2008 International Film Festival Summit Features a Panel Addressing How to Appropriately Measure Your Festivals Success

(PRWEB) November 26, 2008 -- The 5th Annual International Film Festival Summit (IFFS) announces that the River Run, AFI Dallas and San Diego International Film Festivals as well as Ashland Independent Film Festival will take part in a panel discussion that will address considerations and metrics for success including: number of films, number of acquisitions, celebrities, size of audience, longevity, number of impressions and reach at this year's summit taking place December 7-9, 2008 in Las Vegas.

The session entitled "Success Metrics: Where to Set the Bar", will take place Monday, December 8th at 4:00 pm and be moderated by Andrew Rodgers, Executive Director, RiverRun International Film Festival.

There are so many different definitions of success and "bigness." There are film festivals that attract hundreds of thousands of people, and yet are not on the mainstream radar, and festivals which show only a few dozen films that are world famous. This session will address considerations and metrics for success including: number of films, number of acquisitions, celebrities, size of audience, longevity, number of impressions and reach? Most notably, these different metrics have differing relevance to the constituents served by festivals - audiences, filmmakers, sponsors, media, film industry etc. Hear from different festivals on how they approach benchmarking and defining success.

Panelists include Michael Cain, Artistic Director & CEO, AFI Dallas International Film Festival, Graham Leggat, Executive Director, San Francisco International Film Festival, and Joanne Feinberg, Director of Programming, Ashland Independent Film Festival.

Some of this year's attendees include: AFI Fest Presented by Audi, Atlanta Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Bside, Starz Denver Film Festival, FilmThreat, Palm Springs International Film Festival, River Run International Film Festival, San Diego Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Gen Art, San Diego Asian Film Festival, DC Shorts Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, AFI Dallas International Film Festival, SXSW, Variety, Withoutabox and many, many more.

The 2008 IFFS Presenting Sponsor is Withoutabox. Platinum sponsors include B-side with Gold sponsors Enta USA and The NEB. Other sponsors include: Agile Ticketing, Avid, AAA Flag & Banner, AREA 4, Eyesoda.com, inticketing, Festival Media Corporation, Filmfestivals.com, FilmMaker Magazine, FilmThreat, MovieMaker, NAMAC, Production Hub, Qube Digital Cinema and Variety.

About International Film Festival Summit (IFFS):

The International Film Festival Summit is the only annual conference and trade show for professionals from the film festival industry. The IFFS provides a platform for the community to explore ways to collaborate and promote the advancement of the film festival industry. This is a place to dialogue with your peers, share insights and gain knowledge that will help you grow your film festival and foster sustainability. The IFFS is dedicated to providing resources, information and avenues of communication for industry professionals and the entertainment industry. For IFFS Europe visit www.iffseurope.com. For IFFS North America visit www.filmfestivalsummit.com.

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