0:00

[Music]

0:03

hi Jim here and you're listening to the

0:04

honest filmmaker podcast career advice

0:07

from people in the business so the can

0:10

film festival is almost upon us I

0:12

absolutely love can and this is going to

0:15

be my guide to the camp Film Festival

0:17

I'm going to give you some tips for

0:18

attending the festival tell you how the

0:19

layout works also give you some advice

0:22

on getting into those all important

0:23

parties and networking events and

0:25

generally give you as much info as I can

0:28

to enable you to get the most out of the

0:30

Festival so hopefully by now you've

0:32

already got your accreditation it's a

0:34

very simple process on the can film

0:36

festival website uh this accreditation

0:38

will get you into certain areas within

0:40

the market and within screenings so you

0:43

really do need to register in advance

0:45

for this there are other packages you

0:47

can do if you miss the registration you

0:48

can pay for accreditation but obviously

0:51

if you've got the filmmaker credits on

0:53

IMDb you can apply for accreditation and

0:56

get your badge that will get you into

0:58

the non-public areas first of all things

1:01

you really need to do before you get to

1:03

the film festival so the first thing is

1:05

to really think about what it is you

1:06

want to get out of can why are you going

1:09

do you have a film have you got

1:10

something you're trying to sell have you

1:12

got a pitch you put together to try and

1:14

put in front of people race and finance

1:17

are you just looking to network with

1:18

other filmmakers are you looking for

1:20

cast really maybe list out some of those

1:24

goals that you want to achieve while

1:25

you're in can because what will then

1:27

happen is you'll then be able to direct

1:28

the rest of your energy into making

1:30

those things happen can's a great place

1:32

to meet people but you really should be

1:34

getting those meetings set up before you

1:36

get to can now the way the festival

1:38

works is a lot of the business for can

1:40

is done during that first week that's

1:42

when a lot of the film sales are made

1:44

and a lot of the Distributors and sales

1:46

agents will almost disappear when you

1:49

get to that second week so if I was

1:51

going I'd definitely go for the first

1:53

week of can unless you want to enjoy the

1:54

whole festival and sort of get more

1:56

involved in the screenings and events if

2:00

you want to do the business section you

2:01

want to be there for the first part um

2:04

make sure you set up meetings before you

2:06

go so contact people you think are going

2:08

to be interested in your project so

2:10

let's pretend I'm going to can with a

2:12

feature film that I'm trying to get

2:13

distribution for or find a sales agent

2:15

I'd want to set up those meetings well

2:17

in advance of getting to can because I

2:19

don't want to be doorstepping people

2:21

when I get there because they're going

2:22

to be busy they're going to have other

2:24

meetings on as well it's worth doing

2:26

your research before you go so really

2:28

looking at all of the different sales

2:30

and distribution companies that are

2:31

attending can the sort of projects they

2:33

have because you want to make sure if

2:35

you are approaching them for a meeting

2:37

that they would potentially take your

2:38

project it's the type of thing that they

2:40

distribute or sell so do your research

2:43

before you start contacting people so

2:45

whether you're looking for funding or if

2:48

you're just trying to get your film

2:49

distributed or you're looking for a

2:51

producer or cast what you need is that

2:53

pitch hack you need a very concise

2:57

exciting description of what your

2:59

project is it needs some artwork it

3:02

needs a vision for the project so an

3:04

explanation of how exciting it's going

3:06

to be why it's a great project all these

3:08

different pieces you put together if

3:10

you've got cast you want to list those

3:12

in there if you've got a director writer

3:14

attached get those things in this pitch

3:16

pack make it look beautiful make it very

3:18

short easy to read get it printed off

3:21

and have it in a folder that you can

3:22

show somebody and hand them in person to

3:25

talk through obviously also have an

3:27

electronic version that you can follow

3:29

up within email afterwards but having

3:31

something tangible they can look at and

3:34

easily understand what your project is

3:35

about will work wonders now you've got

