The Doctor Is In ‘Film Festival Doctor’ Rebekah Louisa Smith on what it takes to play film fests BY ALE X ANDR A BOHANNON
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hey’ve assembled their actors, said “Action!” and “Cut!” and gone through a potentially lengthy post-production process. For some directors, getting their film made is a
substantial part of the battle; for others, it’s smooth sailing to the edit bay. But ultimately, every director wants their film to be seen by an eager audience—
and often, that can be just as challenging as getting the film made in the first place. Entering the fray of the film festival circuit can be a brutal gauntlet, and without a careful strategy and approach,
there’s the potential for heartache, wasted money and missed opportunity. So for directors needing help getting their film seen, picking up the phone and calling Rebekah Louisa Smith, Ph.D. (a.k.a. the Film Festival Doctor) might be the best way to get their opus off the shelf. With surgical precision, Smith devises the right strategy so a director’s film is screened by the right people at the right festivals. It’s not just about playing Sundance or Tribeca, or being Oscar-nominated, although some of her past clients can claim that; it’s about helping directors see what they created differently, yielding better results as they get their film to the perfect audience.
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