A film festival has a number of functions. Firstly, it can be used as a place where films can compete with other films. The best films are in most cases decided by a jury and this can be used in the film’s subsequent promotion.
Secondly, film festivals enable reviewers to see the film at its earliest exhibition point. This can either be very useful for the film in developing hype for a film that the general public may not see for months – building up anticipation amongst the audience. Of course it can backfire if the film gets poor reviews.
Thirdly it gives a much needed publicity outlet for arthouse films. These are generally the films that are in competition and the accolades (or not) that they receive will generate early interest in these films.
Fourthly festivals provide a marketplace for small film producers to ‘sell’ their films to distributors.
And finally it is also becoming a place to premiere big Hollywood films – such as The Great Gatsby (Cannes 2013) and Gravity (Venice 2013).
There are a number of festivals that could be named here – Berlin, Cairo, Cannes, Goa, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Mar del Plata, Montreal, Moscow, San Sebastián, Shanghai, Tokyo, Venice, and Warsaw. All these are accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in the category of competitive feature films. The main UK Film Festivals are the LFF (London Film Festival) and Edinburgh. Toronto is also a very useful film festival.
In the US, Telluride Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Austin's South by Southwest, New York City's Tribeca Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival are all considered significant festivals for independent film.
5b Film Festival Reports
Read the two articles from The Guardian’s online film site by clicking on the links. They’re reporting on the Venice Film Festival 2013. Gravity had already been the subject of much marketing hype and opened the festival.
Discuss the prompt questions.
1. Xan Brooks’ review of Gravity
How does this short review by Xan Brooks serve the interests of (a) audiences and (b) producers and distributors?
For audiences it gives a first look at the film and also offers a very positive opinion on it.
The review is on 29 August and Gravity did not have its UK release date until 8 November – over two months to whet the appetite.
It is a review from a well-established source, so it has credibility
It can stimulate word-of-mouth views amongst its potential audience
Opening a prestigious festival like Venice may also give the film credibility with a broader audience outside of the multiplex
2. Interview (Clooney, Cuaron and Bullock)
Some emphasis is given on the director
Most of the interview is on the technology of the film
There is some degree of focus on the stars
It is interesting that the 3D aspect of the film is not really mentioned
Clooney sees the film very much as Bullock’s film
Does the clip spoil the film somewhat by giving away some of its technological secrets?
5b Award Ceremonies
The awards season is very important for films for a variety of reasons.
Gravity was nominated for 11 BAFTAs and won 6 including Best British Film and Best Director.
Gravity was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 7 including Best Director.
Give reasons why these awards might be useful for (a) producers and distributors and (b) audiences?
Producers and distributors
These awards increase publicity for the films as soon as the nominations are made. (Awards are of course established to market films and stimulate overall demand for films.)
There is a great deal of debate in the media about these nominations in the build-up to the awards night.
The nominations can be used in the posters to further promote the film.
Films that are on the production slate that are seen as award worthy films tend to be released late in the year, after the summer blockbuster season, so that they might be up for consideration. This theatrical window is very important.
Distributors spend a great deal of money plugging the credentials of their film to get votes for their films. Some of this is in the trade press – Variety and Screen International.
If the film wins then the posters can be adjusted if the film is still in cinemas.
A big win at the Oscars especially can give a film a new lease of life and extend its run at cinemas. Gravity’s Oscar wins coincided with its UK release on DVD/Blu-ray and thus provided free promotion.
A successful film in terms of awards can be vital for non-theatrical outlets – the price for selling on to television will increase, more interest will be generated in VOD and DVD/Blu-ray.
Audiences
Lots of nominations may create an interest in a film in the middle of its run at the cinema and attract more people to see it.
This buzz is vital in keeping the film in the minds of the audience.
They may well try to see in either theatrically or put it on the backburner to watch it non-theatrically.
Awards do give films the veneer of quality for films, and this may appeal to some audience members.
Although the majority of the wins at both the BAFTAs and Oscars were for the technology around the film – this was the initial selling point for Gravity alongside Bullock’s performance and so will enhance the audience’s perception of this as a good thing.
