Regional Film Fests killing it (versus being killed) during the year of COVID: Calgary International Film Festival

I am a film festival guy and have been for fifteen years now. However, I haven’t been to all of them. Because, seriously, that would be nearly impossible, right? And I also am routinely finding out about new ones every single day. And there are some fests that I have heard about, I have heard good things about, which has made me curious about someday going to check them out – such is the reputation that has been passed along to me one way or the other. The Calgary International Film Festival is one of those fests.

Recently, CIFF’s Marketing Director Rebecca Zahn reached out to me asking to participate in this series of interviews I’ve been doing on Films Gone Wild about the successes out there in the regional film festival world during The Year of Covid. And there is a very good reason for her eagerness to get the word out there on their behalf. In October they wrapped up their hybrid festival with an estimated 30,000+ attendees. So, it made a lot of sense to have them weigh in on everything with another on-the-ground perspective that flies in the face of what some journalists and film veterans that seemingly never leave the Hollywood and Highland area in L.A. or the Upper West Side in New York City who seem to view the regional landscape as something out of Mad Max, but with DCPs and sad Zoom talks instead of frightening Road Warrior machines.

So, let’s hear from CIFF’s Artistic Director Brian Owens, who had recently made his way to CIFF after building a nice reputation for himself at the Nashville Film Festival. Once again, let’s look at what has worked since March as these regional film festivals made a pivot to virtual and hybrid presentations including drive-in screenings and some in-theater. Bonus with this one, of course, is we get some insight into the differences navigating the film festival challenges around the pandemic issues in Canada, as opposed to the States.   

FGW: Why, does it seem to you (if that is the case) as though many regional fests fared much better than the larger, market-based fests?

Brian Owens: I think regional festivals have a much stronger degree of flexibility and nimbleness compared to the larger festivals. Audiences come for the movies – it’s way less about the celebrities and parties.

With CIFF, our fan-base is geographically connected. This meant audiences and regional media really understood how the pandemic affected the local economy and how bylaws would impact in-person events. There’s a strong feeling of community and connection which brought out a desire to support in any way they could.

Where people travel from all over the world to attend TIFF or SXSW, regional festivals tend to have a more personal relationship with their city and surrounding areas. It creates a different kind of connection and one we’re incredibly grateful for.

FGW: Programming-wise, what did you discover doing this year’s edition of your fest that you had not anticipated (if anything)? What was communication like with the filmmakers? What adjustments did you make in that regard?

Brian Owens: For most films, we moved from a flat-fee model to a box office share for folks that agreed to go online with us. It was a bit awkward at the start since most filmmakers – just like us – weren’t experienced with the hybrid model. But most were willing to give it a try and join this new reality with us.

With a successful year behind us, we’re more prepared for the future in that regard. Negotiations have changed, piracy concerns have grown and have been addressed, and the value of film festivals for distributors and filmmakers has entered brand new territory.

FGW: Presentation-wise, how were the growing pains for the virtual shift? What were the biggest challenges and also the pleasant surprises? 

Brian Owens: It took a lot more work to get everything prepped for online presentation than we were prepared for. The tech team had many sleepless nights.

It seems obvious now, but we really didn’t expect that the virtual side of things would function like a second festival, in addition to the in-person events. That said, it was worth the work as we found that we had a lot more uptake than we expected.

FGW: And what about doing drive-in screenings? 

Brian Owens: It may sound like a cliché statement, but in Calgary you never know when winter is going to hit. Last year’s Closing Gala in late September took place in the middle of a blizzard, so we ruled out drive-in screenings.

FGW: What are your thoughts following doing the fest this year as you look ahead to 2021’s edition?

Brian Owens: The switch to a hybrid model feels less like a band-aid on a weird year and more like the beginning of an exciting transformation for the industry.

In 2021, we hope to see higher attendance in the cinemas – as long as it’s safe to do so – but the opportunities for online viewing and engagement are only just emerging. Without a doubt, it will be a part of future festivals.  A lot can happen between now and Fall 2021, but I can see it looking similar to what we offered in 2020.

FGW: Audience-wise, what did you personally see as the participation, enthusiasm, the actual numbers?

