Film festivals are supposed to be about cinema.
They are not. There are so many types of people you meet at Raindance
They are about caffeine, social anxiety, tote bags, existential collapse, and people pretending they “absolutely loved the pacing.”
After thirty-plus years of standing in festival foyers, here are the seven species guaranteed to appear at every independent film festival on earth.
1. The Lanyard Maximalist![]()
This person has:
- three phones
- four tote bags
- six colour-coded passes
- absolutely no idea where their next screening is
Walks quickly everywhere.
Always late.
Looks important.
May simply be searching for coffee.
2. The Accidental Auteur![]()
They made a short film “for fun.” Now it’s screening internationally.
They have not slept in four days and are emotionally unprepared for strangers discussing their sound mix.
Every sentence begins with:
“We actually shot it in my cousin’s garage…”
3. The Human IMDb Page
Film festivals are supposed to be about cinema.
They are not. There are so many types of people you meet at Raindance
Knows:
- every cinematographer
- every sales agent
- every Romanian New Wave director
- who almost directed Jaws (1975)
Cannot remember your name three seconds after hearing it.
4. The Networking Predator
Appears suddenly beside you holding warm white wine.
Opens with:
“So… what projects are you developing?”
Disappears instantly when you admit you are between projects and mainly here for the free tote bag.
5. The Queue Philosopher
Has seen seventeen films in two days.
Now speaking exclusively in exhausted cinematic metaphors:
“The queue is the festival.”
“The popcorn represents capitalism.”
“The third act of the sandwich collapsed.”
Dangerously dehydrated.
6. The Volunteer Who Runs Everything
Twenty-two years old.
Actually controls the entire festival.
Can solve:
- projection disasters
- missing guests
- broken microphones
- audience riots
- lost filmmakers
Without them the whole event collapses by lunchtime.
7. The Person Who Secretly Changes Their Life
Quiet.
Watching carefully.
Sits through Q&As.
Talks to strangers.
Takes notes.
Arrives thinking:
“I’d love to make films someday.”
Leaves thinking:
“No. I’m doing this.”
And honestly?
That is who film festivals are really for.
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Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand.It started as a rebellion — film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global — Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, Brussels — because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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