Despite the pandemic, and the numerous festivals and events that have subsequently been put on hold or cancelled, plenty of film fests are carrying on — online. According to IndieWire, 32 festivals have “signed on to a multi-pronged Film Festival Survival Pledge … providing festivals with much-needed revenue in the form of ticket and pass sales for online screenings as self-quarantine and social distancing have become the norm.” The pledge will remove or update barriers “in the form of longstanding industry policies that prohibit widespread adoption of a virtual festival experience,” thereby making it easier for festivals to screen their lineups via the internet.
Crowdfunding and SVOD platform Seed&Spark is leading the initiative. “It’s for festivals and distributors to pledge to support one another,” CEO Emily Best said. “That, in turn, protects the filmmakers.”
The pledge not only gives quarantined audiences the chance for entertainment — and to virtually attend a festival — it offers now-cancelled fests the chance to earn some revenue and recoup some costs.
Clay Pruitt, Seed&Spark acquisitions and programming head, put together the pledge specifications after studying 15 different festivals’ policies. The guidelines, which can be reviewed in full on IndieWire, address online eligibility, premiere status, geoblocking waivers, production timelines, commitment timelines, and distributor clauses.
Janina Gavankar, a Seed&Spark creative action board member, was supposed to premiere her directorial debut, short film “Stucco,” at SXSW this month. The fest was cancelled a couple weeks ago. “I’m still pretty devastated,” Gavankar said. “But [the pledge] is heartening news,” she said. “Having so many festivals sign on so quickly shows you just how seriously festivals take their role in being the lifeblood of indie filmmakers.”
Seed&Spark is also developing infrastructure that will allow its platform to stream festival content. “On the crowdfunding side, it’s working with Arthouse Convergence to let theaters launch campaigns to cover staff wages, taxes, and overhead during a time where the overwhelming majority of cinemas have closed their doors,” the source adds.
Prior to the pledge’s launch, many festivals were exploring ways to continue despite coronavirus, while still being safe and practicing social distancing. Programmers from the Tallin Black Nights festival, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno teamed up to bring My Darling Quarantine Short Film Festival online, while BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival kicked off a digital rollout today. Cannes will host a virtual market — as will CAA — despite its postponement.
Check out the current Film Festival Survival Pledge signatories below, courtesy of IndieWire.
ARRAY
African Diaspora Film Festival, Inc.
Atlanta Film Festival
BendFilm
Black Femme Supremacy Film Fest
Blackbird Film Festival
COVEN Film Festival
Connect Film Festival
Etheria Film Festival
Festival of Cinema NYC
Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival
Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival
IndieWorks
Joedance Film Festival
JxJ (the Washington Jewish Film and Music Festivals)
McArts Consulting
Milwaukee Film Festival
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA)
Nitehawk Cinema
Other Worlds Film Festival
Oxford Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival & ShortFest
Queens World Film Festival
San Pedro Film Festival
Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival
Sidewalk Film Festival
Sunset Junction Film Festival
The Future of Film is Female
aGLIFF
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