Inside Film Festivals: What are Festival Programmers Thinking?

What does it take for your documentary feature or short to be accepted into a film festival? Take a peek into the sometimes mysterious process of how films get selected so that you can navigate your festival strategy strengthened with vital knowledge. Led by veteran documentary film festival programmer Andrea Passafiume (AFI DOCS, Tribeca Film Festival, DOC NYC), this workshop will cover a broad range of topics ranging from the submission process all the way through to how to maximize your film festival experience if your documentary gets accepted. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in topical discussions.

While Docs In Progress programs are intended primarily for documentary filmmakers, much of what is being discussed will be relevant for fiction filmmakers as well.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Andrea Passafiume is the former Head Programmer for AFI DOCS, the American Film Institute’s prestigious documentary film festival held annually in the Washington DC area.  She currently serves as a documentary programming consultant for both the Tribeca Film Festival and DOC NYC, two of the biggest film festivals for documentaries. She is also the Programs Manager at Docs in Progress and a regular contributing writer for Turner Classic Movies and FilmStruck. In 2015 she researched and co-wrote the tribute book for the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award presented to Steve Martin in Hollywood.

Prior to joining the Washington DC film community in 2010, Andrea worked in the Programming Department of AFI FEST in Los Angeles where she coordinated screening events for the monthly Cinema’s Legacy series at the Skirball Center (guests included Oliver Stone, Forest Whitaker, Jon Favreau, Robert Towne, and Dennis Hopper), monthly Directors Series screenings at the ArcLight Hollywood (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) as well as AFI’s weekly 100 Years…100 Movies series, and co-organized and hosted AFI Fest’s landmark 24-Hour Movie Marathon & Fundraiser in 2006.

She has taught a variety of film history classes at the college level, and spent eight years at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta where she served as the Media Services Supervisor for Turner Classic Movies. She earned her M.A. and B.F.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.