Film festival programming
Large festivals have to deal with a lot of data when it comes to film festival programming. In Fiona, all this data is stored in one place, and we’ll help you create a good workflow so the whole process of submission, selection and production runs smoothly, and your entire team can work streamlined.
While you are selecting films and creating your ultimate program, Fiona detects conflicts. Our system helps you prevent errors in your festival schedule, it helps you save time and work more freely and efficiently. So, you will be in control the whole time.
“Finally we don’t need to spend a week in the office with Post-its calculating screening times. Making changes to the schedule is now incredibly easy.”
Online submission
In Fiona, you can easily retrieve data from filmmakers, volunteers, and guests through online submission forms. Collect data from new persons or update the data of existing contacts. Fiona helps you processing your new and updated information quickly and easily.
You are able to create online entry forms. Applicants can fill out all requested fields and enter their submission online. Next, all information will be automatically processed and saved in Fiona, so that each entry is immediately ready to be reviewed by your staff.
Do you have a MyFestival environment on your website? Or are you interested in pre-filled entry forms (on invitation)? Check out our My Festival integration module to work with personal accounts.
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Customized online entry form
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Invite filmmakers, guests and volunteers to submit their applications
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After submission, all entries are immediately available in Fiona for processing
Film research and selection
Now, with all entries in Fiona stored in a cloud-based online database, it is easier than ever to divide all entries among your reviewers. Within Fiona, your review team can view, leave remarks, and select (or reject) films. Fiona also offers the possibility to keep notes on film research. Moreover, you can real-time monitor the status of films. Thereby laying the ground work for the puzzle that is film festival programming.
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Select only the best films for your festival
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Process film entries easily
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Everything is stored in a cloud-based environment
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Divide films among your viewers
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Provide films with (internal) remarks
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Assign films to various sections and competitions
Drag & drop festival planner
When organizing a festival, and especially in the case of film festival programming, being able to visualize the schedule is a very relevant feature. Fiona offers such a visual planner. In fact, our easy drag and drop festival planner allows you to program screenings to the rhythm of your festival – without any errors, since Fiona warns you if there are any technical or organizational conflicts. You can also plan extra time, people and facilities if needed for each screening, e.g. for an introduction talk, trailers, Q&A’s.
With our drag and drop festival planner, you can also collaborate with different teams. A film planner, an event programmer and a production manager can work together in the same schedule.
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Simply drag and drop films, events, combined programs or production activities on the scheduler
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Schedule introductions, trailers and Q&A’s around screenings
Online screenings and video on demand
We help you move your festival online! In Fiona, you can set up online shows in the same easy way as your in-venue program. Letting your filmmakers submit screening materials for online use is also as easy, quick and safe as it always was. So, without any extra effort, you can offer your audience a (partly) virtual festival.
In Fiona, you can also manage your video on demand (VOD) platform, all year round. With geo-settings, you can handle the availability of films per region. By integrating your ticketing system with Fiona, you grant access to the VOD show. Provide your online shows with alternative content like recorded events such as talk shows, masterclasses, and Q&As.
Last but not least, it is also possible to connect online meeting rooms to an online show, so that – even though your festival might be (partly) virtual – you still remain a meeting place for your audience.
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Easily, quickly and safely uploading online screening materials
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Add alternative content, like a recorded talk or a slide show, to your online show
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Set if content is mandatory to watch, or not
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Add public meeting rooms to your online video player
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Add geo settings to your films and screenings
Combined programs
Your festival probably offers one or more combined programs, like a short movie program or a student competition. These combined programs consist of a set of films that are screened multiple times during a festival. Fiona enables you to create combined programs with their own titles and description.
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Create combined programs to schedule sets of films
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Use a combined program to quickly create multiple screenings of a set of films
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Enrich each program with its own texts and stills
Group events
Whether you are organizing educational screenings for school classes or events for other kinds of groups – organizing them takes a lot of time. With this feature, you are able to retrieve all needed information by using forms and you can easily process their data in Fiona. By using the group event mode in the scheduler, you can easily plan group events while keeping an overview of your main program.
