The ups and downs of making a film festival explained.
By Cathy Neiman/Staff Writer
Through the years, the Malibu Film Festival definitely has had its up and downs; in 1999, the event took place in tents alongside Pacific Coast Highway, a burst of spring rains almost destroyed several films and screens. The awards ceremony at Taverna Tony was so crowded that ticket holders were turned away at the door, not to mention the overflow of cars with nowhere to park. In 2001, the festival was shortened to three days from the original seven, due to lack of finances and, in 2000, there was no festival at all. Since then, the Malibu Film Festival has grown up. The event now takes place at the warm New Malibu Theater for seven days. Last year, the festival had a record turnout, bringing in $5,500 in ticket sales the first weekend, which was more than what the first two festivals earned combined.
Presently, there is a film festival in almost every city, large or small. Cannes and Sundance are not the only game in town anymore; there is Seattle, Santa Barbara, Toronto and Palm Springs as well. Film festivals are important in celebrating the art of cinema, generating revenue and providing culture in a city, and allowing unknown or first-time filmmakers an arena to show their work to the public and industry people. Yet, putting together a successful film festival is not an easy job. It takes an extreme amount of work filled with endless tasks-it takes money, a slew of volunteers and the sheer love of film. Being that the majority of film festival organizations are nonprofit, most don’t get into it for the money. It is definitely a labor of love.
The Malibu Film Festival got its start in 1997, and debuted in 1999. Founder David Katz attended a City Council meeting and stated the City of Malibu needed a film festival, and, he was the person to do it. At first, the city wanted Katz to prove himself, that he was capable of the job before they would back the festival. After much persistence and many meetings with the city, the Malibu Film Festival came into existence. And, in 2001, the festival’second year, the City of Malibu backed the event financially.
The next step in getting the festival off the ground was to find volunteers, people like himself, who appreciated film and would work tirelessly-for free. Katz found volunteers through Malibu Women in Film, of which Candace Bowen is president. Five people who helped organize the debut festival in 1999.
Then, there was the filing and managing of a nonprofit corporation, finding a venue, obtaining legal representation, getting insurance, and filing for city permits and licenses. And that is only part of putting together a film festival. Probably, the most difficult quest in running and maintaining a film festival is money.
Soliciting sponsorship from major corporations and local residents is a major endeavor. Katz sent out more than 1,000 letters to various corporations, companies and people, looking for sponsorship. He received back more than 200 letters saying, “Thank you, but no thanks.” Yet, Katz remained optimistic, and persisted. Malibu philanthropist Lilly Lawrence approached the Malibu Film Foundation (the name of the nonprofit Katz founded to bring in funds) before its debut and offered help. She helped the festival in its embryonic stage, financially and emotionally by hosting the opening night galas, and becoming a founding sponsor. Lawrence put together a lavish opening night gala in her Kasdan Castle that has become legend in Malibu. Katz also got sponsorship from Malibu resident John Paul DeJoria, one of the owners of Paul Mitchell Inc., who stepped up immediately when Katz asked for help.
“DeJoria saw a future in the festival,” Katz said.
Through much letter writing and cold-calling, Katz also received sponsorship from many other local and major corporations such as Charter Communications, the City of Malibu, The Malibu Times, Adelphia, Fiji Water, Patron Tequila and Wallace Theaters, to name a few.
“It roughly takes about $150,000 a year to run the festival, and that is just to break even,” Katz said.
Each year The Malibu Film Foundation has to start all over again, from scratch, and solicit sponsorship. Putting on a film festival is an every day job. “Due to the economy, sponsorship is the most challenging responsibility to producing the Malibu Film Festival,” Katz said. “The festival needs significant financial contributions for our nonprofit organization to continue.”
The smaller festivals, like Malibu and the Santa Monica Film Festival (SM/F2), which also debuted in 1999, take more work to maintain than the well-established festivals like Santa Barbara and Palm Springs.