3:37

your pitch pack what you need to do now

3:39

is rehearse your pitch you don't want to

3:42

be struggling through explaining your

3:44

project to somebody when they've made

3:47

time for you to have a meeting to chat

3:49

about it so I would sit yourself down

3:52

write out exactly what you want to say

3:54

and rehearse it and rehearse it and

3:56

rehearse that pitch until you know it

3:58

inside out and you can

4:00

explain it to somebody remember to

4:02

retain the passion for the project you

4:03

don't want to sound like a robot but you

4:05

really do need to know your story inside

4:07

out so you can explain it and also

4:10

explain it in the most concise and

4:11

effective and impactful way that you can

4:14

so rehearse practice on your friends

4:16

practice on your family get that pitch

4:18

going so have this pitch ready have your

4:20

short version your log line and then

4:23

have maybe a longer synopsis version

4:25

where you can get into sort of details

4:27

of the plot this needs to go hand in

4:29

hand with your pitch pack and make

4:31

perfect sense to the person you're

4:32

explaining it to practicing this pitch

4:34

to other people will help bring up those

4:37

questions that are people going to ask

4:38

you when you're in those meetings so get

4:40

them to ask questions get them to

4:42

interrogate the idea so that you've got

4:45

those questions ready and this is all

4:46

about not being sensitive with your

4:49

project not getting embarrassed when you

4:51

haven't got an answer because testing or

4:53

other people will enable you to figure

4:55

those details out and have those answers

4:58

when you need them obviously the other

4:59

materials you might want to take is

5:00

business cards I know people use

5:02

electronic business cards these days but

5:04

it's really good to get contact details

5:06

from people so you can follow up after

5:08

hand with an email you know that moment

5:09

when you do network with someone and you

5:11

ask them oh how's your Festival going

5:13

and they maybe tell you a little bit

5:14

about some of the films they've seen or

5:15

what they're there doing is a good way

5:17

to remind them of who you are because it

5:19

might be the thing you talked about so

5:20

oh hey we chatted about X film that was

5:23

on um great to connect and then maybe

5:26

that will lead on to some other

5:28

development so if you don't know the way

5:30

that can's laid out is you've got the

5:32

film festival which takes place in the

5:35

screening rooms within the pet you've

5:37

got the film Market which is in the pet

5:40

which is a lot of little booths uh for

5:42

all of the sales agents and Distributors

5:44

which have all the posters for the films

5:46

that they're selling to international

5:47

buyers you also have the main hotels

5:50

along the quette which also have sales

5:52

and Distributors hosted in them so with

5:54

your P you can get into those hotels and

5:57

go up and you know walk along the

5:59

corridor and go into those rooms and

6:01

chat to those sales and distribution

6:02

people you have to remember though that

6:05

they are there to sell films um or to

6:08

pick up films so as a filmmaker you're

6:10

probably quite low on the priority list

6:12

so cold calling people might not be your

6:15

best option uh at least sending an email

6:17

asking if there's a time slot where you

6:19

could potentially have a chat with

6:21

somebody from that company is always

6:23

worth doing in advance because you'll

6:24

get a sense of how busy they are and

6:26

whether they've got time to sit down

6:28

with you you don't want to be a new

6:30

um you can drop off a screener or send

6:33

them a link but chances are they're not

6:35

going to watch it during the festival CU

6:37

they're going to be too busy so even if

6:38

you just pop in to say hello and

6:40

introduce yourself at the appropriate

6:41

time it's definitely worth getting that

6:43

FaceTime with them networking so this

6:46

can go hand inand with partying which I

6:48

will come to in a moment but the

6:50

networking aspect is really important

6:52

you've got your pitch deck you've got

6:54

your uh awesome

6:57

rehearsed explanation of what your

6:59

project about but you do need to deploy

7:02

that strategically so don't just blur

7:04

that out to everybody you meet you know

7:07

you want to keep it casual when you go

7:08

to these networking events be interested

7:11

in the other person try and be helpful

7:13

