My guide and experience at Encounters 2021 — Part 2.

What makes Encounters such a good film festival is that it’s such a big film festival meaning that there is a bigger reach of people seeing the short films available with these people being from different places around the world. Many companies like the BFI and the BBC either host panels or have short films of their own being represented. It just shows the reach and opportunities that can come out of a filmmaker submitting their films to Encounters. The film industry is notoriously competitive so it’s helpful to go to festivals like these to put your foot in the door and to also gain insight from other people in the industry. From the range that the festival has there are filmmakers in many different phases of their careers talking about their experiences.

Lockdown meant the festival had to go digital but this didn’t just affect Encounters but it also affected many filmmakers. Before making a short film it is important to question whether that film could be made within the limitations you have. Yes some limitations can’t be predicted like the pandemic however sometimes things change and things need to be adapted to. With Encounters having to be moved online there is now a lot more emphasis on presentability. The detail goes down to the thumbnail and description of your film whereas off-line the audience would get to see the films all in one go. This year was different because audiences had a lot more choice of which films they wanted to see.