Maybe they’re just telling us what we want to hear. Most of us in the press are, after all, famously fond of the idea that we hold some sort of power – that we can shape people’s opinions with 800 or so well-chosen words or, on a good day, maybe even change how they spend their time or money. Something, we tell ourselves, has to make up for the low pay and carpal tunnel syndrome.

So a wily and self-serving publicist would be wise, when asked about the secrets of promoting film festivals, to talk up the importance of good media relations. A little flattery, not to mention open bars at press conferences, can go a long way. And, sure enough, calls to fests across the country came back with much the same advice. Be nice to the press.

Of course, an equally wily and self-serving reporter would be wise to repeat this message in, say, a national trade magazine – what with festivals in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax all revving their engines for another busy fall season.

‘You’d be flabbergasted if I told you how little our actual marketing budget is,’ says Gabrielle Free, director of communications at the Toronto International Film Festival. ‘We rely very heavily on the press. It’s cheaper to do publicity than marketing.’

TIFF built its reputation back in the early days of the 80s – when it was still called the Festival of Festivals – on positive reports from film writers like Roger Ebert, a longtime attendee and fan. ‘He was quite complimentary,’ says Free and, through his Chicago Sun-Times columns and syndicated TV show, did a lot to spread the word to directors and other media worldwide, creating a ‘snowball effect’ of positive hubbub. That snowball got so big by the 1990s that the fest had little difficulty rebranding itself as a world-class event.

The TIFF press office is staffed by more than 50 people at its yearly peak. Marketing has four.

But buzz is unpredictable. It can boost and it can bash. This has been a problem at the World Film Festival in Montreal, which has picked up a reputation for being difficult with reporters. Entertainment newsies can often be heard grumbling, usually around August or September, that the WFF doesn’t play or doesn’t know how to play the publicity game. Calls go unreturned, interviews are not arranged – that sort of thing.

It is obviously something of a sore point for the WFF’s new director of communications, Martin Malina. ‘It’s not justified, it’s not fair,’ he says. ‘We do answer every single call, every single message. Guaranteed. Mail, email, voicemail. As quickly as possible.’

The WFF has always set itself apart from the festival pack, in particular from TIFF, by shunning Hollywood-style glitz. It is promoted most heavily to locals. And yet Malina’s six-person staff is already swamped with requests from all over the world, and not every call is a top priority.

He is careful not to criticize the fest or his predecessor, but Malina has pledged to make a ‘bigger effort,’ in this, his inaugural year, to stay in contact with the press.

(For more on the Montreal World Film Festival, see report, p. 19).

But press relations are only one part of the mix for success. For its part, TIFF has also built its year-round presence with spin-off events, including the Sprockets film fest for kids, ongoing screenings at Cinematheque Ontario, and its cinema roadshow The Film Circuit. These both reinforce and draw new moviegoers to the TIFF brand, says Maureen Oxley, associate director of marketing and membership. ‘A program like Talk Cinema, our sneak preview series, is going to appeal to mainstream cinema-goers who are looking for something extra,’ she says, and draw people into the TIFF fold. ‘Then we can roll them into our Cinematheque screenings.’

Toronto’s gay and lesbian fete, Inside/Out, also enjoyed a burst of public and industry appeal a few years ago when it caught a wave of gay-positive press. Exec director Scott Ferguson says the media helps make the fest more accessible – spotlighting movies that might otherwise be overlooked in the dense festival catalogue. ‘Editorial coverage impacts everything we do,’ he says.

Getting sponsors is also key for traditional advertising. Inside/Out gets ad time from backers in the media including Showcase and Rogers Cable, just as TIFF’s ads are covered by deals with CHUM Television and Famous Players, among others. (Disclosure: Playback is also a sponsor.)

‘We’re very savvy with our existing partners,’ says Oxley. Bell Canada and Visa are longtime partners of the fest. ‘They bring not only all the support and benefits from such a relationship, but also different audiences – all the people they’re touching.’ In return, Visa, for example, gets ample branding and the chance to sell special TIFF offers to its customers.

Sudbury’s Cinefest keeps things simple by feeding the media just five events per year – such as a feature, a guest appearance or a new forum. Reporters usually follow the bait, says festival head Tammy Frick, sparing her staff a lot of unexpected work. Cinefest has recently built its local and out-of-town draw with well-placed advertising, and also does a lot of niche marketing to ethnic groups. Last year’s screening of Bollywood/Hollywood was hyped to area cultural associations and Hindi-language media.

Gregor Ash builds on the East Coast’s reputation for hospitality to promote the Atlantic Film Festival to press and filmmakers alike.

‘We have a really limited budget,’ says the festival head, adding that it is under $1.5 million for the entire AFF and its spin-offs. ‘That’s not a lot of money. You have to be creative, so relationships are key.’

Ash is courting national and international press to boost Strategic Partners, a program spotlighting international copro opportunities aimed at building the AFF’s year-round presence, and relies on happy filmmakers to spread the word to their colleagues. The AFF bills itself as a filmmaker’s festival. ‘We make sure everybody has a good time, and that they walk away with something, that they feel they’ve accomplished something,’ says Ash. ‘We’ve benefited greatly from word of mouth.’

-www.e.bell.ca/filmfest

-www.ffm-montreal.org

-www.insideout.on.ca

-www.cinefest.com