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Page 2 of 2 Materials for the Festival Press Office and Other DepartmentsPrior to the event, focus on providing the festival with the materials needed to promote your film, and on contacting the relevant festival departments and festival delegates.Just as you and your publicist need basic tools to promote your film, so does the festival press office. The festival will likely expect you to provide them with materials almost immediately after selecting your film. At minimum, you will be expected to provide multiple copies of screeners, press kits and photography. At some point, you’ll also need to develop posters and postcards. Screeners Unless your film already has a major distribution deal in place, you are expected to provide DVD copies of your film for journalists and buyers to screen before and during the festival. In an ideal world, the theatre will be jammed with buyers and critics, hot with anticipation at the prospect of seeing your brilliant film. In the real world, your film may not even be on their radar. If you don’t provide DVDs, you will miss countless opportunities to promote your film to the very people who want to distribute or champion it. Remember that both critics and buyers are skilled at imagining how your film will translate to the big screen. Make sure your screeners are clearly labelled with the title of your film, the director and producer’s names, and your publicist’s name and contact information. Press Kits Your publicist will need only to make slight modifications to your original kit. She’ll want to include your festival screening dates and times upfront, and perhaps make a condensed version available. The key here is portability: you’ll find yourself at a cocktail reception talking up your film to a journalist, for example, and want to be able to turn over something on the spot. See Press Kits for more details. Photography Make sure you have plenty of high-quality photography available that can be transferred on a moment’s notice. Materials for Industry Delegates The industry delegates (buyers, distributors, programmers, etc.) require materials suited to their needs as well. Most mid-sized to large festivals have a department dedicated to serving the industry delegates. Get in touch with this department as soon as your film is selected to determine their requirements. Most likely they’ll need sales sheets and a separate set of screeners, at minimum. Sales Sheet The sales sheet is a marketing tool directed specifically at buyers. Sales sheets are usually mini-posters containing pertinent details about the film, contact info for the sales agent (or substitute), and the festival screening dates and times. If you’ve hired a sales agent (and you should if you are looking for distribution), leave this in their capable hands. Making Contact with the Festival and its Delegates Beyond supplying the industry and press departments with the tools they need to do their job, it can be helpful to establish a relationship with key individuals who can champion your film at festival time.  |