“Smaller festivals have the tendency to fizzle out if not maintained,” said SM/F2founder and executive director Michael Cain. “SM/F2 costs about $100,000 a year to maintain.”
Cain is also the founder of the Deep Ellum Film Festival (DE/F2), a 12-day event of film, art and music that takes place in Dallas’s Deep Ellum district every October.
“DE/F2 (Dallas), which has been around for four years, costs about $300,000 a year to put on,” Cain said.
SM/F2 brings in approximately 10,000-20,000 people, roughly the same as Malibu, showing approximately 65 films (40 shorts, 10 features and documentaries and 14 special screenings) over a four-day period and about 130 screenings. Malibu shows 20 short films, 30 feature-length documentaries and dramatic films, in about 200 screenings over the seven days. What differs a bit between these two festivals is that Malibu showcases independent film, including foreign, whereas SM/F2 showcases American independent films only. A similarity is both Katz and Cain saw an opportunity-a city filled with actors, writers, producers and directors that desperately needed a film festival.
Among the bigger film festivals, the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), founded by former mayor late Sonny Bono in 1990, had a record turnout this year, which ran from January 9-20-“A definite A-list event,” according to Variety magazine, “with more than 75,000 attendees and the screening of more than 200 films.”
The PSIFF is known for “World Cinema,” which means it shows every foreign film, including Academy Award entries. PSIFF, which Malibu patterns itself after, also showcases international independent cinema.
Mitch Levine, the new executive director of the PSIFF, spoke about how extremely difficult it is to put on this huge festival of more than 75,000 attendees.
“Any event with limited funding is extremely difficult,” Levine said. “We have very few full-time staff and we need over 500 volunteers to put on the festival.” (Malibu needs around 25 volunteers.)
Yet, when asked what is the hardest endeavor about putting on a film festival, it all comes down to the same thing-money.
“In the spectrum of nonprofit and charitable events, we are not high on people’s lists,” Levine said. “Compared to housing, people’s needs and physical structures, raising money for a film festival is not easy. What is important to get across is the worthwhile need for the festival, how it will help the community.”
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), now in its 18th year, took place Feb. 28 through March 9 before an audience of more than 40,000, screening 150 films. A little closer to Los Angeles than Palm Springs, Santa Barbara also has Hollywood historic ties, known as Hollywood’s back-lot and the American Riviera. Public relations person of the event, Maureen “Mo” McFadden, gave a publicist’s twist on how a film festival is put together.
“It doesn’t matter if its Cannes, Santa Barbara or Malibu,” McFadden said, “film festivals run on their own pace-killer. You start early everyday, and end late.”
Built from a three-day to a 10-day festival, it took SBIFF about 10 years to really establish itself.
SBIFF Executive Director John Fitzgerald, who came on board this year, has a great deal of experience with film festivals. Known for being the founder of the alternative Slamdance Festival in Park City, Utah, he has high hopes for SBIFF.
“You need to set yourself apart from the rest,” Fitzgerald said. “That is why I brought “Surf Sessions” this year to SBIFF. “Santa Barbara has a big surfing and student community and 2003 was the 25th anniversary for surf classics like “Big Wednesday” and Endless Summer.” Surf Sessions was well received and I think will continue to be.”
Fitzgerald’s answer to the most difficult aspect in putting together a film festival differed from the rest: “You need to get the best films. You have to hire excellent programmers who have good taste and know a city’s demographic. Of course, sponsorship is always key. It costs roughly $800,000 to put on SBIFF.”
And each year, the Malibu Film Festival continues to grow, and Katz hopes, that perhaps, in time, it will become a world-class event.
The Malibu Film Festival will take place this year from Sept. 26-Oct. 2 at The New Malibu Theater. More information on contributions can be obtained by calling 310.317.9111 or e-mailing info@malibufilmfestival.org. The Web site for the Malibu film festival is www.malibufimfestival.com.