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Agnes Varnum is a freelance writer, film programmer and communications manager for the Austin Film Society. She is the primary contributor to doc it out and Tribeca Film Institute's Resources.

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Tribeca Ticket Costs

April 3rd, 2007 • Related Posts • Tags

I’m not sure I yet have an opinion on the cost of tickets at Tribeca. Wouldn’t it be awesome if filmmakers actually made money, or at least the potential to earn, by having their film in a festival? I’m not sure if that will be the case for Tribeca selections this year, but if audiences will pay, then filmmakers certainly are in a position to demand screening fees and/or profit sharing. The Rabbi writes a great argument about why the decision is crap.

More on this topic, DIY Filmmaker Sujewa’s answer to his frustration with the festival money situation (IE no money for films screening in festivals who are charging admission), the Kensington Real Independent Film Festival.

Other thoughts?

There Are 4 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Mark Rabinowitz on 3 April 2007:

    Thanks for the shout out, doll! While I love the idea of filmmakers making a bit of scratch should the model change, I wouldn’t look to Tribeca to be in the forefront of that movement!

  2. Comment by Danielle on 3 April 2007:

    I’m not sure, but I think SFFS (SFIFF) does give some money to the filmmakers. I know that, for the films we’re distributing of theirs through our site, we are paying the Society a fee to pass on to filmmakers. I don’t know if Tribeca is doing that…. I bet not.

  3. Comment by Brian Newman on 4 April 2007:

    I’m somewhat surprised at the uproar over Tribeca, actually. I wouldn’t have raised the prices myself, but I would point out that most people who attend Sundance purchase a pass, and the usual pass costs $750, or $37.5 a ticket (i don’t count the free pepsi and parties no one attends as add-ons).
    Also, the only festivals that could afford to pay filmmakers are the ones who never will - Sundance, Toronto, Telluride, etc. - because they don’t need to.
    I think it would be more interesting for filmmakers to see festivals as their theatrical release, and treat it like one - no one makes money from a theatrical release anymore, it’s advertising for the DVD. So, treat the festival as an even better situation - free screening, free support, good audiences, press, and the potential to build a fan base. Perhaps its better to use the festival not to find money or a distributor, but an audience.

  4. Comment by Mitchell Teplitsky on 7 April 2007:

    Brian is exactly right - filmmaker must use screenings to sell DVDs or capture contact info to add to mailing list for future sales. It’s all about building direct relationship to audiences. That’s where the money comes from. That’s how I do it. It works. Very few filmmakers get this yet. But they will.