Online film festivals: An investigation into festival experience through the perspectives of audiences and programmers

With the onset of the COVID -19 pandemic, the physical disruption of social interaction became a major problem for film festivals; for nearly two years, cultural institutions have faced a crisis whose effects will continue for many years. During the crisis, film festivals, which relied on physical and face-to-face communication in our minds, tried to reach their audiences through the Internet and online screenings, to cope with the crisis caused by the pandemic. However, some film festivals believe that the most important mechanism for film festivals to exist is physical and face-to-face interaction, or that have funding problems, have decided to cancel their events. Other film festivals have approached audiences with a hybrid format, using both online screening platforms and movie theaters. This situation has added a new dimension to the discussion of why film festivals exist. The disagreements that arise from these discussions make it necessary to rethink film festivals, to re-examine the problems and inequalities that have emerged, and to re-question the power relations that have formed around festivals. Taking these disagreements about festivals that emerged during the pandemic as a starting point, this study seeks to examine the impact of online screening platforms on the current festival ecosystem in Türkiye. The purpose of this study, which is about mapping the advantages and disadvantages of online screening practices at film festivals through pre- and post-pandemic comparisons, is to investigate how these practices are experienced during the pandemic period from the perspectives of audiences and festival staff. Ever since the first day of their emergence, festivals have assumed an important role in the film industry as a product of myriad social, cultural, and political conditions. Festivals allows us to make observations not only about films, but also about how social interaction is built around those films, how cinema is perceived and experienced by people. Festival events, involving different social actors, are shaped under different conditions and evolve in different contexts, but despite everything, they are organized around a set of basic procedures or rules. Therefore, film festivals cannot be described simply as an organization, but they are defined as networks that produce information about cinema, generate a specific time and place in everyday life experience, and encompass a variety of human relationships. Festivals build upon the geographies, cities, cultures, or social norms in which they are located. They provide screening opportunities for films that have not been able to find a place for themselves, especially in commercial settings, and are characterized by different variables. For this reason, it is quite difficult to define film festivals, to draw precise boundaries, or to make judgments about them. This situation becomes even more complicated when it comes to the relationships between online communication technologies and film festivals. In this context, this study has dealt with online film festivals that are widely used after the pandemic, the film experience that takes place there, and the identification problems that arise from this experience. The development process of film festivals before World War II was characterized by avant-garde cinema and a strong phenomenon of cinephilia. Even though such events were seemingly held for commercial purposes, they played a vital role in the process by which cinema proved itself as an art form. Films that didn't find a place in the mainstream since the 1910s, due to the beginning of the industrialization of cinema, encounter the public thanks to screening practices that do not exactly resemble the film festival model accepted today, but are conditioned by other characteristics. The first appearance of the festival model we know today began with the Venice International Film Festival in 1932 when various cinema clubs and theatres made easier the rise of cinema's public reputation by organizing similar events with specific themes but without continuity. The acceptance of cinema, especially among the educated and high-income classes, paved the way for film festivals to gain an institutional base in the cinema industry in the following years. In the 1930s, film festivals began to acquire international recognition. Film festivals develop into a strong European phenomenon during this period. Carrying the deep traces of the geopolitical struggle in Europe before World War II, film festivals served as a historical project to rebuild the social structure that had been destroyed in Europe after World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, film festivals were again shaped by the influence of geopolitical issues, this time becoming part of the political struggles that took place between the Cold War parties. Film festivals, which had been losing their public support due to the emergence of neoliberal policies in the 1980s, also began to grow in numbers and entered a process of global expansion. Especially since the early 2000s, discussions about the phenomenon of film festivals have multiplied, and attempts have been made to prevent the increase in the number of festivals through institutional measures. The massification of film festivals is related to the ease with which festivals can be organized thanks to increasing technological possibilities. The process of digitalization that takes place both in the screening and distribution of films has reached a quality that forces us to constantly question the dimensions of the design of a festival and the importance of the festival audience. In this context, the aim of this study is to observe how film festivals deal with online screening technologies. Another pillar of the relationship that film festivals have established with digital technologies is related to the contemporary idea of the