By Lorenzo Loorbach
Last March film curator Nikolaj Nikitin brought us on an international tour along the biggest – and lesser known – film festivals around the world, each one with their own status, history, challenges, and opportunities.
It’s quite busy and cosy at MACA. The afternoon sun tries to break through, but has to wait outside until the drinks after the masterclass start. Before it does, we listen to a short presentation by Nathalie Mierop, head of SEE NL, an organisation for the worldwide promotion of Dutch films and filmmakers. SEE NL organises all kinds of activities and events where filmmakers can network and promote tehir projects. Next to that SEE NL saves information about your film in a catalog, and you can ask for advice on how to walk the path to filmfestivals – strategically and financially. They also support Dutch focus programs in film and can aid Oscar campaigns of films. SEE NL helps beginning filmmakers a lot with publicity and big steps within the film industry. Nathalie highlights something important: it’s good to aim for certain festivals, but keep it realistic. In terms of film festivals it’s better to start small and explore the many, various options you have, instead of immediately aiming for one of the Big Five (Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival).
When Nikolaj starts the masterclass, he immediately dives into a brief history of the three biggest film festivals in Europe. The first film festival was founded in 1932 in Venice by politician and business man Giuseppe Volpi, during the fascist regime of Mussolini. The film festival had political motivations – mostly to celebrate and promote the Italian culture – but like Nikolaj explains, it was also a financial gain: with a film festival at the end of the summer, hotels can stay open longer. The French attempted to follow the Italian example in 1939 with their own film festival in Cannes, but the Second World War stopped that from happening. Fortunately the Cannes Film Festival was able to start in 1946. The Berlinale was also started, like Venice, to boost the international reputation of Berlin during the Cold War. Next to these three big festivals many film festivals were founded throughout the world: the number is currently almost at 40.000 film festivals, where filmmakers can try their luck every year.
The pressing question, of course, is: which film festival(s) will you apply to? Almost every single filmmaker dreams of presenting their film on Cannes, or one of the other Big Five festivals, but unfortunately the chances of getting in are difficult and might not be necessary for everyone. Filmmakers in Europe naturally aim towards European film festivals. However, there are successes of filmmakers from Europe who applied at film festivals in Asia or other regions. Getting a place at a bigger festival is great, of course, but sometimes you will get a lot of publicity through smaller film festivals. Documentary filmmakers, for instance, can also apply to IDFA, a festival that is specifically aimed at documentaries.
Some festivals come with expectations, since they can serve as a stepping stone to grow further in the film industry. At the San Sebastián International Film Festival for instance, you can walk into plenty of Latin American filmmakers, while Toronto opens the gates to the North American industry. In Berlin they prefer films with a strong message or meaning, whille films in Cannes are judged for their cinematographic value. Locarno in Switzerland is known for showcasing experimental, arthouse cinema. Venice is a mix between big movie stars and beginners: you can share the red carpet with George Clooney ánd network.
However, says Nikolaj, we often forget our own countries. The film festival in Rotteredam is very accessible compared to some bigger international film festivals, and offers a great mix between film programs and opportunities to network. A lot of people debuted here: Nikolaj strongly advices to go visit the festival and start building connections. And don’t just talk about the weather: “The right conversation with the right person, in which your love for cinema is clear, can mean a lot for you.”
A word that is mentioned a couple times during the masterclass is “Zeitgeist.” The film industry responds, just like other artistic expressions, to developments in the world. A big event like a war, a fallen regime, or a worldwide pandemic can influence the lives of thousands of people, which they reflect in their movies. Film festivals (or rather, their jury members) also change from time to time. Certain topics or styles aren’t favoured by them anymore, while others are gaining momentum. A movie you made two years ago might not have fit with the Zeitgeist back then, but might be in the perfect time to present right now. Sometimes it’s also ‘first come, first serve’ and it can help to have a personal bond with the topic of your movie.
Nikolaj takes Ukraine as an example. A country at war is, unfortunately, a hot topic because it holds a lot of potential for interesting films, and the crowds are eager to see films about the topic. A Ukranian filmmaker with a documentary about the war in Ukraine, has a bigger chance to be accepted at a film festival than a non-Ukranian filmmaker making a similar film. But, says Nikolaj, sometimes the opposite happens: when a film festival has ten similar applications from Ukranian filmmakers, the judges might favour films from non-Ukranian filmmakers who work within the same theme from different perspectives.
Nikolaj ends the masterclass with a couple do’s and don’ts considering applying to film festivals. The application process costs a lot of time, money, and energy, something to keep in mind as a filmmaker. He explains that, even though he’s been sharing insights for the past two years, “I’m not your friend,” meaning that he will not favour your film just because you attended this masterclass: he will still be as critical and serious about our film plans as other jury members and curators. They often get thousands of applications to sort through, but only choose a handful of them. This is why it’s so important to make sure your application is complete and ready, before sending it to a film festival.
For instance, make sure the subtitles are good, so that the jury doesn’t get lost in translation. Get a professional photographer for your stills, so that you’ll not show up with low res images. And send something you are truly happy with: a rough cut of your film might not accurately represent the final product. Lastly, there’s that good old deadline that film festivals have. When you’ve sent your film, all you can do is sit patiently and wait, and not expect too much feedback. Nikolaj advices to apply to multiple festivals, so that you can broaden your chances. If you get selected, it’s wise to think about which festival should hold the premiere of your film. With smaller festivals your chances of getting in might be bigger, but you’ll also reach a smaller audience. Sometimes it’s better not to pick the first festival that accepts you as a premiere location, but at the same time, you should not wait too long: festival season flies by in the blink of an eye.
That is a lot of advice to keep in mind. But, as Nikolaj emphasizes, it’s very important not to lose your vision of the film out of sight: “Make the movie for yourself, not for a film festival. A personal movie, that reflects what you see, experience, think, and feel, will appeal more to a crowd than a movie about some hype of the moment.” A last piece of advice Nikolaj gives: watch a lot of films. That might seem obvious for some, but films can actually give you a lot of great insights into what other filmmakers are doing, what types of trends there are currently in the film industry, where general interests lie… Learn from your colleagues!
In short: getting selected for a film festival can be a challenge. You need to have a balance between what you want to do with your film, and what the film industry is focusing on in the moment, and where you would like to present your film. Often you’ll have a bigger shot at smaller film festivals, but that does not mean that you should not even try aiming for the Big Five. Whether you book success immediately or not, it will be a valuable, enrichening and informative experience.