Until the end of 2019, when everything was relatively fine globally, film festivals were a sought after event.
New blockbusters like Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, the multiple Oscar winner Parasite, and the $1 billion grosser&nbsp;Joker, were all screened at the Cannes And Venice Film Festivals that year.

Movie Festivals Before Today

Now with the global pandemic being a new reality, film festivals are increasingly going online. SXSW, for instance, went virtual within weeks and even partnered with Amazon Prime for an online Film Festival.
Digital solutions are the way forward for many other film festivals, as otherwise, they lose millions in and revenue while scrambling for viewers and distributors for their projects.

The New Reality

Digital platforms and technological solutions make the content more accessible, sustainable and democratic. The streamed screenings and online question and answer sessions bring in unexpected benefits coupled with a vaster reach, due to the elimination of physical constraints and logistical issues associated with big events.&nbsp;Case in Point: Disabled audiences were earlier unable to access or be part of the event, and were now optimistic about the technological elements deployed, which helped them tremendously.

Expansive Reach

The digital content ecosystem, once matured, can work as a marketplace for exclusive movie distribution and online screenings of sought-after titles.
While some people still prefer the 'community' allure of a physical festival, with its glamour, energy and buzz, the digital version is here to stay.

The Digital Ecosystem

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In the movie business, buzz means everything - and the place where it is most reliably generated, year after year, is the film festival. Cannes' 2019 edition was a case in point, featuring a host of new releases that went on to secure Oscar nods ( Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pain and Glory, Rocketman), and its Palme d'Or winner Parasite landing a historic Best Picture win.
The Venice Film Festival launched the $1 billion (&#163;802 million) hit Joker and Noah Baumbach's critically lauded Marriage Story; Telluride followed with crowd-pleasers Judy and Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans '66); and Toronto's Audience Award secured Jojo Rabbit a spot on Hollywood's awards circuit. So, now that a global pandemic has upended the 2020 festival calendar, how can programmers and filmmakers adapt? By going digital, of course.
Read more: <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/will-coronavirus-change-cinema-forever">Will The Coronavirus Crisis Change Cinema Forever?</a>
<h2>The revival of SXSW</h2>
The industry-wide shift began with SXSW, the Austin, Texas-based showcase that has long been the lifeblood of independent directors. When the city's mayor, Steve Adler, announced that the festival was cancelled, just a week before it was scheduled to begin on 13 March, his statement was met with astonishment. It would cost Austin an estimated $350 million (&#163;283 million) in lost revenue, not to mention the uncertainty facing those who needed to find viewers and distributors for their projects.
There was only one solution: organisers <a href="https://www.sxsw.com/2020-event-update/">said</a> they would work to "provide a virtual SXSW online experience". They shared screening links with jury members that allowed them to vote and hand out prizes, and invited filmmakers to opt-in to Shift72, its online library which could be made available to press and buyers. On 2 April, almost a month later, SXSW went a step further, partnering with Amazon Prime for an <a href="https://www.sxsw.com/film/2020/amazon-prime-video-presents-the-sxsw-2020-film-festival-collection/">online film festival</a> that would give a platform to those on the 2020 line up. Participants would receive a fee and over a 10-day period, their films would be streamed for free across the US on Prime Video. Against all odds, SXSW was alive and well again.
<h2>Smaller festivals, bigger gains</h2>
Its success has provided a blueprint for other prominent festivals fighting for survival - including Tribeca and Cannes, which have both since been postponed - but SXSW wasn't the first showcase of its kind to experiment with digital solutions. Greece's Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, set to begin on 5 March, had already been postponed and the pitching forum of its annual Agora Doc Market live-streamed instead. An online gathering of 40 producers, directors, commissioning editors and festival programmers from 16 countries, it was praised by participants for its intimate atmosphere as well as for being considerably cheaper to attend than an in-person event.
Denmark's CPH:DOX (Copenhagen International Documentary Festival), Lithuania's Vilnius International Film Festival and the USA's ReelAbilities Film Festival and Greenwich International Film Festival similarly moved online, offering new releases alongside live-streamed interviews and interactive voting. Across the board, a pattern was emerging: festivals were going digital out of necessity, to mitigate the financial impact on creatives and help them carry on with their work, but the changes were bringing unexpected benefits, too.
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<h2>Streamed screenings and online Q&amp;As</h2>
Among the first to pivot to a fully digitised event was Garden State Film Festival, the independent showcase based in Asbury Park, New Jersey. After the state's governor, Phil Murphy, announced tighter restrictions on public gatherings, organisers set up virtual screenings of more than 240 films for an audience of 15,000. Each screening block was then followed by interactive filmmaker talkbacks on Facebook. "Launching it as a digital experience provided a new reach that was global in scale," explains Lauren Concar Sheehy, the festival's executive director. "Data shows that we screened in the Netherlands, Ireland, the UAE, the UK, Canada, Italy, Australia, Finland, Belgium and Croatia, and filmmakers and fans from around the world reached out to us to show their support."