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Use the group event mode to schedule group events
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View capacity per screening room
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Request all needed information by online forms
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Keep an overview of your main program
Event programming and production
Fiona allows you to schedule not only film screenings, but the entire production of any kind of activity: either it is an art exhibition, a talk, a concert or a networking event. So, the full process of film festival programming can be planned and visualized in Fiona.
When you have scheduled an event or show part, Fiona checks automatically if the right people are available at that moment and if the chosen venue or room has the right screening facilities. So that in the production phase you are sure that everything and everyone will be ready for take-off.
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Create and schedule events
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View schedule per venue
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Add people and facilities
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Set up detailed call sheets
Frequently asked questions about Fiona
Clear answers to common questions about suitability, implementation, integrations and pricing.
Can we export a festival timetable from Fiona’s festival planner
Yes. Fiona offers several ways to export a festival timetable from the festival planner.
All screenings can be published through Fiona’s publication API, allowing timetable data to be used on your festival website, mobile app or in a desktop publishing workflow. Screening lists can also be exported as Excel files for further editing, sharing or internal use.
For teams that need a ready-to-use visual overview, Fiona can also generate timetable exports based on a graphical template and export them as PDF.
Can Fiona generate per-day schedules for room attendants, venue managers and projectionists?
Yes. Fiona makes it easy to create all kinds of overviews based on the information in your festival planner. For example, you can create reports showing which film is screening when and where, which DCP is needed for each screening, which screenings include an introduction and/or Q&A, which guests are expected to attend, create a detailed callsheet, and much more.
You can create these schedules for any group of colleagues, showing all and only the information they need. These overviews can be accessed live in Fiona (for example, on a laptop or iPad at the venue), exported as a professionally designed PDF in your festival’s house style, or downloaded as a simple Excel file.
Can we create to-do lists and track team progress in Fiona?
There are many ways to keep track of tasks and workflows in Fiona. You can create custom overviews for yourself or your team that show only the items that still require action, such as film or accreditation forms to import, films to assess, or scheduling conflicts to resolve. Each overview can have its own counter displayed on your home page, so you can see your progress at a glance.
Moreover, colleagues with the appropriate permissions can have a bird’s-eye view of the progress of specific workflows. They can see how much work has already been completed, how much is still outstanding. Fiona also allows you to assign handlers or contributors (colleagues from your team) in order to keep track of who is responsible for which guests, films, and related subtasks.
Can Fiona help us track the progress of festival workflows such as catalogue checks, website publication, translations, DCP quality control and film selection?
Yes. Fiona’s custom status lists allow you to define each step of your festival’s workflows. Team members can update the status of an item as they complete their part of the process, making it easy to see what is ready for the next stage and, for example, ensuring it appears in the overview of the colleague responsible for the next step.
Status lists can also be updated in bulk, allowing you to change the status of multiple items in a single action.
Can selection committee members and industry guests access the system?
Yes. Fiona can provide dedicated access for different user groups, including selection committee members, volunteers, filmmakers, industry guests and other stakeholders.
Selection committee members can use Fiona’s selection platform to watch films online, submit ratings and reviews, and participate in the assessment process remotely. Industry guests can access relevant information through dedicated portals, depending on the film festival setup.
This reduces the need for manual email updates, simplifies the sharing of the right information with the right people, and makes it easy to stay up to date on the progress of the selection process.
Can we control which information different users can view or edit in Fiona?
Yes. Fiona allows administrators to define detailed access rights per team, so each user only sees the information and functionality relevant to their role.
You can decide which parts of Fiona users can view or edit, as well as which actions they are allowed to perform. This makes it easy to give, for example, programmers, guest coordinators, volunteers, and production staff access to exactly and only what they need.
