What do you think?
Rate this book
Behind the Screens: Programmers Reveal How Film Festivals Really Work
Have you ever wondered...What's the deal with film festival programmers? What do they really think about your film? How do they make their decisions? And how can you improve your own film's odds of being picked? Why your film gets picked depends on a complex set of reasons, And it comes down to a single film festivals, and programmers, aren't necessarily what you think! Jon Gann, founder of the DC Shorts Film Festival, questions his peers about their selection process, reactions to filmmaker behavior, industry concerns, and ultimately, how they create a festival experience that enriches both filmmakers and the audience. Insights by programmers from some of the world?s leading • Ashland Independent Film Festival • Byron Bay International Film Festival • CineSlam/Pride of the Ocean • DC Shorts Film Festival • LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival • Napa Valley Film Festival • New York Film Festival • Prescott Film Festival • Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival • Scottsdale Film Festival • Seattle International Film Festival • SILVERDOCS • Sonoma International Film Festival • Sundance Film Festival • Tallgrass Film Festival • Washington Jewish Film Festival
232 pages, Paperback
First published July 24, 2012
11 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Jon Gann
2 books1 followerJon Gann is a film producer and director, creating award-winning commercial, documentary and narrative films since 2000. His most recent award-winning productions include the feature documentary "Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection", exploring the singer's career and struggle with an eating disorder through her friends and never-heard recordings, and the short documentary, "Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color," detailing the incredible life of the DC-based Black Woman abstractionist painter.
Jon has been a force in the film festival world, having created, consulted with and fostered dozens of events around the globe. He is the Founder of DC Shorts, a non-profit organization championing short filmmaking, and the creator of the DC Shorts Film Festival, one of the country’s premier short film showcases. Jon is also a founding Board Member and former Executive Director of the Film Festival Alliance, the first organization to professionalize the festival space.
Jon has received the Television and Internet Video Association’s (TIVA) Community Partner Award, has been recognized by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as an Artists’ Fellow. He has presented at over 120 universities, film organizations and film festivals worldwide, and has spoken at the International Film Festival Summit, Art House Convergence, and TEDxWDC. Jon has recently finished 10-years as the senior Advisory Board member at George Mason University’s School of Film & Video Studies.
Jon has been a force in the film festival world, having created, consulted with and fostered dozens of events around the globe. He is the Founder of DC Shorts, a non-profit organization championing short filmmaking, and the creator of the DC Shorts Film Festival, one of the country’s premier short film showcases. Jon is also a founding Board Member and former Executive Director of the Film Festival Alliance, the first organization to professionalize the festival space.
Jon has received the Television and Internet Video Association’s (TIVA) Community Partner Award, has been recognized by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as an Artists’ Fellow. He has presented at over 120 universities, film organizations and film festivals worldwide, and has spoken at the International Film Festival Summit, Art House Convergence, and TEDxWDC. Jon has recently finished 10-years as the senior Advisory Board member at George Mason University’s School of Film & Video Studies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 21, 2012
I read this in a couple of sittings and found it to be really useful and illuminating. I'm a film/TV professional who concentrates more on the beginning of the production process - originating, developing and pitching ideas - rather than distribution so it's not a world I know very much about. However, I have been a regular attendee and volunteer at various film festivals, including Cannes, Sheffield and Sundance London, and I harbour a secret ambition to become a programmer (I even have my own fantasy film festival planned out on paper, including the name, the strands and the films I'd like to show).
This book features a series of interviews with film festival programmers from around the world (but with an empahsis on North American festivals) and gives a great insight into a) how the festival submission process works b)how programmers thing and c)how filmmakers can enhance, or screw up, their chances of getting their films accepted.
It's full of practical advice, but you have to be willing to listen and act upon it, which many filmmakers aren't.
If I had a criticism it would be that the questions for each interview were repeated for each interviewee, which makes for consistency, but I would have liked a little flexibility as there were occasions when the interviewee said something interesting/cryptic that wasn't followed up.
Overall though, its a useful read.
This book features a series of interviews with film festival programmers from around the world (but with an empahsis on North American festivals) and gives a great insight into a) how the festival submission process works b)how programmers thing and c)how filmmakers can enhance, or screw up, their chances of getting their films accepted.
It's full of practical advice, but you have to be willing to listen and act upon it, which many filmmakers aren't.
If I had a criticism it would be that the questions for each interview were repeated for each interviewee, which makes for consistency, but I would have liked a little flexibility as there were occasions when the interviewee said something interesting/cryptic that wasn't followed up.
Overall though, its a useful read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review