Film Festivals occupy a special place in the film industry. They provide a platform for emerging creators and actors to make a debut and give audiences and critics early looks at what may become the next awards season darling.
They also make a lot of money.
The 2016 Sundance Film Festival created $143 million of economic activity for Utah and the cities the festival took place in. That includes the jobs created, hotel accommodations, food being purchased and people attending the festival. The whole event takes place over 10 days, allowing people from all over the world to attend and see new up-and-coming filmmakers work, as well as media representatives from 22 countries that cover the festival. That is a lot of business and publicity for the city and those filmmakers.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is similarly sized but tends to not get the mainstream coverage that Sundance gets in the United States. In fact, in 2013, TIFF contributed approximately $189 million to the economy of Toronto. Films like “Ray,” “Precious,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “Silver Linings Playbook” all premiered at TIFF. What do those films have in common? They all went on to win Oscars. And, those are just a few of the films that debuted at the festival and went on to win awards, there are much more.
Festivals also provide a chance for fans to see the actors and directors from films being shown at the Festival. Zac Efron was at TIFF for the premiere of “The Paperboy” in 2012.
Photography by Jason Hargrove
But, not everyone can afford to go to a big festival like TIFF or Sundance or to fly to France and attend Cannes or one of the many other film festivals held in Europe.
The good news is, there are probably film festivals happening all around you. Eugene, OR is home to numerous festivals where entrants compete for scholarships and cash prizes.
The Adrenaline Film Fest sees competitors take a mere 72 hours to write, produce and edit their entry. It is run through The University of Oregon but is open to anyone interested in creating a film. A major draw of the festival is that accomplished filmmakers like Jeff Wadlow (Directors of “Kick-Ass 2”) are invited to help entrants make the most of their time and learn new things. The festival has been on
The festival has been on hiatus for a year, but the organizers hope to revive it soon.
Full disclosure, I was an extra in an Adrenaline Film Fest project that a friend created. I believe it won the audience Choice Award. For those interested, it is about a waiter, who is desperately trying to prevent a couple from getting engaged, which both are reluctantly planning to do.
My personal favorite of the local film festivals, however, is the 72-hour Horror Film Competition. Like the Adrenaline Film Fest, the entrants have a limited amount of time to create their entry and they must all include that year’s chosen line of dialogue and prop. Examples include “You’re gonna die up there,” and “sometimes when people are scared they say and do terrible things.” Winners can receive cash prizes and things like free equipment rentals from local businesses that sponsor the event.
This is my personal favorite of the 72-hour horror competition entries. A well-done monster in the closet story.
These smaller festivals don’t bring in the economic activity that something like Sundance does, but they are great ways to see up and coming filmmakers. That friend I mentioned who created a video for the Adrenaline Film Fest, he won a Peabody Award for a short that he and a group of UO students made in response to the Steubenville rape incident that received so much public attention.
Those are just two examples of the festivals that happen in Eugene, there are several more that happen throughout the year, and they happen all over the country too. Do a quick google search and find one in your area and go. You might find something you really like.
Filmic Relations 