Quality and premiere status, key to big festivals
According to Toronto International Film Festival Senior Programmer Jane Schoettle, both quality and premiere status are the main factors that determine a film’s entry into the big festivals.
“The key thing is quality, and – not a lot of people say it, but it’s very true – premiere status,” Schoettle told Encore.
Schoettle believes the world of festivals can be mysterious, confusing and intimidating to emerging filmmakers, so it is important for her to demystify the process and make them understand how it works and how important it is to build a strategy around international festivals.
“Even before they start shooting they need to think about the kind of film that they have, and identify the festivals that would be best for it. Sometimes the biggest festivals are not the best place to launch a particular film; for example, there are many festivals that are better to launch a genre film,” she explained.
A note in response to the article about Jane Schoettle.
I am an Indie producer with another feature film coming off the production line by (say) June if all goes well. Rather than blow my chances by sending an unfinished screener, would some kind person respond if a sales brochure would suffice for now. I want to ascertain if there’s any interest – something to work towards maybe
The work is entitled “The Rival”.
Cheers,
John Meagher