Testing and finding innovative and impactful ways of communicating about a film festival is key. To kickstart 2021, we have rounded up our 3 favourite communication campaigns developed by film festivals as of the beginning of 2021.
Even though the film festival circuit has known better days, whether they organize virtual or in-person editions – or both, film festivals have been demonstrating that creativity is a value that lies at the core of their teams, to find new, innovative ways to engage with the audience and develop effective communication strategies.
After celebrating the creativity of film festivals by highlighting the best film festival posters of 2020, we have pulled together a set of best communication practices implemented by film festivals as of the beginning of 2021.
#1 Göteborg Film Festival: The Isolated Cinema
Would you accept spending 7 days alone on a remote island with no phone and no friends, but 60 films? This was the amazing concept coined by Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival, about to unfold online from January 30th to February 8th. By introducing “The Isolated Cinema”, the festival released a call for volunteers on January 4th 2021 to find one solitary film enthusiast to experience total isolation from the outside world on the island of Pater Noster, inaccessibly located at the very edge of the archipelago in one of Sweden’s most barren, windswept locations.
Just you, the sea and the festival’s film programme with 60 film premieres. For seven days.
It turned out that many were willing to take on the challenge of spending 7 days on a rock far out at sea, with film as their only companion. Only 48 hours after its release, the call for applications had already sparked a massive interest worldwide with over 2,500 applications received by the festival, which seemed unexpected for the festival team. In a time of global pandemic, the social distancing friendly concept got highlighted and shared by a number of international media such as CNN International.
The chosen one.
Finally, on January 20th, the Göteborg Film Festival has announced that they received a total of 12,000 applications from the entire world. After shortlisting a smaller (fortunately enough!) number of applicants and conducting interviews and tests, one lucky candidate was informed that he or she was the chosen one and accepted the mission. On January 30th, the day of departure, the lucky solitary movie buff will be presented to the world and we will all be able to follow his or her experiences through a video diary posted daily on the festival website from January 30th until February 6th.
No doubt that this communication operation has been a truly resounding success. The combination of a bright concept and a bleak period has definitely pushed a lot of us – yes, we did apply, but sadly did not make it to the Island… – to embrace anything that’s extra-ordinary. Congratulations to the Göteborg Film Festival for this stunning tour de force!
#2 Sundance Film Festival: Would You Consider An Invitation?
Getting notified about a festival decision regarding a film they have submitted is always an intense moment for filmmakers – Which filmmaker has never had his or her heart pounding when receiving the famous email entitled “Submission Status has changed for …” from FilmFreeway? – especially when it comes to one of the world’s top film festivals like Sundance.
So, why not sharing this amazing moment full of emotions when the answer is positive for the filmmakers? This is what the Sundance Film Festival has been exploiting to feed its communication campaign ahead of the event. Prior to the festival which will take palce from January 28th to February 3rd, the festival has released in late December 2020 a short clip in which Festival Director Tabitha Jackson and other Sundance team members call the artists asking them a simple question: “Would you consider accepting an invitation to Sundance 2021?”.
The filmmakers’ reactions are epic and mirror the level of commitment they have been putting in making their films, most of the time, for several years. Good job Sundance! If you want to follow up with the filmmakers presenting their work at Sundance 2021, make sure to connect with us on Instagram to get the latest news from this year’s hybrid Sundance edition!
#3 IFF Rotterdam: Imagine The Future Festival Posters
In 2021, the International Film Festival Rotterdam is celebrating its 50th edition. This year, the festival will take place in two parts, the first to be held on February 1-7, 2021 and the second on June 2-6, 2021. Tickets are already on sale for the first part of IFFR 2021.
To celebrate its 50th edition, the festival has come up with the concept of “IFFR 100” which acts as a portal to both the past and the future of the festival. On the one hand, they have delved into their archives to find every single one of the festival posters since the poster of the first edition of the festival was designed by Evert Maliangkay in 1972. On the other hand, in order to honour the festival’s identity, the team of IFFR has partnered with the students of the Willem de Kooning Academy, a leading art school in Rotterdam. Through this partnership, students were invited to speculate on the visual language of the IFF Rotterdam’s next 50 festivals with their own poster designs. Practically speaking, the students were asked to imagine designs for the IFF Rotterdam upcoming #51 to #100 editions. Feel free to explore the posters imagined by the students – they are truly amazing!
A design jury will choose five posters from the 50 entries to be made available to purchase in the festival’s merchandise shop. The five designs will be announced on January 29th! Check out IFFR’s website to see how, in the minds of the students, the IFFR tiger will evolve through the years!
Let us know your thoughts about those three stunning examples! The three case studies epitomize what it is to effectively communicate towards the different stakeholders who take part in a festival: the audience, the filmmakers, the press, the sponsors… Explore more ways to come up with successful communication campaigns and increase your presence on social media with Film Fest Report.
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