses. Beibin travels with his films, projectors and merchandise, often staying with friends he's made along the way. The festival, started in 1999, emphasizes inclusion rather than competition, there are no awards and all screenings cost $5 to make it feasible for as many people as possible to see the films.
"The whole thing about traveling with film is being flexible about where you play, to never have a big head and to use this opportunity to actually connect with the people that you're showing it to," said Beibin. "One of the problems with independent film is that there's such a separation between the creators of the film and the audience."
Unlike Beibin, Gianna Chachere, director of the Park City alternative fest Slamdance, doesn't always travel with her films. But she does ensure that they get to a multitude of locations. After its annual January event, the festival's "On the Road" segment shows individual festival films in Cannes and locations throughout America. The festival has also set up a permanent agreement with the Pioneer Theater in New York City to show its films on a monthly basis.
"We're in a position where we have the films," says Chachere. "We want to give the filmmakers the most exposure that we can. If there's an opportunity, and it's cost-effective, then we'll do it."
Slamdance has screened its slate of films as far afield as China and Poland, but also in smaller American venues including Chachere's hometown of New Orleans and the Wyoming ski resort of Jackson Hole.
The most local of all the traveling festivals, however, may be Richard Green's Had to Be Made Film Festival. Here, audience members participate by visiting their neighborhood independent video store. The festival releases two DVD programs, each including a feature, two short films, a profile of the filmmakers and coming attractions each month over a five-month period. Video store customers then vote for the winning films online. The winners are announced in a gala event in Las Vegas twice a year, once in January and again in July.
Participating moviemakers receive 20 percent of the gross revenue from the sales of their film to the video stores through the festival. The goal of the festival, according to Green—who also runs Next Step Studios—is similar to that of any other festival: to get films seen by a large audience and noticed by buyers.
"Whether we end up offering them a Had
to be Made special release or we put them in touch with all the
independent DVD
distributors working with us, our goal is to establish a market, help
make introductions and give filmmakers the potential for independent
distribution."
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This story was published in the Spring 2003 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Have Films, Will Travel / They're flexible, affordable and inclusive, but are traveling festivals just a fad or are they here to stay?
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Posted 07.23.08 | News/Commentary | No comments yet...
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