Go, even with no film in the programme. Pick your festival by tier, research the filmmakers screening, arrive early and treat the lobby as the room, give your time to one real connection rather than seven quick ones, take notes between films, then follow up.
The follow up is where the relationships are kept or lost.
Kym here. I have more than 80 film and TV credits and I have been to a ton of festivals, so this is my actual strategy.
Because directors and producers are normally behind a computer. At a festival they are relaxed, done with their films, and they love actors.
They are also the independent filmmakers making the projects your agent probably does not submit you for. It is very rare to leave a week long festival with fewer than a hundred business cards.
Yes. You need no reason to be there.
Go as an industry member who wants to be involved.
The top five are Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Berlin and Toronto. Below them sit another 20 or 30, like South by Southwest, AFI Fest, Edinburgh and the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Then come the more indie ones, like Dances With Films and Flicks4Change.
My rhythm: one or two of the top five every year or two, because it shows you how big and intense the industry is. Then one or two of the next tier every year, where people's defences are down a bit.
For a list to start from, see film festivals in the USA and our film festivals for women filmmakers.
Look at what is screening before you buy anything. Most of us will not know 98 per cent of the names, so look each director up on IMDb and flag the ones you want to know.
It takes a few hours, then book the sessions holding the most flagged names.
If you have a solid credit list, email the festival and ask whether they run an industry discount for working actors. Cheaper tickets rarely happen.
An upgrade into a couple of events, or a spot on the red carpet list, sometimes does.
At the bigger festivals, email the party organisers as soon as you decide to go, pitching your best credits. Buy tickets for opening night, awards night and closing night if you can.
Arrive at least 20 minutes early for every screening, because the theatre only opens five or ten minutes before the film. Early is the whole window.
Talk to whoever is behind you in the ticket queue. Inside, get a little lost and ask another attendee where screening room two is.
Staff give you the answer and no conversation.
Someone on their own, or a pair, is easier to approach than a big laughing group.
Use something small and practical. "Do you know where the bathroom is?" works, because it gives you an easy exit if it goes nowhere.
After a shorts programme, ask which short was their favourite. The shared experience does the work.
Then read the person. If they ask you questions back, they want to keep talking, and your next question is inside their answer.
They came down from Colorado? Ask what part.
Short answers and long silences may mean they are just being polite, so let it go. A little distraction, like finishing a text, is not disinterest.
When you are done, exit kindly:
I'm going to use the restroom before the screening. I'll see you in there.
Fewer than you think. Do not try to meet seven people in 30 minutes.
Find the one you connect with and give them the whole 20, because the deeper connections come after three or four minutes.
You do not need a card from everyone. When you do want one, name the reason: you would love to work with them on something like that one day.
Then you can stop there and follow up later.
If walking up to strangers is not in you, grab a drink, stand somewhere visible and keep a nice smile. Most people came to meet industry people, so someone will come to you.
Before a shorts programme, write the name of every film into your phone. You get about 60 seconds between one film's credits and the next title to note what you loved.
During a feature, use the credits.
Find something good even in a film you did not love. Then write a detail on the back of every card.
Andrew takes a selfie with each new contact as their phone photo, and puts the place and year in their surname field.
Stay safe too. If you are young and out alone, tell two people where you are and text them who you are leaving with.
I photograph the number plate before I get in anyone's car.
This is the most important part. Following up is the difference between keeping about 60 per cent of your contacts and keeping 5 or 10 per cent.
Connect on social while you are still there. Then, for people you met, keep it warm and simple: so great to meet you, hope you got home safe, plus the detail from your card.
For a filmmaker whose film you loved, tell them three specific things you loved and offer to buy them lunch. If they live somewhere else, offer to cover your own travel, so they do not hire someone local just because that person is closer.
For a screening you missed:
Your screening was booked out, but I was dying to see it. Is there anywhere else I can watch it?
Keep everyone on a list and touch base every six to twelve months. Ten years later, when they are directing a studio feature, they remember you were persistent.
The full class, How To Network At Film Festivals, runs through every step here. For networking everywhere else, there is Network Your Way To Work and the guide to how to network as an actor.
Both classes sit in our network hub, and you can watch them with a 7-day free trial.
Yes. You need no reason to attend.
Go as an industry member who wants to be involved, research the filmmakers screening, and book the sessions that hold the people you most want to meet.
Try one or two of the top five (Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Berlin, Toronto) every year or two, plus one or two of the next tier each year, such as South by Southwest, AFI Fest or the Melbourne International Film Festival.
At least 20 minutes early. The theatre usually opens only five or ten minutes before the film, so the queue and the lobby are where the conversations happen.
Ask something small and practical, like where screening room two is, or which short was their favourite. If they ask you questions back, keep going.
If the answers stay short, let them be.
Message soon, mention a specific detail, and keep it warm rather than formal. For a film you loved, name three things you loved and offer to buy them lunch.
Then touch base every six to twelve months.