>Catching up with an article by ST VanAirsdale in today’s New York Times entitled “Passion for Film Spurs New Festivals, but Grueling Work Keeps Them Going,” we find ourselves staring off at the wall and nodding in mute agreement. Running a film festival is haaaard. (Though, we must admit, not nearly as hard as the mind numbingly week-upon-week “temp” data entry gig we once endured.)
An interesting overview of how the festival circuit has come to replace traditional distribution for many independent filmmakers, the article also touches upon the reward that – for us, anyway – helps propel us forward, the pleasure of connecting a work with its perfect audience.
For low-budget filmmakers New York festivals allow them to get their passion projects in front of committed moviegoers, all at an average cost of $40 per submission. Genre directors once banished to larger fests’ midnight-movie ghettos have flourishing outlets like the NYC Horror Film Festival or the sexually themed CineKink. Foreign-language works reach viewers at Polish, Cuban, Korean, Brazilian and other specialized series.
Coming up on our fifth go-round in February – slogging away, working so diligently these many years – we’ve often claimed that we “eat their mid-night movies for breakfast.” It’s delightful to have the old grey lady finally take notice.