A little Short Marketing Strategy session at SJIWFF

Last Wednesday at the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, the day started early with a Film Forum with feature film producers and distributors on the most successful strategies for marketing your features.  It was a packed room, of course.  And because the WFF team is so smart, they recognized the difference between creating a marketing strategy for features and creating one for short films.  I’ve been looking and talking about a session like this for at least a year so when the call came a couple of weeks earlier, asking me to moderate for the shorts session, I said yes.  I knew I’d be there anyway and it was the perfect opportunity to get the answers I was seeking.  I figured, if I need them, maybe other filmmakers do too.   So 90 minutes after some great advice on features, our panel began.  We had Fred Joubaud from OUAT Media, Linda O from Movies that Matter (she created and runs the Oscar Shorts program) and local star Stephen Dunn, fresh off his CBC Short Film Face-off win.  How could they have assembled a better panel?  And that packed room?  Most people refreshed their coffees and pumpkin muffins and settled back in for this session while a few newbies slipped in the room.

 Photo: Malin Enstrom (SJIWFF) L-R: Ruth, Fred, Linda, Stephen.

The main message from the session was to “monetize your film.  Don’t think it can’t be done, it can.”  All panelists provided a solid list of successes for doing so and pointed out the pitfalls that many filmmakers fall into (my hand is up) offering our work for free to profitable businesses like online film festivals, YouTube and Vimeo once our “festival run” is over rather than work to get even a few pay-per-views.  It made total sense and changed my way of looking at my post-festival plans.  They advised not signing off your broadcast rights too early (negotiate a shorter window or less plays), planning each premiere (so you don’t disqualify yourself from a festival where you really want to screen vs. an invite that cost you nothing-but when that call comes, be HONEST and it might still go your way.  “Never lie about your premieres” was a point everyone agreed on.   

Linda offered tips on the film festivals that would bring you to them (and you have to go, it is completely worth it), Stephen offered his “cheat sheet” of the best festivals, and Fred offered distribution advice that could mean up to $10,000 extra dollars in your budget.  You’d have a pretty happy cast and crew with that kind of return because, of course, working as they do for so little, you’d have to share that little goldmine.  But they’d come running back to you on the next project, wouldn’t they?  That’s a pretty good strategy too.   

I'll be back with more soon on the WIFT-AT presence at the Fest!