As the Glasgow Film Festival draws to a close after another hugely successful season, it’s time to reflect on just what it is that makes film festivals so much fun, so interesting, and still so attractive to audiences even in the modern days of instant downloads and Netflix.
Choice
Perhaps the biggest draw of a film festival is the sheer choice available. There were almost 200 films to choose from at Glasgow Film Festival, from current releases like Patriot’s Day and Rules Don’t Apply, to classics like the Maltese Falcon and a 30th anniversary screening of cult teen fang-flick The Lost Boys.
It’s great to see old favourites on the big screen, but it’s also worth checking out films you’ve never even heard of. Perhaps something with subtitles, or a documentary; a low budget independent or even a local production that has yet to find a distribution deal. The joy of film festivals is that they don’t have the same commercial pressure as your local multiplex, so they can show films that would never normally see the light of day at a mainstream cinema.
Understanding
Film festivals are also great for getting you behind the scenes, with guests from both on the screen and behind the camera discussing their films in Q&A sessions. Glasgow had a whole host of actors and directors, technicians and producers who came along to shed light on their films and give the audiences a deeper understanding of what they saw.
Almost every film festival has its special guests, from David Tennant at GFF to Greta Scacchi at last year’s Keswick Film Festival. They may sometimes seem like remote figures, but actors, writers and directors love to hear the feedback on what they have created, and experience their films through the eyes of an audience.
Timing
One of the joys of film festivals is the excuse to watch films all day. For the average film buff, whose normal trip to the movies involves a quick tea and a rush to the cinema for an evening showing, seeing films at their leisure, all day long, is pure indulgence. The only difficulty comes in choosing what to see when the programme is as full and fascinating as GFF.
Better still, you can be sure that whatever time of day you choose, film festival audiences will never let you down. You can take your seat knowing you are amongst like-minded people who will not be rustling their crisp packets or slurping their drinks like your average multiplex crowd. Festival audiences respect their films and respect their fellow audience members too.
Great locations
It’s handy if a film festival takes place right on your doorstep, like it does for us here in Glasgow, but it can also be fascinating to visit somewhere different and enjoy the area as well as the inside of the cinema. Keswick is a delightful location, with many films showing at the aptly named Theatre by the Lake on the shores of Derwent Water. The Isle of Man Film Festival is a great excuse for a holiday on the island, while perhaps the most picturesque of them all is the Shetland Film Festival, which is curated by film critic Mark Kermode.
The big screen
One of the films on show at GFF was The Lost Arcade, which charts the rise and fall of video game arcades in New York City, as more and more games and even slot machines are available online from the comfort of your own armchair. Many people argue that the film industry is ultimately destined to go the same way, as we gain ever-increasing access to movies on our mobile phones. But if there is one thing that film festivals show us, it is that there is simply no substitute for seeing a film, as it was intended, on the big screen.
The huge crowds at GFF, and at other film festivals around the country, show that cinema is far from failing. This is born out by a significant increase in annual cinema audiences, which have risen from 97 million in 1990, to 142 million in 2000 to 168 million in 2016. And with new technology making low budget films ever easier to make, the future is looking brighter than ever for independents as well as big Hollywood studios.