to the other person and also you might

7:15

make friends you might make colleagues

7:17

that you're going to work with uh in the

7:19

future so it's really worth you know

7:21

ease off on the sales pitch and just

7:24

enjoy those networking events and enjoy

7:26

meeting new people and helping new

7:28

people so those all important parties

7:31

now there's lots of different types of

7:32

parties that you'll experience at can

7:35

some are a lot harder to get into so for

7:38

example if there's a film that's got a

7:40

Premiere that's going to be a tough one

7:42

to get into unless you have a

7:44

relationship uh an existing working

7:47

relationship with somebody who works on

7:48

that movie and is able to swing tickets

7:50

for you um but again that's a bit of a

7:53

tricky one because it's hard to network

7:55

at an event like that because they're

7:57

there really to celebrate that film not

7:59

hear your pitch uh and you talk about

8:02

yourself so difficult to get into Movie

8:06

parties now along the quette you've got

8:08

the international Pavilions for each

8:11

country now a lot of these Pavilions

8:13

will have a happy hour so they have it

8:15

say 5 to 7 every night they'll have a

8:18

happy hour where it's free drinks and

8:20

it's a good opportunity to network it's

8:22

worth going into those um Pavilions at

8:25

the beginning of the week and just

8:27

asking do you guys have a happy hour

8:28

have you got any work at events I'd love

8:30

to meet people from your country but do

8:33

consider whether you actually do want to

8:35

meet people from that country um it

8:38

might be that you are putting a project

8:40

together and you haven't considered

8:42

shooting it in Germany or shooting it in

8:44

France so when you have that

8:47

conversation you don't want to just be

8:48

cold calling going where's the happy

8:49

hour I want the free booze you want to

8:51

go there with a purpose and think okay

8:53

well I can connect with German

8:55

filmmakers I connect with locations I

8:57

can connect with crew these might be

9:00

perfect opportunities to meet people

9:02

from those countries so do find out

9:04

about those events because if you

9:05

haven't got a party to go to in the

9:07

evening that's a really good place uh

9:10

especially if you're new to can that's a

9:12

good place to meet people because it's

9:13

quite a friendly environment um and you

9:15

can meet filmmakers from all over the

9:17

world now some of the countries have

9:19

bigger parties they have receptions that

9:21

are hosted at some of the big hotels

9:23

along the croset these ones you will

9:25

need to try and contact people in

9:27

advance of can and when I said earlier

9:30

about wanting to work with people in

9:32

those countries you really need to think

9:34

about do I want to work with somebody

9:36

from this country or am I just trying to

9:38

get into their

9:39

party things change every year but some

9:42

parties tend to skew younger some

9:44

parties tend to skew older you'll figure

9:47

this stuff out as you go but what I'd do

9:49

is I'd write a very polite email to the

9:51

person who's in charge of the admin for

9:53

that party you'll be able to find them

9:55

online probably on Sando but what you

9:57

want to make sure is you're polite

9:58

you're not pushy you're just asking to

10:01

come along to this event and you need a

10:03

reason either to network or to meet

10:05

filmmakers from that country but really

10:08

be polite and be kind to that person

10:10

you're connecting with because more than

10:12

likely they're either a student on

10:14

experience or an intern or some

10:17

administrator within that territory or

10:21

within that

10:22

company so you want to befriend them

10:25

chat to them and hopefully they'll take

10:28

pity on you and inv invite you to that

10:29

party or they'll see maybe that you've

10:31

got some value to come to that party now

10:34

this is a tough one especially us Brits

10:36

have a habit we get to can we find out

10:38

how much a beer costs have a mini heart

10:41

attack and then when we get into a party

10:44

and the alcohol is free we just go into

10:46

guzzle mode because we think you know if

10:48

I pay for this in a bar it's going to

10:50

cost me about 12 quid I may as well neck

10:53

as many as I can when I'm here everybody

10:55

does it but it's really worth slowing

10:57

down on that and appreciating that

10:59

you're at that networking event for a

11:02

reason focus on your goals and what you

11:05

