designing your film festival strategy with producer/ publicist, Kathleen McInnis

masterclass

Tues 28 Sept, 3.00pm-4.30pm (est)
location: online via Zoom
tickets: free of charge; early registration required
presented in partnership with the US Embassy, Port of Spain

As any independent filmmaker knows, endless time and effort are dedicated to the pre-production, production and post-production stages of any film project. However, a crucial stage of the process which is often overlooked is designing your film festival strategy.

In this masterclass, producer Kathleen McInnis will explain the importance of planning your festival strategy from the script development stages of a project. She will give participants insight into the international festival circuit and explain how filmmakers can strategically use festivals to achieve their goals, even in this pandemic landscape. Out of the projects selected to participate, two will be chosen as case studies. 

This is a free masterclass, open to both documentary and narrative filmmakers. Email us at admin@filmco.org to submit your work and book your place. Deadline for applications is Friday 4 September.

See Kathleen’s bio in the Ask the Veterans section.

*Eligibility: must be a practising filmmaker of either documentary or narrative films (note: this is not an introductory course). **Pre-requisite requirements: participants must submit a logline and synopsis or treatment for a current film project in development, production or post-production.

facilitator: Kathleen McInnis

McInnis uses her 30 years of experience in festival programming, film publicity and producing to help world cinema filmmakers merge their creative and business development. As a strategic publicist, Kathleen represents world cinema films premiering at TIFF, Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Hot Docs and Tribeca film festivals. As a creative producer, McInnis curates the SIFF New Works In Progress Forum, bringing together filmmakers, industry mentors and audiences at critical creative junctions. Her recent films as co-producer include “Retablo” (2019 BAFTA and Film Independent Spirit Award-nominee; Peru’s official Oscar submission), and the Swedish feature documentary-in-production, “Broadcast”. 

McInnis’s tenure at the Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market allowed for both discovery and support of the hundreds of international filmmakers attending the festival each year. She left the festival in 2014 as festival director. While creating the first international shorts programme at TIFF, McInnis built strategic platforms to bridge the gap between short film-makers and industry decision makers.

ask the veteran: producer/ publicist, Kathleen McInnis

Mon 27 Sept, 3.00pm-4.30pm (est)
location: online via Zoom
tickets: free of charge; early registration required
presented in partnership with the US Embassy, Port of Spain

In this open forum, audience members will be given the In recent years, film festivals have become the go-to exhibition stop for independent filmmakers, many of whom would struggle to find distribution and audiences otherwise. But, with so many film festivals all over the world, and with clear hierarchies in the festival circuit, choosing which ones you should send your film to, and in what order, needs to be considered as part of an overarching strategy that can guide your decision making as you seek to release your film. In this open forum, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions of veteran producer, Kathleen McInnis. This is intended to be an introductory, general overview, in which Kathleen will explain the importance of planning your festival strategy from the script development stages of a project.

Kathleen McInnis

McInnis uses her 30 years of experience in festival programming, film publicity and producing to help world cinema filmmakers merge their creative and business development. As a strategic publicist, Kathleen represents world cinema films premiering at TIFF, Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Hot Docs and Tribeca film festivals. As a creative producer, McInnis curates the SIFF New Works In Progress Forum, bringing together filmmakers, industry mentors and audiences at critical creative junctions. Her recent films as co-producer include “Retablo” (2019 BAFTA and Film Independent Spirit Award-nominee; Peru’s official Oscar submission), and the Swedish feature documentary-in-production, “Broadcast”. 

McInnis’s tenure at the Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market allowed for both discovery and support of the hundreds of international filmmakers attending the festival each year. She left the festival in 2014 as festival director. While creating the first international shorts programme at TIFF, McInnis built strategic platforms to bridge the gap between short film-makers and industry decision-makers.