FilmEx Seattle

Presented by 
May 11-13, 2023

 

Join us in the Emerald City as we explore the Seattle International Film Festival from May 11 - 13, 2023.

This year, FilmEx will kick off in Seattle to discuss marketing strategies for your festival! From overall vision & planning to the execution of your street team, marketing is often the unsung hero of the festival. Whether you're part of a marketing team or marketer is one of your many hats,  come gather with us to network, learn, and strategize for your upcoming festival.

FilmEx Regionals are designed to bring together organizations within a region to build community, encourage dialogue on local and regional conditions, and strengthen collaboration between festivals. Through informal gatherings, film screenings, and small, focused groups, festival folks will have the opportunity to deepen their professional relationships and explore current issues affecting the film festival landscape.

Registration for the SIFF FilmEx Regional includes:
  • Industry Badge to SIFF, valid for the duration of the film festival
  • Opportunity to attend SIFF Opening Night Party at a special discount rate of $50 on May 11th
  • Access to FilmEx events from May 12th - May 13th
  • A tour of SIFF Venues on Friday, May 12th
  • Focused marketing sessions on Friday, May 12th
  • Festival Organizers and Seattle Filmmakers Happy Hour on Friday, May 12th
  • Roundtable discussions and coffee on Saturday, May 13th
  • Informal networking on Saturday, May 13th, and Sunday, May 14th, with FilmEx attendees

Registration Rates:
FFA Members: $75/person
Non-Members: $125/person

Members: Log-in to the FFA website to access discount code at top of page!

Register Here 

Schedule

Thursday, May 11th:

Grab your discounted pass to opening night and join us at 7PM for Past Lives! After the film we’ll head to the after party at the Paramount Theater. 

This is an add-on pass and must be purchased in addition to your FilmEx badge using code WELCOMEFFA at checkout.

 

Friday, May 12th:

Join us bright and early at 9AM as we tackle one of our session topics as a group at the SIFF Film Center. After a morning of knowledge sharing we’ll break out for lunch (a great time to check out the Needle!), before returning in the afternoon to catch a film together. Later in the day we’ll regroup to party it up at FFA’s organizer happy hour presented by Elevent hosted at the A/NT Gallery on Seattle Center Campus

Saturday, May 13th:

Join us for morning coffee from 9AM - 11AM at the home of more than 20 Seattle Film Festivals, the Northwest Film Forum! We’ll meet there to dive into more of our marketing sessions ahead of taking the day to catch more films.

If you’re sticking around, join us again for an Industry Party at the WNDR Museum in downtown Seattle from 8PM - 11PM.

Programming Topics 

The Key to Planning Key Art 
This session will explore the process of creating a cohesive festival artwork theme from vision to execution, and the people involved in the decision-making. Do you use an agency or freelancer? Who determines the mood and tone? We’ll discuss all of this and more. Bring your festival's merch and swag to share and inspire others! 

Building Your Media Spend
From in-kind partnerships to paid media, marketers are used to stretching budgets to achieve results. This session will provide insights into budget allocation and priorities, including FilmFreeway marketing, social ads, billboards, and other strategies.

Marketing & Programming a Festival
How involved in programming is your marketing team? How involved should they be? We’ll talk about how festival teams work together to sell out shows without selling out their artistic integrity.

Accessibility

As venues are confirmed, they will be added here with specific information related to their accessibility.

As part of the agenda, the regional will include a tour of multiple festival venues. This will require moving from venue to venue, as well as moving around the venues themselves. This may include travel on public transit as a group. FFA will work with every participant requiring accommodations to ensure they can participate in the regional activities.

As needed, FFA will work with participants to provide accessibility accommodations such as but not limited to captioning, ASL interpretation, and quiet rooms. Please reach out directly to the Executive Director, Barbara Twist, to discuss accommodations. She can be reached: barbara@filmfestivalalliance.org.

For additional information about our accessibility plans and mission, please click here (Link to URL: https://filmfestivalalliance.org/about-us/accessibility)

Lodging

The Hyatt Seattle

For the SIFF Festival Hotel (The Grand Hyatt Seattle) please use discount code SEASOC. The actual rate will range based on the dates, location, and availability. You can book reservations online at any of the 3 Seattle Hyatt Hotels (Grand, Olive 8 or Regency).


Here are two other discount options for Seattle hotels working with the Festival:

Level Seattle

Level in South Lake Union has offered us a 20% discount:

The best available average rates (before taxes) for our suite types from 5/11 - 5/21 below:


One Bedroom: $248.20

One Bedroom Deluxe: $252.20

Two Bedroom: $319.20

Executive Two Bedroom: $359.70

Three Bedroom Sky Suite: $514.00

They will also waive the daily amenity fee ($25) as well as the parking fee ($35). 

This is a great way for folks to save money if they're traveling in a small group, since they have suites with multiple bedrooms and all have kitchens. The link to book is here: Seattle International Film Festival Preferred Rate and the discount is valid throughout the festival, including one week before and after.

The Pineapple Seattle

The Pineapple hotel discount is year-round and is up to a 26% discount based on availability. The promo code is SIFF. This location is very near SIFF Cinema Uptown.