| Festival Tips... |
First
Film Festival? Here's A Few Things You Should Know...
If
you've never been to a major film festival before, you've
probably noticed that it is easy to get overwhelmed by
everything that is going on, and easy to miss-out on some
awesome opportunities if you don't plan ahead. Here are
a few things that are good to keep in mind both before
and during the festival so you don't waste your time and
get the best, most enjoyable festival experience possible!
**Before
the Festival**
--First
Things First... BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE!
One of the most important things
to do is purchase your tickets in advance. Decide whether
you're planning to attend for one or more days and order
your tickets as early as possible. Tickets are available
for purchase up to 2-months before the festival, and do
often sell-out. Buy your tickets first, and early to avoid
frustrating last-minute delays. You
can buy tickets online Click Here.
--Travel
Arrangements...
PLAN AHEAD!
One of the most frequently overlooked
elements for first-time festival attendees coming in from
out of town, is forgetting to reserve hotel rooms and
airline tickets in advance. One thing to remember is that
there are a limited number of hotels in the area, and
most of the hotels in the city of Oxford proper are completely
booked for the entire weekend over a month in advance
of the festival. So if you plan to stay in town, book
early! For local hotels and reservations Click
Here.
--Know what you want to see and do BEOFRE YOU GO!
Another
important element to work out BEFORE you go, is knowing
what you want to do and what films you plan to see before
you arrive. The film festival is much like an amusement
park in that there are so many films/events going on simultaneously
(7 at any given time, though most screenings take place
more than once) in addition to dozens of other special
events, concerts and more, all taking place at different
venues, it is important to know in advance what you really
want to see and how to fit them all together. We highly
recommend that you have multiple options and place them
on a scale of importance, since some one-time events will
be packed, while others may be wide open depending on
the time of day and special guests present. Always have
more than one option, once capacity is reached in a theater,
they won't let more people in, even if you have a paid
pass -- so think ahead so you can get there early! You
can always decide what you want to do once you get here,
but it won't be as easy as you think to decide between
dozens of great options every few minutes, and you may
miss-out on some great events if you're not paying attention!
This year the festival has an excellent tool to help you
build and manage your own individual festival schedule
online, before you attend. You can then print it out or
send it to your e-mail or mobile device. Check out the
interactive online program guide Click
Here.
--Directions and Parking Locations KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING!
The
last thing you want to do is pay for tickets, then get
lost on the way here! Directions to Oxford and Area Maps
are available for download from the festival website Click
Here.
--Is
this your vacation? Or are you completely confused?
One of the most valuable tools available to you free of
charge is the Oxford Visitors & Convention Bureau.
If you plan to stay at an area hotel, want to plan a complete
vacation in the area, have specific questions about the
festival, or need specific personalized directions, you
can always call the Oxford Visitor's Bureau during normal
business hours and talk to someone in person to help you
plan your stay. You can call their office directly at
513-523-8687, or visit them
online at www.enjoyoxford.org,
their service is excellent, and is provided by the city
FREE of charge!
**At
the Festival**
--Parking and Transportation...
When
you arrive at the
festival, one of the first things
you'll think of is driving directly to one of the venues
to get to your show. While there is nothing wrong with
that, one thing you'll note is that there is very limited
parking at most festival venues, and you'll likely have
to drive around for a good long-time to find a parking
space. The festival offers a FREE shuttle between a major
parking area and each of the festival venues, so save
yourself time and frustration, park your car and ride
the shuttle around from venue to venue. Shuttles run about
every 20-30 minutes and are completely free. For venue
maps, parking locations and shuttle stops Click
Here.
--Ticketing and Pass Pickup...
Don't
forget that every attendee has to pickup their passes
before the festival each morning (unless you have a 3-day
pass). If you're just planning to attend for one day,
don't forget to arrive EARLY in the morning to avoid a
lengthy wait to pickup your pass. Even if you had your
tickets mailed to you, you will still need to get either
a wrist-band or a lanyard to get into the festival for
the day, having either your pre-mailed tickets on-hand
or your will-call name(s) handy will expedite this process.
Each morning the ticket-booths open at least 1 to 2 hours
before the first screening to allow for attendees to pickup
their passes. Keep in mind that you can pick them up a
day early (Thursday 10th) if you so choose, and don't
forget that there is more than one ticket/registration
booth (one at each venue).
--Screening and Event Tips...
............Arrival Times VS. Screening
Times:
A
frequent question is "How early do I need to arrive
for a screening/event?". We ask that patrons who
already have their passes in hand arrive at least 20 minutes
prior to each show to guarantee seating. Because all screenings
are general admission, once a theater is full, no one
else will be admitted. Also keep in mind that if a screening
has available seats 10-minutes prior to the scheduled
start-time, those seats will be sold via individual single-screening
tickets. Having a 1-day or 3-day pass always grants you
first-choice seating, but you MUST arrive 20 minutes early
to take advantage of this benefit, or you may not get
a seat at all. Keep in mind that not all screenings will
be to capacity, and even if they are, most screenings
take place more than once throughout the weekend, so if
you miss a film one-day due to a sold-out crowd, you may
still have another chance to see it again on a different
day or at a different time.
............Films
are Not Rated:
Please
keep in mind that as all the films being screened are
brand-new indie films, few (if any) are rated, and the
festival does not make any claims as to the nature of
the content contained in them. We highly recommend that
you do not take children to most screenings. The festival
does not refund used tickets, or make any claim as to
the quality or content of material being shown. If you
must guess, err on the side of safety and make the assumption
that no film screening would be rated below a PG-13 rating.
............What To Bring with you:
Water
bottle (sure beats buying one), umbrella (you never know),
watch (duh), pen & pocket notepad (keep track of what
you've seen and what you want to see, also to take down
notes, or even celebrity autographs), dress in layers
(don't forget that you'll be in Ohio in April, it can
be 80-degrees and sunny one day, and snowing/rainy the
next - while all screening venues are in-doors, temperatures
of individual venues may vary slightly) and of course,
bring a print-out of your pre-planned festival schedule/itinerary.
............What Not to Bring with you into screenings:
You
can bring these items with you, but avoid bringing them
into screenings: Video cameras, food (leave it in the
car), small children (best to leave them at home), cameras,
weapons of any kind, chairs or blankets (you won't need
them unless you'll be hanging out at the out-door concert
site all day), two-way radios, cell-phones, etc. Note:
No photography of any kind is permitted during screenings
or workshops, this includes cell-phones with cameras or
video. If a patron is caught using one (including cell-phones)
festival staff reserve the right to confiscate the device
and revoke the patron's pass permanently, without refund
or payment of any kind. Just be smart about it, make sure
the devices are off and stowed when in screenings, so
you're not distracting or tempted to film something illegally.
Keep in mind that most if not all of the films you are
seeing are UN-RELEASED new films, which means they may
end up in theaters around the globe within the year, so
the filmmakers are even more picky during the festival
then they ever will be. What is permissible to film: You
can film/photograph any filmmaker OUTSIDE of a screening
room or formal session, you may NOT film or photograph
any filmmaker even after the film has ended (during Q&A
sessions) or during panels or workshops as this still
constitutes a breach of festival policy.
