The show must go on: we help you move your festival online

Lately, COVID-19 has given a lot of festivals a hard time, but one thing is and always was sure: the show must go on. That is why we are very pleased and proud to present our newest features. Read on to explore these features and learn how they will help you move your festival online. 

While your festival plans are being revised, other developments in your organization will grab the opportunity to speed up. For example, we are sure your festival has already thought about an online program but maybe haven’t had the opportunity to work it out yet. Due to the coronavirus crisis, it is inescapable to transform your film festival into a virtual or a hybrid event. 

So, now is the time to take the big step, but how do you do that: moving your festival online? Earlier this year, we discussed how your film festival can remain valuable with an online program. First, you have to remain a meeting place; second, you have to provide a secure platform for your audience to watch your online screenings. That is what we have focused on by building our newest features – together with three major Dutch film festivals (IFFR, IDFA, and NFF), and the German documentary festival DOK Leipzig. The Netherlands Film Festival (NFF) and DOK Leipzig will be the first festivals to put our new functionalities into practice.

1. Online screening program

Let your visitors enjoy your festival program from home, with scheduled online screenings and video-on-demand. You can set up virtual public meeting rooms, so they can meet up with like-minded people.

Scheduled online screenings

Enjoying your festival screenings from the couch at home. It is now possible with scheduled online screenings in set timeframes. By integrating Fiona and your ticketing provider, they can now purchase tickets on your website not only for regular shows but for online shows as well. If desired, you can add mandatory alternative screening content to films, like trailers, or add pre-recorded events such as talk shows, masterclasses, and Q&As.

Videos-on-demand (VOD)

With video-on-demand shows, you can stay connected with your audience all year round. You can offer selected films that people can watch from anywhere, within a certain timeframe. In Fiona, you can grant access by integrating your ticketing system with Fiona, and from the end of 2020, you will be able to set the availability of films per region.

Public meeting rooms

What is a film festival without a place to discuss the film you just watched? Being a meeting place before, during, and after a screening is one of the most characteristic facets of a film festival – that is the reason why we think it is key for your online festival. By adding virtual public meeting rooms to your online shows, you can meet the need of your visitors.

2. Online market meetings

When your professional guests are not able to visit your festival, or you want to move your festival entirely online, you can set up online appointments. In Fiona, you can schedule both online and on-site meetings with the automatic meeting scheduler. As a participant of an online appointment, you just go to your MyFestival account to start your virtual meeting. All online appointments for your professional guests are securely and stably hosted by Fiona.

NFF turns their 40th edition into a hybrid version

One of our partners, the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF), will be the first festival using our corona proof features. They have announced that this year, during their 40th edition, the festival will partly go online. Their NFF Conference for international film professionals will be completely online – you can register for the program and watch the daily sessions live, or watch them later.

From September 25th to October 3rd, anyone will be able to watch their films online (via their website: filmfestival.nl) as well as in cinemas in Utrecht. Moreover, they have decided to go big for their anniversary: their film premieres will be shown in almost 100 cinemas throughout the Netherlands.

Let's get in touch

So, we fully support our Fiona users and other film festivals and we hope that with the release of our newest features we can make sure that your show can go on. We shortly recap our online festival features:

  • Online screening program
  • Video-on-demand
  • Public meeting rooms
  • Online market meetings

Do you want to know more about how Fiona can help you? Let’s get in touch!

About The Author

Peter Goldman
How do you remain valuable as a (partly) online film festival?Our top 3 picks for the 2020 Netherlands Film Festival

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