Festivals as Acquisitions Showcases

Mike Goodridge asks an interesting question: (Lost in movies Opinion/Comment Screen: "Mike Goodridge The Venice-Toronto marathon offers such challenges for buyers and press, plenty of films can get lost in the shuffle. So why don’t producers experiment with other festivals?")

My answer: Everyone knows budgets for travel are limited and so filmmakers want to be accepted where the largest number of acquisition execs will be and then it "appears" that other festivals must be 2nd choice. But IF a fest, like Miami or San Sebastian, or Guadalajara or all three, can stand out as the place to find the best Ibero American product, then the specialty distribs will attend those too. It's important to know what those fests are doing to help filmmakers' digital exhibition platforms as well now.