Film Festivals: What They Mean to Us | Event Excellence and Community Building
When you attend a film festival, it goes far beyond enjoying the film, itself. Film festivals are pure celebrations of art, they provide audiences with moments to dive into the film, to truly understand it and be the first to experience it. From social events to Q&As, you are able to immerse yourself in the experience, surrounded by people who share your interests. Our CEO, Erin Leonard attends film festivals every year and is passionate about them because they are true examples of community, event planning, and making meaningful moments, everything we rejoice in at ELE. This pandemic couldn’t stop Erin from attending multiple film festivals this year and like everything else, the festivals that Erin has attended for years were completely transformed by their circumstances. We’re going to dig into what film festivals truly mean, how virtual environments changed the experience, and we hope to see you engage in these community building events as the world starts to return to normal.
Film Festivals are the epitome of event excellence and community building.
ELE prizes community and engagement over several other more quantifiable goals. For us, checking off these boxes is an utmost priority but we are not satisfied with those things alone. ELE needs to bring people together, and make those moments truly meaningful. It is one of the reasons why film festivals are goal clients for us and one of the reasons why we attend festivals every chance we get!
We see film festivals as the epitome of event excellence, not only for the impressive sheer volume of logistics (due to the various venues, countless staff and volunteers, large scale ticketing distribution, vigorous marketing, and last but certainly not least, the thousands of participants to manage and oversee), but how film festivals transform their participants into a community. The attendees, staff, volunteers, and film stars, flood whichever city hosts the festival, basically taking it over for a short amount of time, with the locals celebrating right alongside them, uniting both participants and residents in a collective experience! Film festivals are riveting, stimulating, and chaotic throughout its entirety. It is a hands on experience that requires active participation, which makes their attendees uniquely engaged and devoted. In order to get the most out of the experience (and your money) you have to devote serious energy in following the viewing schedules! But while you are running all around the city, and standing in ridiculously long lines, you will be sharing this with other film lovers from every corner of the world! This is the very example of bringing people together in the search of joy and expression, it is a pure example of creating meaningful moments.
Virtual Film Festivals- What Has Changed?
The virtual film festivals this year were undoubtedly different from what we have come to expect from a typical film festival but I think it’s important to not use words like “worse” or “better” when comparing the two. It is true that in-person film festivals have a magic to them that is simply not supported in virtual environments. In-person film festivals have a red carpet, where you will see movie stars and other film professionals that you admire. Your adrenaline is pumping as you run all over the city desperately hoping to catch all of the showings on your schedule! You are standing in line and bonding with people from all over the world, people who you would never be able to meet in other circumstances. Attendees may even meet their favorite directors, actors, writers, and producers. Have you ever watched a movie and had a question for the creators or actors? Well they may choose that question for the Q&A! All of these elements bring you a step further into the film and are unique to in-person film festivals which are chaotic, fast-paced and energizing!
But virtual film festivals have their own benefits, and they are substantial. The level of accessibility could not be more extreme, if you look at cost alone, we are talking about a difference between spending thousands of dollars versus spending hundreds. And of course this isn’t including travel expenses, having the time off of work, having the privilege to leave town for a week- for so many film enthusiasts who have dreamed for this access, this was simply not an option. Virtual film festivals have given more cinema lovers the ability to take part in this experience and has opened the door for people to explore a potential new passion!
There is also a flexibility with virtual festivals that has always challenged attendees in the past! These viewing schedules are rigorous, and at times... hostile. Q&A’s, meet and greets, and past viewings can overlap with your future viewings, as well as traffic and a misguiding GPS. These movies are on a packed schedule and the viewings are all over the city, if you think it is an easy-going viewing experience, you would be very wrong. At times, it’s a miracle to squeeze in a quick bathroom break and there is no question that by the end of the day, you are tired. Virtually, you can move at a slower pace, the movies still have expiration dates, but it is a lot smoother than running all around Toronto! Q&As are of course, very different but it was Erin’s opinion that the Q&As this year might have been better, for a couple of reasons! In-person showings do not guarantee that the cast will be present and available, and that is what determines your ability to sit in on one. Virtual Q&As are pre recorded, so you will absolutely see it, they won’t be cut short, it won’t be one random cast member, and it won’t mess up your viewing schedule. In general, virtual environments have alleviated many stressful factors away from their attendees!
The Future of Film Festivals
Like all events, the future of film festivals are uncertain. While we believe that they will go back to in-person events as soon as it is safe, who knows if any virtual elements will remain. Will these events be hybrid? Will some elements remain virtual due to the convenience, accessibility, cost, or because they actually worked better? Only time will tell, but we are very curious and excited to see how the lessons that event professionals have learned this year will inform these choices and we plan to be a part of it.