movie-going experience. Since the first day of its appearance, when people identified with the public and physical space (movie theatre ), the experience of watching a film was determined and shaped by certain rules or procedures; but today it takes place on tablets, cell phones, computers or other mobile devices. This situation has been interpreted negatively by various researchers and has led to pessimistic assessments about the future of cinema, which is considered the most significant tool of storytelling in the twentieth century. However, there are also opinions that cinema has not really disappeared or died. Rather, the procedures and rules that shape the cinematic experience have changed or simply taken on a new form. Accompanied by these discussions, this thesis study, which explores the relationship between film festivals and digital technologies, examines what the festival experience means in today's moving image culture. This study, which consists of three separate parts, draws on the literature on film festival studies, which has developed as an important subfield of film studies. The first part of the study focuses on the historical development of the film festival phenomenon. In this context, information from the film festival literature is used to discuss the areas and contexts in which film festivals emerge and develop. This section also examines the spatial and temporal characteristics of film festivals as centres of film knowledge production. The second part of the study focuses on the story oy cinematic experience has historically undergone due to the debates that have emerged with digital cinema. The discussions about the consequences of watching films on small screens, the convergence trends in the media landscape, and the position of the audience dealt with in this section, as well. In the third part of the study, the data obtained through qualitative research techniques were analysed by thematic explanations. Two main strategies were established during the study. First, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 7 directors of 5 different film festivals that had been held between March 2020 and December 2021. Second, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 viewers of online film festivals, 10 of whom are women and 5 of whom are men. In addition, the author of this study participated as a volunteer in BIFED, which was held from October 12 to 16, 2022, experienced first-hand the situation of festivals after the pandemic, conducted in-depth interviews, and spent time with the festival team. In this part of the study, archival information, materials, and images obtained through participant observation at BIFED were considered in the assessments to be made. The questions posed in the research are as follows: How has the relationship between online screening platforms and film festivals before/during/after the pandemic shaped definitions of the term "film festival"? For what purposes and how have the institutions and individuals organizing film festivals used online screening technologies? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies for organizing film festivals? How have online screening practices and contemporary moving image culture influenced the viewing experience at film festivals? As a result of the research, it was found that the conveniences and difficulties offered by online screening platforms for film festivals should be considered according to various social, cultural, and political context. The way each film festival defines itself and the relationship they build with audiences through cinematic spaces varies. Moreover, film festivals are events that revolve around many themes and areas of expertise and combine different types of experiences. Therefore, the institutional relationship that film festivals build with online screening platforms cannot be separated from the social, political, and cultural contexts in which they are located. However, the most important subject observed in the relations established by film festivals and digital technologies is the budget and funding problems. Film festivals, which already have a very fragile appearance, have faced further difficulties during the pandemic. To overcome these difficulties, systematic public support is needed to enable film festivals to act independently and autonomously. In this way, festivals can reach their audience and expand their influence in sustainable ways, both through physical and online screenings. As another result of the research, based on the interviews with the audience, it was found that the festival experience that takes place on online screening platforms is a phenomenon that needs to be addressed in its different aspects and that integrated perspectives should be developed. Thanks to online screening platforms, it was found that viewers who do not have a film festival in their city or do not have time due to the intensity of their work life have the opportunity to experience film festivals to the extent that their access to the Internet allows. In addition, film festivals often offer niche products that are not easily accessible to everyone. In this context, the ability to reach audiences through online screenings, overcoming geographic limitations, strengthens the assets of film festivals rather than threatening them. In addition, the fact that the audience experience has shifted from public spaces to private spaces or from large screens to small screens has shortened the time to watch films. This situation may discourage audiences from watching films with more attention. Online screening technologies lead to a disruption of social interaction through personalized screens. This situation leads to a profound change in the phenomenon of publicness and film experience in film festivals. Therefore, this study is an invitation to reinterrogate the definitions of film festivals. Keywords: Online Film Festivals, Publicness, Film Experience, Film Industry, Digital Platforms, Social Interaction