Thursday 23 June 2011

EIFF 2011

I've written elsewhere about the changes that Edinburgh International Film Festival itself has undergone this year, but there's also been another big change since Tom and I attended the festival together last year: Life Just Is has been shot!

Prior to Tom and Christine's trip to Cannes in May we had a batch of branded USB datasticks made up, which featured a QuickTime video of our promo, along with a document containing a synopsis, cast and crew bios, and other important info. We also had a set of postcards of the film's poster printed. Picking up from where Tom and Christ left off in Cannes, I took these with me to EIFF and handed them out to appropriate Sales Agents and distributors.

The festival was quiet this year, meaning that I didn't manage to give out as many as I would have liked, but it's still been a worthwhile trip, and the emails I sent out to distributors prior to the festival (asking for meetings) have also resulted in several companies expressing interest in seeing the film, which is amazing.

In addition to Sales Agents and distributors, I also met a number of other filmmakers who were interested to hear about the project and offer me some invaluable advice. So, despite being slightly less busy than last year, EIFF 20211 has been another great experience.

On a related note, my film reviews from the festival will be appearing on Directors Notes over the coming week.
- Alex

The LJI branded USB datastick