Over at The Workbook Project, Saskia Wilson-Brown continues her thoughtful consideration of the role of film festivals and how to improve it. She provides a good bullet list precisely about what festivals can do to better serve both filmmakers and their communities. Read it. Absorb it. Adopt it. Spread it.
Tag: Saskia Wilson-Brown
“Blood Simple” was the first film I bought a ticket for at a film festival. It was screening at the NYFF and I soon came to recognize that the films accepted to that fest were of a exceedingly high quality. The curatorial taste behind that festival choices was something I had confidence in. They gained my trust precisely because they have never tried to be all things for all people, and for that I have always been willing to pay a premium for. The NYFF was, and is, a trusted filter.
Too many festivals these days program too many films without revealing, or reveling in, their curatorial hands, diminishing the power of their brand in the process. If festivals are going to become the new curators, that will have to change. Festivals must emphasize their unique taste, if not overall, then within sidebars at the festival.
