By Samantha Manogue, Bates College Class of 2026

How do we attract an audience to the Bates Film Festival? The audience of a film festival is undoubtedly one of, if not the, most important factors to consider when constructing a festival. How do we get people interested in the works, into the seats, engaged in deep discussions, and then back again the next day. Further, it is also important to make sure the audience has a quality experience and quality conversations. It is a complicated process of finding the happy medium between which films have important messages that should be shared and discussed, and which films are going to draw an audience and keep them entertained.

In her article “The Festival Film: Film Festivals as Cultural Intermediaries,” scholar Tamara Falicov defines festival films as “generally not fast-paced action genre films with large budgets, high production values, and familiar narratives” (213). Most festivals, ours included, strive to show films that are meant to spark discussions and push audiences outside of their comfort zones. They are new and exciting works from all over the world, presenting perspectives and telling stories with which audiences might not be familiar. At this current time and date, however, there is more of a yearning for comfort and familiarity when it comes to media and entertainment. Many people, myself included, believe that we know what genres and story lines will keep us entertained. There is nothing wrong with having a good comfort show or two (or three!) to fall back on, but there is also great value in consuming new works and watching different stories get told. Film is such an important tool for learning about cultures, peoples, and lives that are very different from our own but that we might never have the chance to interact with beyond watching them on screen. With this year’s BFF, we are striving to share those underrepresented stories and spark informative and interesting conversations. This is the balance that we are looking for as we program the 2026 Bates Film Festival: the balance between the movies we know and love, and the films that might challenge/expand our greater understanding of the world.

“Not every film is going to make every audience member feel the same way, and this is important to the dialogue at the BFF. With differing receptions will come eye-opening discussions about how the film resonated with some and did not with others. Which themes does one audience member pick up on that another does not? Why do certain audience members have a deeper connection to a film than others?”

The question above has been on all our minds this past week as we have begun taking a closer look at our potential festival lineup in relation to our overarching mission, and how to best begin publicizing BFF. As decided by the board members at the beginning of this process, BFF 2026 will have a focus on the representation of the arts in film as a tool for civic unity, understanding, and engagement. These criteria are discussed every time we screen a film, whether it’s a feature-length or a short, a documentary or a fiction film. We have had many discussions about what is required for a film to be “about the arts,” and have come to define “the arts” broadly, allowing for a more diverse set of available films. This has led to fruitful discussions about the importance of the diversity of expression in films that we choose for our festival.

We have also started to discuss how best to market our festival. How do we attract a consistent and interested audience? Are there specific groups and communities who might be particularly interested in some or all of the films we are planning to show? How do we reach out to them and build awareness? At their core, each of these questions leads us back to what I see as the central issue. Who is our audience? The BFF is free and open to the public, so our audience is cinephiles and non-cinephiles alike. We are trying to program films that could entertain everyone, from the seasoned professional who is interested in the minute details of cinematography to the average movie-goer who is deciding to spend their free time watching and talking about movies. For me, our audience is Mainers and New Englanders who love to watch movies and want to share in that movie-loving experience and dialogue with others. Not every film is going to make every audience member feel the same way, and this is important to the dialogue at the BFF. With differing receptions will come eye-opening discussions about how the film resonated with some and did not with others. Which themes does one audience member picks up on that another does not? Why do certain audience members have a deeper connection to a film than others? This is a daunting task, but I am hopeful that the unique interests of each board member will result in a wide array of features and short films with a little something for everyone. As we develop our marketing materials, we will be sure to intersperse the educational with the entertaining in hopes of drawing our audience into the entire Bates Film Festival experience. We challenge you to approach the film festival with excitement, an open mind, and a willingness to step a bit out of your comfort zone, because that might just be where you find the best parts of the festival.