want to get out of

11:06

it don't go ballistic on the alcohol as

11:09

tempting as it might seem you can always

11:11

go for a drink with your friends after

11:13

the party at a local bar when you're at

11:15

those events really think about what you

11:17

want to get out of them try and keep

11:19

professional be polite and just see if

11:22

you can make your way around that party

11:25

also something you really need to get

11:26

used to is rejection so you are going to

11:29

be embarrassed you are going to end up

11:31

having interactions with people that

11:32

make you feel awkward and you're going

11:34

to get rejected so do prepare for that

11:36

try and stay resilient because it's all

11:38

part of the process not everyone you

11:40

meet is going to be interested in your

11:41

project or even suitable for your

11:43

project so just get used to it try and

11:46

accept it as part of the process and

11:48

part of the experience it's also

11:49

important to figure out where you are as

11:51

a filmmaker in the PE in order of can

11:54

this is how I break it down at the

11:56

bottom you've got actors now these are

11:58

actors who' not had a screen credit or

12:00

if they've had a screen credit it's an

12:02

IMDb one but they're not a listers b

12:04

listers c listers they're just working

12:07

actors slightly above those you've got

12:09

filmmakers now I say slightly above

12:12

those you've got filmmakers because

12:14

filmmakers maybe you've got more reason

12:16

to be at the festival and chat to sales

12:18

agents and Distributors because you'll

12:19

have a project that you're presenting or

12:21

you're trying to get funded above those

12:23

you got sales and distribution so

12:25

there's lots of different sales and

12:26

Distributors out there the bigger ones

12:28

are obviously hosting parties for some

12:30

of the films that are premiering Pan the

12:32

smaller ones will maybe have a booth or

12:34

they'll just be wandering the uh pet

12:36

having meetings with people above that

12:39

you've got the Press now the Press get a

12:41

lot better access to screenings and

12:44

events because they're going to report

12:46

on it and they're going to generate

12:48

publicity which is ultimately what the

12:49

filmmakers want for those movies and

12:52

above those you've got filmmakers with

12:55

maybe a little bit more heat on them

12:56

maybe they have got a film in

12:58

competition or they've competition

12:59

before they'll get invited to more

13:02

screenings premieres and events and then

13:05

at the very top of the pile you've got

13:06

your aist Bist cist actors people who

13:09

are appearing in films that are on a can

13:11

or people who are a household name

13:14

people who are recognizable and that

13:15

other people might want in their movie

13:17

or at least to come to their party so

13:19

they can generate some publicity another

13:22

really valuable thing I get I've can is

13:24

researching films that are out there at

13:26

the moment so what you'll see is you'll

13:28

see these big Temple art housee movies

13:31

that are screening in the main screens

13:34

that are in competition uh and then

13:36

you'll see within the pal a lot of genre

13:38

movies maybe uh you'll see new trends

13:40

emerging you'll see new artwork you'll

13:43

really get to sort of see what's

13:44

happening and the sorts of films that

13:46

are coming out soon and lastly the other

13:49

thing that KS is really good for is

13:51

inspiration you know you're in this

13:54

amazing industry you get to meet other

13:56

people who are so serious about their

13:59

career that they're actually at the

14:01

festival they've come all that way from

14:03

all over the world to be there and to

14:05

enjoy the films don't forget to watch

14:06

films while you're there because it's

14:08

really inspiring and for me it usually

14:11

acts as a really good creative kick into

14:14

the next year you've been you've seen

14:16

all the films you've seen the industry

14:17

you've met people and it gets you really

14:19

excited about film making make sure you

14:22

spend some time reflecting on what you

14:24

got out of the experience so that if you

14:26

decide to go again next year you can be

14:28

even better prepared I hope that was

14:30

useful please do make sure you subscribe

14:33

for more hints and tips on film making

14:35

or to listen to conversations I have

14:37

with people working in the industry and

14:39

their tips to help you improve your

14:41

career

14:42

[Music]