Maggie Bera reveals on FilmFreeway: How to Build Real Momentum From Your Festival Run.
Her thesis is that a successful social media strategy leverages a festival screening before, during and after.
“Your festival screening might only last an hour, but the story you tell around it can last much longer.”
BEFORE the screening, build curiosity.
Maggie suggests you “invite people into its world…. Share pieces of the journey: behind-the-scenes photos from production, a shot of your script covered in notes, a short clip of your composer at work, or a story about the day everything went wrong on set. By the time your festival announcement goes out, your audience should already feel like they’re part of the ride.”
Platforms to use here: Instagram, TikTok, X and Letterboxd.
DURING the festival, turn it into content.
She suggests “documenting the experience in real time, in a way that doesn’t feel forced, but rather like it creates a narrative. For instance, you might post a clip of your team arriving at the theater, the moment your film’s title appears on the marquee, a quick reaction video after the Q&A, or a group shot outside the venue. These moments humanize the experience.”
Bonus: we’ve just turned your screening into an event at the festival, one that journalists and other film programmers can discover.
AFTER the festival, extend the awareness.
Maggies suggests that rather than treat the screening as a one-off, position it as one event on “a timeline. To achieve this, stretch the story. Share clips from the Q&A, post audience reaction photos, highlight your collaborators’ work, or talk about what inspired the film. These posts deepen the narrative, [so that] it becomes a conversation.”
She offers these social media strategies:
- “Create a visual identity for the film…. When your posts share a visual language, your film becomes recognizable in a crowded feed.
- Use your collaborators as amplifiers…, tag people generously… and celebrate their work publicly.
- Document the lessons…. Filmmakers on platforms like Substack, YouTube, and FilmFreeway are constantly searching for honest insight into the festival process. When you share what you’re actually learning, you become part of that larger conversation.
- Remember the real goal. Social is about building momentum.”
My take: read this post! Maggie’s insights are excellent. I like that not only does she suggest winning strategies but she also tells you why to do them.