Film Festival Alliance

❤️🖤We love a matching moment and can’t get enough of the LightReel Film Festival and their dedication to sporting our gear!

Interested in ordering bulk tees in your fest’s colors like they did?? Shoot us a message and we will give you the next steps to coordinate! ❤️🖤

“When filmmakers are barred access to attending their own screenings and Q&As, they are gatekept from being able to build the grassroots following many filmmakers need to sustain their careers and prove to industry folks that their films are worth engaging with.” - Cassidy Dimon

Read this breakdown of the latest Accessibility Impact Report and remember, we are still actively collecting data for our next report. You can complete the survey about your experience at a film event or festival here: https://bit.ly/FEAScorecard

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gusalexiou/2024/06/30/how-inaccessible-film-festivals-silence-disabled-voices-in-cinema--new-research/

How Inaccessible Film Festivals Silence Disabled Voices In Cinema – New Research A recently published report on inaccessibility at leading film festivals shows that filmmakers with disabilities are being excluded at the grassroots of the industry.

MANY more photos and shout-outs to come, but we want to thank everyone who joined us in Chicago this past week for IND/EX 2024. We hope you're all leaving the conference energized about the future of film exhibition. ✨

Last night at IND/EX the 2024 Trailer Wars Champions were crowned! Congratulations to artist Steve Wood and the Ann Arbor Film Festival on their victory! Check out the 15 lb (🤯) gold-plated championship belt they'll be taking back to Michigan courtesy of our sponsor Filmbot!

We are having a SPECTACULAR time with everyone at the Independent Film Exhibition Conference (and have the photos to prove it!)

Check out scenes from yesterday shot by our conference photographer Zach Caddy.

Highlights include amazing sessions at the Chicago Cultural Center, a fabulous lunch sponsored by Science on Screen, Happy Hour at the Music Box Theatre with Eventive, and of course, an incredible screening of LUST, CAUTION with the one and only Ang Lee.

⚡️Shout out to our day sponsor Eventive!

If you’re attending IND/EX today don’t miss their happy hour later this afternoon at the Music Box Theatre 🍻

"The Independent Exhibition Conference, or IND/EX, launches today and it’s at capacity with 700 attendees from art houses, indie theater chains, indie distributors, indie vendors and regional film festivals."

We're so honored to be welcoming more than 700 (🤯) exhibitors in Chicago this week! Shout out to our partners Chicago Cultural Center, Gene Siskel Film Center, Music Box Theatre, Agile Ticketing Solutions, and more!

Read all about it here:

First Indie Exhibition Conference In Years Rolls Into Chicago, And It’s Packed The Independent Exhibition Conference, or IND/EX, launches today at a pivotal moment for the theatrical business, especially art houses.

We're proud to release the Film Accessibility Scorecard Impact Report, a comprehensive review on the state of accessibility at worldwide film festivals and events. The report reveals audiences ratings of the level of accessibility at film festivals and events worldwide. Read the full report to understand how film festivals are meeting (or missing) their audiences’ access points. Presented by Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities (FWD-Doc), Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW), and Film Festival Alliance.

Review the full report here: https://www.fwd-doc.org/accessibility-scorecard-impact-report-2023

IND/EX is officially at capacity and registration is closed!

Stay tuned for more opportunities from Art House Convergence and Film Festival Alliance later this year.

Film Festival Alliance is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts(NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $65,000.

This grant will support FFA's ongoing programming and resources for independent film exhibitors, including the 2024 Independent Film Exhibition Conference, hosted this June in Chicago. In total, the NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

Film Festival Alliance to receive $65,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Film Festival Alliance is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $65,000. 

"The Athena Film Festival is not just an event; it's a community. We thrive on the support and involvement of our loyal audience, local organizations, and the filmmakers we host. Each year, we strive to center our programming around the community and the challenges and celebrations it faces. In 2024, we hosted 'Engaging Youth Voices in Our Democracy ', a timely and important event in collaboration with our community partners at All in Together, Next Generation Politics & YVote. This event aimed to inform young people on how to engage with the upcoming election, demonstrating our commitment to fostering civic engagement and dialogue.

For anyone currently planning their 2024 festival, we strongly recommend this community-centric approach - after all, you are only as strong as your community!" - Kristin Molloy, Festival & Programs Manager of the FFA member festival Athena Film Festival, offering advice to organizers after the latest iteration of their festival.

