Working the Room at the Short Film Corner

Five tips for filmmakers planning on attending Cannes' Short Film Corner.

1. Bring Flyers - display them each morning on the designated walls and counter space in the Short Film Corner. If you don't already have flyers made up, don't sweat it. Go to your local copy shop and run off some color copies, or even black-and-white copies. Last year, many filmmakers made up a batch of color laser copied business cards. Be creative and imaginative.

2. Reserve a screening room. Invite people to watch your film in the screening room. Remember buyers and festival directors should take priority over actors and other directors, unless you are just there to mingle with your peers. Many screening rooms have 9 seats (at least that was the setup last year). Believe it or not, it can be very difficult to fill these few seats. Start early. Hang up flyers, in advance, with the date and time of the screening within the SFC. If you book the theater days in advance, publicize days in advance as well as the day of the screening. Flyers alone are not enough. You must get out there and tell people about it. People cannot attend unless they are specifically invited, so let people know your screening is happening and invite them to come!

3. Screen shorts in viewing booths. Shorts can be screened in booths set up to accommodate one or two viewers. Often, there is no line for a booth, particularly earlier in the week and earlier in the day. If you meet a buyer, ask them if they would like to watch your film. There seemed to be a disconnect between buyers and filmmakers last year. Try to bridge that gap. A buyer might prefer to watch the film with you in a two person booth or by themselves in a one-person booth. Or, they might prefer a DVD.

4. Keep DVDs on-hand. Not all buyers or festival directors will be able to watch your short at a convenient time for you, hand them your DVD! Last year, some filmmakers laid out a few of their dvds on the designated counter tops in the SFC. At least one of those played at our fest last year.

5. Talk and mingle. The SFC offers a happy hour each evening for the last hour before closing. I believe it was from 5-6pm last year.