Anyone attend or hear anything about the International Film Festival of Wales? I have a film playing there and am considering going, but it's a far ways to travel so I'm curious to hear more about its reputation and any experience that filmmakers have had attending the festival.
Distribution : International Film Festival of Wales by Jay Stern
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I went there a few times, in Aberystwyth and Cardiff.
Here's the thing about film festivals. You get people like Anthony Hopkins there, sometimes, answering questions for the audience. More likely, you'll get to meet writers and directors.
But, if you're all concerned with "reputation" than it's probably not for you. It's a great place to just watch your film with an audience, and be that guy who answers questions, connecting with your audience. Film festivals are not about filmmakers, they exist for fans!
Thanks guys! Vasco - I've been to several film festivals, some requiring a lot of travel, that have had empty audiences and haphazard programming. And I've been to some that have been a bit like scams, requiring you to pay a lot of money to attend panels and award ceremonies, etc. The worst thing is to travel to a film festival, to find that there is no one in the audience and no industry or fellow filmmakers to connect with. But from what you're saying, this festival appears to to be well-attended, so that's great.
Jay, I can't guarantee it'll be well attended, or that it's the one I attended. I did a quick search, and it appears that two other festivals took the original's name (now that the original no longer exists.)
Is it in Newport, Swansea, Cardiff?
Generally, competitive film festivals are not worth it. Only those aimed at audiences are.
Ah, OK, you're responding about festivals in general, not this specific one. And yes, it's in Cardiff.
Jay, I thought it was the same one I went to, but when I looked it up, I found that there were two others, and neither claimed to be as old as the one I attended.
Also, a little warning on attendance. Even the best film festivals have lower attendance for short films. If you want better attendance for your film, it might be an idea to advertise it a little. create postcards, make sure the poster is outside, and so on.
There's a book called "The Complete Filmmaker's Guide To Film Festivals" that gives more ideas.