Today, we are going to talk to three master PR people – positions that most festivals outsource.  Marketing and PR is such a key element of any festival. And it entails much more than promotion of the event – a good PR firm will also manage the Red Carpet experience, press relations, press and blog reviews, and so much more.

JOHN WILDMAN with Wildworks PR is a multi-faceted presence in the entertainment world, known for his work as a film and film festival publicist, consultant, filmmaker, journalist, and critic. Currently, he is the publicist and consultant for independent films, and more than 20 national regional film festivals. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of FilmsGoneWild.com, has been a host on The Daily Buzz NPR broadcast reporting from Sundance, Toronto, and Cannes for the past eight years.

LISA TRIFONE founded Bright Iris Film Company, a publicity agency for independent films. She has worked in film festival management, programming and marketing at Heartland Film and Indy Film Fest; publicity management and logistics at Sundance Film Festival, and arthouse distribution strategy, marketing and national publicity for Film Movement and Music Box Films.

KENDRA RUBINFELD from KRPR, got a taste for PR and Marketing after starting the Our City Film Festival in 2008. Kendra has worked with countless arts and culture nonprofits including DC Environmental FF, the Library of Congress, Film Fest DC and projects with artists and activists the likes of Jesse Eisenberg, Philip Glass, Gloria Steinem, and many more.

For this episode, we explore key staff members who make a festival happen. Some of these staff members are year-round and shape the festival’s mission, while others come on for a shorter period of time, but whose contribution is immeasurable.

Our guests:

BETH BARRET, the Artistic Director for SIFF, the Seattle International FF. Beth has been with SIFF since 2003, and is responsible for managing the artistic vision of SIFF, including all aspects of programming for the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema’s 6 year-round screens, and the SIFF Education team.

PAUL SLOOP has been the lead programmer of short films for the Oscar qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival since 2003. He is also the Director of Programming at Film Pittsburgh and the Director of Programming at the Cordillera International Film Festival. 

BLAIR HUNT has amassed extensive experience in large-scale event management, producing events, securing talent, and serving in directorial capacities. Recently, she joined the Round Top Film Festival as the inaugural Festival Director. 

EILEEN LEVEL is the “Queen of Volunteers” having developed successful volunteer programs for many events, including AFI DOCS. She is a champion of the cinema-going experience, having launched PaleFO Cinema.

This month, Jon and Bart discuss a broad topic that, while important for festivals – is really critical for filmmakers. Tech. Not cameras and lights, but hope to best prep your film for festival play. Now that everything is digital, things have been challenging – file compression issues, wrong aspect ratio, inappropriate sound mixes. Hear from three tech pioneers for best practices and tips to ensure perfect screenings.

Our Guests:

In 2011, GARRETT SERGEANT started SimpleDCP, one of the first DCP creation sites for indie filmmakers. He is a motion picture editor based in the Los Angeles area with over a decade of professional post-production experience. His works have shown at Sundance, Cinequest, the Hamptons Film Festival, and many other festivals. SimpleDCP has grown to not only provide file conversion for filmmakers, but full tech services for festivals and theaters.

DEV SHAPIRO is the CEO and head of production at Selig Polyscope Co. He is also the technical brains behind Selig Film News, He is experienced in the areas of Digital Cinema, Projection, Film Festivals and Print Traffic with a demonstrated history of working in the motion picture industry. Often compared to Irving Thalberg he is a film historian and a Bollywood movie poster collector, and a lover of Yiddish cinema.

KELLEY BAKER, known internationally as “The Angry Filmmaker,” is an indie filmmaker who has written numerous books, toured the country multiple times speaking at universities and film events, and whose films have screened at dozens and dozens of festivals. Kelley is also an accomplished sound engineer, and has worked with many of Hollywood’s greats, including Todd Haynes and Gus van Sant.

