For many filmmakers, acceptance to a top festival is perceived as a golden ticket to recognition and the elusive distribution deal. Although an invitation to premiere at a well-known festival is certainly a great accomplishment, it is also only the beginning of the most critical phase in a harrowing gauntlet. Entrance into the festival is not a victory by itself, but rather an opportunity to compete with dozens (possibly hundreds) of other films for the attention of the festivalgoers, media and distribution agents.

Anyone familiar with the atmosphere of a top film festival knows the maelstrom of hype that swirls around the events. The crush of television cameras and newspaper reporters hunt about desperately trying to follow "the buzz" of what's hot. However, it's not the media alone--the entire entertainment industry itself is on parade. Internationally known movie studios, festival sponsors, distributors and dot-coms are all trying to outdo each other in a desperate fight to capture a share of the eyeballs.

Given the intense competition, how does an independent filmmaker make himself heard? This is the striking question I took with me to the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festival in Park City. Although not entirely scientific, I did carefully study the guerilla marketing techniques of the low budget productions and noted not only their methods but also the effectiveness of their from-the-hip marketing campaigns.

Design and Materials
Consistency is key. Whatever marketing materials you develop should have consistent themes, colors and designs. Spend a great deal of time developing your design and no time in deviating from it once it is set. Clean designs are so important, be sure to use white space effectively to draw attention away from the sense-deadening clutter. Glossy color reproductions are a must. Black and White photocopied materials are a waste of paper and time, considering the competition.

Handbills
Another must-do, handbills (postcards) are the name of the game. A few volunteers in the street pressing them into the hands of passersby is a tried and true method to pursue. Very few festivalgoers will refuse the handbill, which guarantees (at the very least) a cursory glance. That cursory glance is all the opportunity you're going to get so attract interest so provoke a response, challenge the viewer, spark curiosity! However you decide to do it, make your design strong and make it simple. Get them to turn that card over and read the when and where. Contact information should be included, as well as the now omnipresent URL. Resist the urge to billboard the director or producer's name unless it is the selling point of the film.

Stickers
Although a tempting and inexpensive method for marketing your film, this is a risky method that is best avoided. Handbills won't come back to haunt you, but the stickers will. All it takes is a few malicious pranksters to plaster your stickers in the wrong place (festival bus, police car, etc.) and you could be on the receiving end of a vandalism charge, or at least the clean-up fees. With the atmosphere as hectic as it is, you don't need this extra hassle, stress or the negative backlash.

Posters
Postering was perhaps the most obvious method, and the most common element of any of the marketing campaigns. Standard US paper size (8.5 x 11) was common, presumably because of exponential expense of printing anything larger.

Although distribution of these posters at Park City centered around Main Street, a high foot traffic area, it was surprising to note that there were few posted around the other theatres scattered around the town. Do not buy into the herd mentality. Targeting other festival locations for distribution of posters would be more effective, because you will reach your target audience (film attendees) and you will not be competing with the vast array of other offerings. That is not to say that you should avoid the well-used poster boards. If there are posters, your film should be there as well. Just remember you can be more effective by focusing your efforts elsewhere.

The saturation distribution technique (putting up many copies of the same poster in the same location), usually highly effective, is useless in this situation and could actually be detrimental. The problem here is that in order to cover an entire designated poster board, one must cover up a wide variety of other posters. Normally, this would not be cause for concern because outside of the festival environment, most of the posters on a particular board are outdated anyway. However, because of the high level of activity, the overwhelming majority (if not all) of the posters have been put up within the last few days or even hours. Covering up the posters of other films, sponsors and distributors put you at a high risk of a negative backlash against your film. Needless to say, this is something to be avoided at all costs.

T-shirts and Hats
These promotional items are a bit more expensive, but well worth the price. Keep in mind that hats may be more popular than T-shirts, depending on the climate and time of year. Although there is more space on a T-shirt for your promotion, hats are closer to eye-level. There are two aspects to this method that make it advantageous

The first item to consider is how to get strangers to promote your film for you. If you offer them something of value that they can use (read: not a handbill, sticker or poster), they will be glad to have it. Imagine you are at Park City, Utah in the middle of winter and someone offers you a warm hat. Only the hard-bitten, most cynical would refuse to wear it. In doing so, they have become an active participant in your marketing drive.

The most important aspect is the profound psychological effect of seeing someone wearing clothing that promotes a film. A poster is a piece of paper. That T-shirt or hat is part of a living, breathing human being that is representing your film. It is an endorsement and a suggestion. It suggests that this particular film has a fan base and a group of supporters behind it, that the film has been seen and liked. Of course, to have only one person wearing that shirt or hat is not effective. Twelve people wearing the same promotional item, especially at the same place and time, is exponentially effective. Imagine seeing twelve people anywhere all wearing the same item of clothing. Your film, your cause, your organization---whatever it is, it will receive attention.

Marketing Teams
This point brings us straight into the effectiveness of dispatching small groups of people into the street to give away promotional items. This can be extraordinarily effective, especially if your teams are all wearing promotional clothing that ties into the giveaways. Food and/or candy are welcome items for most people. Hot drinks at a winter festival are very inexpensive and would easily win the goodwill of festival goers.

This may seem ridiculous, but several of the marketing teams this author encountered at the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals could readily answer the question "Where and when is this film playing?" That is the only thing that they should be sure of. It should be indelibly imprinted in their mind and repeated mantra-like to everyone they encounter as they press a handbill into that person's hand. Of course, these marketing teams were all volunteers but their presence there is wasted if they can't at least convey the time and place of the film's showing.

Create a Scene
Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. Get as many volunteers as you can find in a high traffic area and give people something to talk about. What kind of scene can you create? An excellent example is the scene staged by the filmmakers of A Galaxy Far, Far Away, a documentary screening at Slamdance 2000 on Star Wars fanatics.

The filmmakers and some of the subjects of the documentary dressed up as characters from the Star Wars films and gathered in the street shortly before the screening of their film. One of the subjects of the documentary, a professional Boba Fett impersonator carried a portable CD player which was blasting songs from the film's sound track. The group of costumed people began dancing to the music, making noise, having a good time and inviting people to come to the film.

This type of promotion is the most difficult to pull off but if done correctly, can become an oft-repeated story that will make your film stand out from the crowd. The only cost is your pride, but your ego is sure to be more than compensated by a standing room only screening.

The first time attending a festival is always intimidating. If you plan on bringing a film to a particular festival, attend the festival the year before. As one producer put it "I've only been here one day and my head hasn't stopped spinning". Although it may seem overwhelming, a little familiarity goes along ways towards giving you the confidence you need to drive your own wedge into the attention pie.

The most important thing to remember is that you can make the biggest splash by not following the crowd. As with all marketing, originality and creativity are the keys to success. Just don't believe the hype. You'll soon realize that the fast paced, high-pressure festival environment is mostly comprised of superficial pretension and fluff that feeds on itself. The people in this industry tend to fall all over themselves in their haste to imitate, so doing things differently will yield the results you're striving for.