Five Reasons To Go To a Film Festival

A lot of people think that film festivals are for movie insiders and critics. While some festivals are elite and you have to have special credentials, most are open to the public.

I only found this out accidentally. While planning a ski trip to Park City, Utah, I found out the Sundance Film Festival was at the same time. Out of curiosity, I looked into how to get tickets. I was shocked when I discovered that I could buy tickets and I saw about four movies that year.

I got the bug for film festivals and when I got back to Milwaukee, I looked to see if there was a film festival here. Turns out that there is a great film festival in Milwaukee and I started volunteering for Milwaukee Film on the shorts committee to help choose what short films end up in the festival. 

So you might be wondering, why should I go to a film festival? Well, let me tell you.

1. You get to see different and unique movies that you won't see anywhere else. While not all of these movies may be good, it is exciting to see different artistic visions and not your typical Hollywood movies. Festival films usually have more unusual plots and different types of storytelling. You never know what to expect from a festival film. It is also one of the only places you will see short films and a wide variety of documentaries - two of my favorite types of movies to see at festivals (documentary shorts are very interesting and has become a must see for me at film festivals).

Part of the fun (and sometimes part of the frustration) is that you know nothing about the movies. You go through the program and pick movies based on their one-paragraph description. If you are lucky, there might be a trailer for some movies. But most of the movies have never been seen so you have no idea which ones are supposed to be good. You have to trust the selection committee to pick good ones.

I try to see a variety of movies. One from the midnight program (usually horror movies), a few documentaries, some shorts, foreign films and whatever else sounds good.  

2. You can feel like a movie insider. Like I said, the majority of people think that anyone who goes to a film festival are movie insiders, and lots of insiders are there. This is your chance to feel like one of them and watch movies alongside movie critics, producers and directors. You never know who will be sitting next to you. Maybe it's a writer for a newspaper or magazine. You might even meet someone who helped make the film or a relative of a filmmaker.

On my last trip to Sundance, I rode on a bus with the wife of one of the directors and with one of the prop people from a movie I had seen. While these people might not be famous, it is still exciting to meet them.  

3. You get to hear the filmmakers talk about their own movies. One of the things I did not know about festivals before I went was that some of the filmmakers do a Q&A after the viewing. This has turned into one of the most exciting things for me at film festivals. Not only directors, but stars and writers also participate in the Q&A. This is your chance to hear what the director had in mind and what their vision was. It also gives the audience a chance to ask questions about different aspects of the film.

Getting into the mind of directors and stars is fascinating. Last year at the Milwaukee Film Fest I got to hear Tony Shalhoub of Monk fame talk about his movie Feed the Fish. This year, I am excited to hear Rachel Harris (Stu's fiance in the Hangover) talk about her new movie Natural Selection. 

4. Bragging rights. The great thing about film festivals is that a lot of movies have their world premieres at one. You can say you were one of the first people to see the movie. And at the end of the year when critics are making their top 10 lists and people have never heard of some of the movies, you can claim you saw it. Or when a movies goes on to get some Oscar nominations, you would have already seen the movie instead of waiting for a special release.

The past couple of years at the Milwaukee Film Festival, Blue Valentine and Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire both went on to be nominated for Oscars. 

5. It's just plain fun. Nowhere else can you see five movies in a day and not feel like a freak. The most movies I have seen in one day at a festival is five, but I know some people have seen a lot more. I started my day with a movie at noon and ended with a movie that started at midnight. That was a full day of movies.  Dinner sometimes consists of some popcorn (good source of fiber) and peanut M&M's (good source of protein) along with lots of Diet Coke.

In between, you get to hang out with other movie lovers and talk about what movies you have seen and hear about what movies they have seen and which ones they think are good. As the festival goes on, you get to hear about which ones are getting lots of buzz and then you can add those to your schedule. It is just a whole lot of fun. 

Hope this helps convince you to check out a film festival. The Milwaukee Film Festival starts Sept. 22. For more information go to Milwaukee Film and check out  for ideas on what movies to see this year.