Five Tips for Approaching Festival Press

"For much longer than I care to think about I’ve been hitting the road and traveling the friendly skies far and wide, covering film festivals both nationally and internationally. And yet it never ceases to amaze me how often paid publicists and filmmaker-publicists shoot themselves in the proverbial foot when it comes to obtaining coverage for their indie endeavors. So with Sundance nearly upon us, I thought it might be helpful (and in my case, cathartic) to go over a few dos – and two definite don’ts – when it comes to working the PR machine.

DO everything in your power to make it as simple as possible for me to view your film. Send press releases with screening times in bold, offer both screeners and Vimeo links – and then do nothing more. If I go gaga for your movie, rest assured you’ll be hearing from me. (And if I don’t, checking in to see whether I’m going to write about it certainly isn’t going to persuade me to write about it.) To update the old saying, “Don’t email us, we can Google and email you.”

DO send a link to an online screener with any screening invitations. I had a few publicists try this recently – and it’s a really smart move. If I can’t make one of your screenings (a high probability at the bigger fests, where I’m lucky to catch 10% of the selections) I can still be swayed to watch – even if the movie didn’t make my shortlist – if it’s at the ready in my inbox at the end of a chaotic day. We journos are usually tired and wired come midnight. Use that to your advantage."

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