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For Tricia Tuttle, the director of BFI Festivals, the appeal of a digital backup plan also lay in its ability to bring viewers together emotionally at a time of government-mandated isolation. A week before the UK went into lockdown, BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, which Tuttle and her team had worked towards for over half a year, was cancelled. "It was deeply sad for everyone involved," she says. "But, we were fortunate to have BFI Player." Using the institute's streaming platform, a virtual festival called BFI Flare At Home, was launched days later. It offered ticket holders the chance to see 11 films from the 2020 programme, as well as queer classics from previous editions of the festival, live Q&amp;As with featured directors on their YouTube channel and a closing night DJ set broadcast on Spotify. "Our filmmakers got fully behind the idea," adds Tuttle.
Read more: <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/trailblazing-films-lgbtq-rights">7 Trailblazing Films That Helped Pave The Way For LGBTQ+ Rights</a>
<h2>Virtual marketplaces</h2>
Also falling into line, slowly but surely, is Cannes. Even before the festival was postponed, talks were underway to find a digital contingency plan for the March&#233; du Film, the Cannes film market where thousands of projects are sold each year. On 17 March, an initiative led by Hollywood talent agency CAA was unveiled that would set up a virtual marketplace that could replace the March&#233; in the event of cancellation, encompassing online screenings and negotiations via video conference.
The following day, Cannes' March&#233; chief J&#233;r&#244;me Paillard revealed that they, too, would offer a virtual alternative that could run alongside the physical market for those unable to travel due to coronavirus-related restrictions. For a reduced fee, registrants would be given access to streamed events and platforms used to connect producers and distributors. Paillard insisted that the two markets would be complementary, meaning even more industry professionals could participate.
<h2>Accessibility, sustainability and the democratisation of film</h2>
This culture change has been most acutely felt by those who hadn't been able to attend festivals in the past - as a result of health issues or family commitments - and are now being included. "It's the fulfillment of what many disabled people long wanted, but were told was impossible," writes disabled TV critic Kristen Lopez in <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2020/04/disability-media-health-crisis-1202220789/">IndieWire</a>. "The disabled activists I spoke with are very optimistic that the technological elements employed in this global health crisis are here to stay."
The same goes for sustainability, which has been at the forefront of the industry's mind, and is a cause that would surely benefit from the reduction in international travel that virtual festivals could bring about. Another advantage is a potential levelling of the playing field: when releases are placed on to a streaming platform, without the fanfare of red-carpet premieres, independent films with fewer stars could, in theory, gain as much traction as their big-budget counterparts.
<h2>Tribeca, Venice, Toronto and beyond</h2>
For other showcases, however, exclusivity and old-school glamour are still part of the allure. The Venice Film Festival, scheduled to open on 2 September, recently told <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/festivals/venice-film-festival-rules-out-digital-option-1234571749/">Variety</a> that it was forging ahead with preparations and could not be replaced by an online event. If the crisis in Italy, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus, does not ease over the coming months, the festival could be left with no other choice. Meanwhile, Tribeca and the Toronto International Film Festival are keeping an open mind. The former still hopes for a live event, but will offer select content online, while the latter is weighing both on-site and digital options to ensure the safety of attendees.
But, could some physical festivals be replaced by virtual equivalents on a permanent basis? "I do think there will be festivals that like the idea of digital only," answers Sheehy. "But, there are people who crave the experience of immersive events, too. Garden State was a catalyst for online festivals, but we've been an in-person event for years and our fans can't wait until we're back together." Tuttle agrees: "There's something energising about the festival environment. Our audiences love seeing films together, talking about work, dancing in the bar with strangers. But, I'd love to look at how we can learn from this and offer better digital access." The likely outcome, according to Sheehy, will be the rise of hybrid festivals, which have both live events and online platforms.
When the pandemic finally passes, most festivals will eventually see the return of star-studded parties and all-night bidding wars, but the hope is that the film industry will also reflect on the lessons of this crisis and emerge with more compassion and a desire to be even more inclusive.
More from British Vogue: </div>

In the movie business, buzz means everything - and the place where it is most reliably generated, year after year, is the film festival. Cannes' 2019 edition was a case in point, featuring a host of new releases that went on to secure Oscar nods ( Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pain and Glory, Rocketman), and its Palme d'Or winner Parasite landing a historic Best Picture win.

Is The Future Of The Film Festival A Digital Experience?

Movie Festivals Before Today

The New Reality

Expansive Reach

The Digital Ecosystem

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