Venice (September 2-12, 2020)
Venice is a festival that offers the chance to get up close to the red carpet, attend big world premieres, relax on one of Lido’s beaches, sip €1 espressos and Aperol Spritzes between films, and see a wide range of both Hollywood and international-language cinema. Venice is my favourite film festival that I’ve attended so far (Brad and Timothée may have something to do with that), and it’s a perfect excuse to skip freshers’ flu with some last minute sunshine. With a €70 Early Bird fee for “University Students Accreditation”, you are given the same access to films and locations as the film students and industry. And, unlike Berlinale, you don’t have to queue at 5am, just before each film. Food and drink tend to be a little cheaper than Dublin, but public transport, accommodation and flights can begin to add up.
BFI London Film Festival (October 7-18, 2020)
The London Film Festival is one of the smaller festivals to visit, but one of the most affordable. Students of any kind, merely stating an “interest” in film or the industry are eligible to apply for “Future Film” accreditation, which cost £50 in 2019. London tends to collate several of the films on the festival circuit, so I was able to catch up with the films I had missed at Venice here, such as Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, 2019) and The Painted Bird (Václav Marhoul, 2019), as well as some hits from Toronto, like Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019) and Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019). Accommodation is so plentiful in London that, unlike Venice, you have options to choose from, and food is cheaper than in Dublin. You queue for each screening with people in the industry, so be sure to give your friend a phone call in the line and mention that great screenplay you’ve been working on….
Dublin International Film Festival (February/early March 2021)
Dublin is another great, small festival that showcases many unique and international voices in cinema. Unfortunately, Dublin hasn’t offered much financial incentive for students this year or in the past, with the student price for an accreditation-style “Season Ticket” valued at €225. They are, however, improving, with a student discounted ticket available for every event, unlike previous years which only discounted a select few screenings. This year is also the first that they have run the “First Frame” event, which invited film students from around the country and showcased several student short films on the largest screen at The Lighthouse in Smithfield, including one short from Trinity film students. It is clear that student engagement does matter to the festival, and this is still one of the cheaper options as there is no need to pay extra for accommodation or flights.
Cannes (May, 2021)
“Film buffs” aged 18-28 are eligible to apply for a pass to the first and last weekend of the Cannes Film Festival and it’s free. Gratuit. The catch? You have to write a one-page cover letter to explain your love of film and why you would be a good candidate for the pass. The pass gives you access to all the competition films (imagine getting to see Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, 2019) in May last year and rubbing that in your friends’ faces) as well as the industry hangouts, where, again, you can make that phone call about your screenwriting magnum opus. That leaves the flights, accommodation and food to cover, but, apparently, you get free coffee in the industry areas with a pass. Just don’t spill it on your tux.
