Review by Seanie Sugrue, Director of Misty Button
From being selected to attending the festival, what was the communication with the festival like? (min 50 words): Fantastic! However, I learned the hard way that it’s important to keep an eye on your spam mail. I received a phone call one day from the festival director Sibyl, asking if we were still interested in the Soho IFF. She had already emailed me twice and I’d missed both emails because they went straight to my spam. From that day on the communication was great.
Where did the films screen? In a cinema, conference suite, city centre, out of town etc – please add information on the quality of the presentation. (min 50 words): Village East Cinemas in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is one of the nicest independent movie theaters in New York City. It’s a 390 seater from the 1920’s with the only 70mm projector in NYC. Being from New York we packed the place which created an incredible theater. There are also 150/200 seat theaters downstairs that they also used.
How was the festivals marketing? Did they look to promote films individually, did you see a programme or free guide? (min 50 words):There’s was a free programme and the festival also had a strong social media presence for the month leading up to the festival and during. They had all the filmmakers make a short promo video which also helped a lot.
How well was the festival attended? By filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences. (min 50 words): We had over 300 people at our screening, but if you didn’t know people in New York you wouldn’t get that turnout from the festival alone. You do have to push it a lot yourself too, which I suppose is normal. For an out of towner, the smaller theatres downstairs might be a better fit and they do programme films accordingly.
How was the hospitality from the festival? Did they pay for any travel or accommodation, was there filmmaker events and parties, were you made to feel welcome by the organisers? (min 50 words): The hospitality was great and they have a lot of volunteers to help things run smoothly. They don’t pay for any travel but this was just year ten and the festival is getting bigger and bigger, so maybe down the road, they will. There was an exclusive bar down the street where all the filmmakers went with discounts for the festival.
Was there an awards presentation? If so where was this held, what were the physical awards like, was there any other prize (cash or other)? (min 50 words): There was an event gala to close out the festival with physical trophies. It was held at an event space in Chelsea. If you want to see what the award looks like check out the Misty Button Instagram page, we have it posted all over it. No cash prizes but winning here will give you a lot of ammunition to pitch to distributors.
What was the programming like? Was it a diverse line-up? (min 50 words): I flew in from LA to catch the screen and had to head straight back, but it seemed to be a very diverse lineup. There was also an award for best international film. They seemed to program a lot of dramas, but our dark comedy was received well.
Any other information you would like to add: In my opinion, unless you have an A-lister, a chance of winning an Oscar and a multi-million dollar film, the odds of getting into Tribeca or a top five festival are stacked against you. For rising film-makers, I highly suggest submitting to Soho and not throwing your money at Tribeca yet.
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