Brian Owens: The swing to ticket bundles, away from single tickets, was pretty incredible. That formed the vast majority of our box office revenue this year. We lowered the cost and set the overall price of tickets to be the same whether you were in the cinema or viewing at home. It made the bundles even more flexible and adaptable in case further in-cinema restrictions were rolled out. More people saw multiple films, and new audiences dove right in without being concerned over a cancellation or postponement.

Despite lower Box Office revenue, we saw an increase in small donations from the audience. We also launched our first-ever annual membership program, Friends with Benefits, which added a whole new level of engagement for the audience, who get a ton of perks and discounts for the year.

As far as the overall attendance, we’re still finalizing things, but we predict that with multiple viewers at home, we had around 35,000 take part. We’re really pleased!

FGW: Staff-wise, what did you do this year to make it all work? 

Brian Owens: It was very difficult, but there were some layoffs and many of our seasonal contracts were not renewed. With lower capacities in venues and the inability to fly in filmmakers from other countries, for example, we didn’t need support in those areas.

For the permanent staff team and the small number of seasonal hires, everyone worked super hard. Like I said before, this year’s hybrid model was like running two concurrent festivals. The tech, venue, programming, box office support, and marketing workload went way up!

Our team also transitioned to a work-from-home environment really well. We’re a much stronger team after this year and have made incredible improvements in our ability to communicate and collaborate. It’s another bit of silver lining in the pandemic, for sure.

FGW: How will that affect next year?

Brian Owens: We definitely learned that there were areas where we shouldn’t have cut back quite so much – like with venue staff – but we also learned where smaller teams or cross-departmental teams were more efficient.

I’ve got to give a shout out to our frontline volunteer team as well – they took on a lot this year and did an absolutely amazing job.

FGW: Sponsorship-wise, and financially in an overall sense, what worked to even make having your film festival possible and keep the organization going not just for 2020’s edition, but also looking ahead to 2021?

Brian Owens: In Canada, we’re very lucky to have a granting system supported by all levels of government – local, provincial, and federal. Thankfully, we didn’t see a reduction in our usual funding, and we received a number of extra grants that were designed for COVID-related relief, such as the cost of PPE, wage subsidization, or our transition to virtual delivery. A big theme we’re seeing now is resiliency. The goal is to ensure that individual artists and organizations like ours will survive the entire pandemic, not just pay this year’s bills. It’s important for us too; we worked hard to not just maintain, but to grow our strategic savings fund and ensure the financial health of the organization for years to come.

Our title sponsor ATB, a regional bank here in Alberta, had already signed on their support before the pandemic. With the uncertainty of hosting in-person events and no prior benchmarks to the success of a virtual festival, they were way more involved in planning conversations than in previous years. It was a lot of work, but it was completely worth it. We have an even stronger relationship with them than ever before and a refined sense of what sponsors are looking for in this new COVID-world. Additionally, the virtual expansion opened up our audience to a wider market province-wide. It was another unexpected win for them!

FGW: Finally, this question will be a little different since you hadn’t been an FFA member until just recently. However, since none of us operate in a vacuum, and Film Festival Alliance had been having weekly Zoom meetings addressing each of these things with member fests, comparing notes, etc…

Beyond the obvious, how did comparing notes with other regional fests and the people that run them help CIFF? Do you have a sense that the leadership role that FFA takes operates as something of a secret weapon for film festivals to avoid pitfalls and jump ahead of the alternative “trial and error” that other fests go through?

Brian Owens: Chatting with other festivals served several purposes. Talking to folks who had been through a recent virtual or hybrid festival helped us adjust expectations. One of the biggest tips we got was to increase our capacities as it related to customer support. We listened and brought in a website chat feature and a virtual phone line so our box office team could work from home.

Talking with other organizations who were planning similarly timed events made us feel like we weren’t alone, that we weren’t entirely out of our minds, and that we wouldn’t just survive – we could thrive!

We just joined FFA and are very much looking forward to working through their resources, connecting with the American festivals, and seeing other Canadian festivals join in. We do better when we work together. This year was proof of that.