We have all heard from filmmakers that festivals make a mint from submission fees, and that festival staff are wildly overpaid and wasting the millions of dollars they get from such fees. But the reality is very different — that most festivals barely net $10K from submission fees, and that ticket sales also cover only a fraction of theater rent, event expenses, and staff pay – if they get paid at all. We are doing a do a deep dive into festival finances — including fundraising, grants, sponsors and partners, and, of course, the often misunderstood submission fees.

Our Guests:

With a background in music, art promotion and event production, Jeff Ross started San Francisco IndieFest in 1998. In the past Jeff has worked for the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Santa Cruz Film Festival and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and has worked for Burning Man since 2006. In 2025 SF IndieFest will present the 27th SF Independent Film Festival, the 25th SF Documentary Festival, the 21st Another Hole in the Head genre festival, the 8th SF Shorts Fest and the 6th Green Film Festival of San Francisco.

Barbara Twist, the executive director of the Film Festival Alliance. Barbara is also a writer and producer of short films and features through Twist Films; she is an emeritus board member of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Cinema Lamont; former Managing Director of Art House Convergence, an organization for community-based, mission-driven cinemas. Film Film Festival Alliance focuses on community, education, and advocacy. In her time at FFA, Barbara has spearheaded a number of initiatives focused on the economic impact of festivals, including a study right now which looks at festival worker employment & compensation., the executive director of the Film Festival Alliance. Barbara is also a writer and producer of short films and features through Twist Films; she is an emeritus board member of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Cinema Lamont; former Managing Director of Art House Convergence, an organization for community-based, mission-driven cinemas. Film Film Festival Alliance focuses on community, education, and advocacy. In her time at FFA, Barbara has spearheaded a number of initiatives focused on the economic impact of festivals, including a study right now which looks at festival worker employment & compensation.

Jonah Zeiger, the former Deputy Commissioner at the Chicago Film Office, which serves Chicago’s film and television industry and community. Jonah is also a producer, director, educator, and programmer who has worked in various capacities in film, television, theatre, higher education, and with visual and performing arts organizations producing public programming. His experience between all of these platforms makes him uniquely qualified to discuss money across the arts and industries.

In this episode, hosts Jon Gann and Bart Weiss discuss the intricacies of film festivals, offering valuable advice for filmmakers. They explore the history and purpose of festivals, the challenges of organizing them, the importance of doing research before submitting films, and the necessity of building community and networking within the film festival circuit. Both hosts bring their wealth of experience to demystify the festival process and emphasize the critical aspects of festival submissions, programming, and participation for aspiring filmmakers.

It's finally here -- the long-awaited release of a new program from the Film Festival Alliance to create a set of best practices for festivals, including a searchable database for filmmakers to compare and contrast events, allowing them to create better festival strategies. Jon and Bart are joined by Bears Rebecca Fonte, the Artistic Director of aGLIFF/PRISM, and Gray Rodriguez, the Director of Communications for the Film Festival Alliance.

Almost 12 years in the making, this new set of standards will revolutionize festivals, and assign a badge of professionalism and credibility to worthy events.

This month, Jon & Bart discuss the history of film festivals, and where the industry is today, with Sky Sitney, the co-founder and festival director of DC/DOX, and the former festival director of AFI Docs (originally known as Silverdocs), and a professor at Georgetown University, and Mark Rabinowitz, co-founder of indieWIRE, producer, acquisitions executive, programmer, and a member of the Louisville Film Commission.

We also talk about the big move ahead for Sundance, and honestly answer questions from filmmakers about festivals and filmmaking.

Welcome to Frankly Festivals, a new podcast that explores the ecosystem of film events and filmmakers, in an attempt to demystify each others’ pressures and interests, in order to foster greater cooperation, understanding, and a stronger industry.

This month, Jon & Bart speak with Lela Meadow-Conner, creative producer of “Chasing Chasing Amy”, former Executive Director of Film Festival Alliance, the co-creator of the Tallgrass Film Festival, and creator of the mamafilm microcinema and multi-city film series, and Geoff Marslett, award winning filmmaker of “Mars,” “Monkey vs. Robot,” and “Quantum Cowboys,” and teacher at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Texas Austin.

Hosted by Jon Gann and Bart Weiss.