Film Festival Strategies: What They Are and Why You Need One

Presented by Kathy Brew

Film festivals are more than just opportunities to screen a film. They launch a film into theaters and other platforms, attract interest from distributors, provide important publicity, and they constitute the primary way some films will be seen in front of a live audience. Deciding what you hope to get from your festival experience, choosing festivals that will best suit your film and your expectations (bigger is not always better), thinking of ways to attract the interest of programmers at your desired festivals, and making good use of the festivals that you get into, are important elements of a festival strategy.

About Kathy Brew

Since 2017 Kathy Brew has been Guest Curator of the Doc Fortnight at MoMA. She was Co-Director of the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival; Curatorial Consultant to the Reframe Collection, Tribeca Film Institute; Programmer at Lincoln Center’s Scanners (The New York Video Festival); and Series Curatorial Consultant, Reel New York, the WNET series for independent filmmakers. She is also a filmmaker whose award-winning documentary and experimental films have been shown in festivals, theaters, and online platforms.

Date: Thursday, September 20, 6:00 PM
Location: NYFA, 20 Jay Street, Suite 740, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Cost: $15 for NYFA-affiliated artists (fiscally sponsored, Fellows, IAP artists) and $20 for the general public.

New York Foundation for the Arts is committed to making events held at the NYFA office at 20 Jay Street in Brooklyn accessible. If you are mobility-impaired and need help getting to NYFA's office for events held on premises, we are pleased to offer complimentary car service from the wheelchair accessible Jay Street-MetroTech subway station courtesy of transportation sponsor Legends Car Service. Please email sponsorship@nyfa.org or call 212.366.6900 ext. 243 between 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM at least three business days in advance of the event to coordinate. The elevator access point for pickup is at 370 Jay Street, on the NE corner of Jay and Willoughby Streets.

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