Fall is here, which means my calendar is color coded and my sleep schedule is gone. Who is heading to festivals this season? I am doing two big genre weekends and a couple of smaller regional stops. Share your plans, your survival kits and your 'I will not buy another tote bag' promises.
Fall festival season plans: who is going where (no spoilers, lots of coffee)
FestBeatFionaPressOriginal post#1 ScreenerStackPress#2 Two weekends for me, screener links in between. Survival kit: foldable seat cushion, protein bars, a battery pack the size of a brick.
MidnightMatineeFan#3 Fan going for the first time this year. Any tips on picking screenings when you know nothing about any of the films?
FestBeatFionaPress#4 when you know nothing about any of the films
That is the best way to go. Pick by section, not title. Midnight sections for fun, shorts blocks for discovery. And always catch one film on the first morning that nobody is talking about yet.
GenreDeskGregPress#5 Editor hat: I send two writers and tell them one piece per day, max. Festival fatigue turns every review into 'it was fine.' Rest is part of the job.
TheLastUsherFan#6 Ten years working a theater taught me: sit on the aisle, eat before the midnight, and be kind to the volunteers. They have been standing for nine hours.
IndexOfTheDeadInvestor#7 Watching the board during festival weeks is fun. The Fear gauge gets twitchy when a midnight screening starts trending on socials. Not advice, just a nice thing to have open between films.
FestBeatFionaPress#8 I have genuinely started glancing at CRYPT between screenings to see which buzz is real and which is just my group chat.
CryptLanternFan#9 Staying home this year, but I will live through all of you. Post your favorite discovery when you get back.