Dive into the conference guide & grid on our site and start planning your IND/EX experience!

⚡️Mix and match your days between conversations and workshops tackling the most important issues in our industry to date — from new ways to create community in your cinema to strategies for retaining institutional knowledge within your org, this conference program includes sessions for every team member at every level.

Passes remain on sale at the discounted rate of $500 for FFA members | $600 for non-members. Make sure your organizations’ voice is a part of these critical conversations and reserve your pass now: https://bit.ly/IndiexSessions

The Slamdance Film Festival is moving to Los Angeles with its next edition Founded by filmmakers who had been rejected by Sundance, Slamdance is stepping out of Park City's shadow, relocating to Los Angeles and picking February dates.

The team behind IND/EX is pleased to reveal our first round of conference programming ahead of a full schedule launch later next week. You can review the full session descriptions here: https://bit.ly/INDIEXProgram

A beautiful night (and billboard😍) at the Milwaukee Film Festival 💖

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Sundance Film Festival Courting New Host City for 2027 and Beyond The Sundance Film Festival announced it will court a new potential host city in the U.S., potentially leaving its longtime home in Utah.

Looking for an easy, breezy and ✨fashionable✨ way to support Film Festival Alliance and Art House Convergence? Look no further!

Now you can rock SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FILM FEST & SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CINEMA apparel year round, with proceeds from sales supporting the livelihood of both of your favorite organizations. Designed by Wolfe Works Design

On sale now here: bit.ly/ShopFFA

“This year’s festival was our largest yet for audience attendance. It’s so amazing to see people returning to the cinema! All of our events went over capacity and we sold out our 250 seat theater.

In addition to audience turnout, over 73% of selected filmmakers were in attendance, thus creating a palpable buzzy vibe that permeated across all three days of our mixers, panels, Q&As and awards dinner.

The 2024 MSFF showcased 102 short films, with 75 being Oregon premieres, including 4 Oscar shortlisted films.”

- Heather Older, Executive Director at member festival McMinnville Short Film Festival which took place in McMinnville, OR.

ONE WEEK. THREE INCREDIBLE FILMMAKING EVENTS. Come celebrate Chicago’s amazing film and television community and make Chicago YOUR filmmaking destination. Get your tickets now for Filmscape 2024 and IND/EX 2024, and sign up for Sundance Institute X Chicago updates. See you in June!!

Film Festival Alliance

Art House Convergence

Choose Chicago

Sundance Film Festival

Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

We're thrilled to be a part of the amazing line-up of industry events in Chicago this June.

Shout out to the Chicago Cultural Center, which will host our panels & events during the Independent Film Exhibition Conference ahead of Sundance x Chicago!

New Sundance Institute X Chicago Event Sets Summer Dates New event Sundance Institute x Chicago has set the date for its first run in the Windy City this summer.

✨We need your amazing ideas! ✨

Our conference team has been sifting through many creative proposals and programming suggestions but we still need more!

Let us know what's on your mind and what you think we can't-miss at this year's conference and submit your proposal for a panel or workshop idea at IND/EX 2024 here: bit.ly/IndiexRFP

Early bird pricing for the Independent Film Exhibition Conference ends ✨for real ✨ at the end of the day tomorrow.

Don't miss the chance to gather in downtown Chicago with industry peers and celebrate the magic of art house cinema and film exhibition at IND/EX 2024.

After tomorrow at 11:59 PM PST the prices rise to $500 for members, and $600 for non-members. Take advantage of the earliest bird rate and reserve your spot here: https://bit.ly/IndieFilmEx

🤔 How did you approach creating an engaging and immersive atmosphere for attendees?

"Like many other film fests, we added special programming to attract people who got used to screening films online during the pandemic.

For this year, we had some exciting events, such as the Dinner and a Movie on Saturday evening, which was an event where we presented films and offered a 3-course dinner to accompany them.

We also had a VR lounge with an incredible family-friendly film called SLOTH 360 (dir. James Beissel). Audiences were able to travel to Costa Rica and interact with sloths and scientists working to protect them. We also had a Late-Night movie session, which screened two narrative films, which were not a common choice for our festival, and well-attended."

- Lívia Campos de Menezes, Festival Director of FFA Member Wild & Scenic Film Festival reflecting on their latest festival, which took place in Nevada City and Grass Valley, CA February 15-19 (in-person) and February 15-25 (virtual).