Sustainable Projections: Concepts in Film Festival Management

Ever seen a dead film festival? It's not a pretty sight. The economic climate of the past five years has marked a major fear of extinction for film festivals worldwide. As budgets tighten, film festival organisers are faced with difficult managerial decisions. Whether it is rethinking niche programming or seeking new funding streams, the action taken to keep from falling behind today will have repercussions well into the future.

Sustainable Projections: Concepts in Film Festival Management digs deep into the precarious, intuitive business of film festival organisation. Alex Fischer pours this often-chaotic business into an adapted framework of the Open Systems Theory, so that it becomes possible to think about festivals in more pragmatic terms. This book is not intended to be a 'how to' guide or a DIY manual, but rather a resource that strives to present film festival operation in a manner that makes it clear, concise and understandable, and in a way that can contribute to an event's sustainability.

The first study of its kind, Alex Fischer's Sustainable Projections bases his new theory of film festival management on field-defining theories, interviews with practitioners as well as his own experiences. He realistically portrays the ups and downs, as well as the struggles and rewards of film festival management, as he suggests a flexible framework within which to work and research. In so doing, he opens up a fresh angle on economic, political and social aspects in film festivals, useful for all those involved in, attracted by and enjoying film festivals.