The Film Festival Doctor (Yes, she’s a real doctor!) Dr. Rebekah Louisa Smith, shares with you today the secrets behind how to network and ‘work the room’ during an on-line film festival. A lot of filmmakers are unsure regarding how they network with others during an on-line film festival, since they are not physically present. The truth is you can build solid professional relationships with your colleagues either on-line or in person, and here’s how –
- Build up the courage to confidently talk about yourself and your film
It can be a bit daunting at first to speak to a group of strangers in a virtual conference room (or Zoom or Skype for example) however once you come prepared and know how to discuss your film to others and tell people a little more about yourself, all of those fears will go out the window. A good way to feel more confident in yourself before the networking event is due to begin, is to practice how you would present yourself to other people. One way to achieve this is to give a short summary of your film synopsis followed by a short story explaining how you became a filmmaker and made your current film. Keeping it short is crucial – going around the houses and delving into too much detail will not keep people hooked as they will lose interest – say what you plan to say with ease and be yourself. Its not an academic speech it’s sharing your story and your film with others who are interested to learn more about you.
- Set Your Goals
Know what you want to get out of the networking event – ask yourself the following – what do I want to achieve from this networking event? Think long and hard about what you want – is it to meet a certain type of film industry professional (composer, producer etc?), do you want to learn more about a certain individual who you are keen to connect with? do you want to learn from others regarding how they present themselves during a networking event? Never enter these types of events anxiously trying to find someone to connect with and want something from them (work for example). Go in there with an open mind and see who you meet during the (virtual) event.
- Ask The People Who You Want To Connect With For Their Details
Never leave the ball in their court! Always ask those who you want to stay in touch with for their e-mail or social media profiles and make the first move to follow up. Start the conversation with something along the lines of wonderful to connect and emphasise what you liked most about what they had to say and then suggest scheduling a follow up Zoom or Skype call together.
The above 3 points can be applied for in-person networking events too. The same 3 golden rules always apply. Personally, I’m loving the on-line networking events that I’ve been a part of as I have met some great people who have become solid business connections and also new clients.
If you are currently experiencing problems getting your film accepted into film festivals and navigating the festival circuit, I can fix those problems for you. Feel free to reach out to me and discuss how we can help you further and as a bonus, download our free guide ‘The 4 Main Reasons Why Your Film Is Not Getting Accepted Into Film Festivals And How To Fix it’ –https://www.thefilmfestivaldoctor.com/e-book/
Coming Next Week: I interview the award winning up and coming actress Janel Tanner; the star of our awesome short film INTERVENTION and discuss with her the exiting journey that she’s currently experiencing. 😊
