Festival Strategy for Shorts and Features
Delivered by Katie Bignell (Founder of Festival Formula)
Katie graduated from Bournemouth Media School in Scriptwriting for Film & TV and is also a graduate of the London Royal Court Writer Groups. She founded Festival Formula in 2014 after spotting a gap in the festival knowledge of filmmakers around film festivals. With 20+ years experience behind it the company provides strategy support to filmmakers world-wide and are active members of the Short Film Conference and the Film Festival Alliance. Katie is also a key spokesperson on festival issues with coverage in The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily regarding suspect and fraudulent film festivals. She co-created the Filmmaker Lounge in partnership with Film Festival Alliance – an online space for programmers and filmmakers to discuss their roles. Previous speaking engagements include: HollyShorts, Heartland Film Festival, BFI Flare, Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Sundance, SXSW and many more. Selected prior jury service include: Cleveland International, Heartland International, St. Louis International, PÖFF Shorts Film Festival, Palm Springs Shortsfest, Young Directors Awards, Raindance, Manchester Animation Film Festival, Fantoche and more. She was the co-recipient of the Pioneering Spirit Award alongside her husband Ian Bignell which was awarded by Heartland Film. The company received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Film from London Breeze Film Festival in 2024, and the Impact Award from Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in 2025.
Dates:
3 x sessions occurring on 4th, 11th and 18th of February 2026
Weds 19:00-22:00
- Last booking date: 3 February 2026
This programme provides a clear, incisive roadmap through the global festival ecosystem, cutting through myth to show filmmakers how the system actually works. Navigating the international festival circuit successfully can build careers, and this course aims to give participants the knowledge and tools to maximise opportunities. The curriculum traces the lineage from the historic powerhouses—Cannes, Venice, Berlinale—to the contemporary tiers that now shape visibility and career outcomes. Participants gain a precise understanding of how prestige, programming logic and awards bodies interact, and how to position different kinds of films within audience-led, industry-facing, niche or genre festivals without wasting time and money, or losing momentum.
The curriculum goes inside the decision-making culture of festivals, revealing how programmers curate for their audiences, how selection priorities differ across regions and tiers, and why the rapid expansion of festivals demands rigorous research to avoid predatory and “pseudo” festivals. Filmmakers learn the real mechanics of preparing submissions and deliverables—which materials matter, which don’t, the true cost of the circuit, and how submissions, screeners and travel support operate in practice.
Crucially, participants also learn how to map realistic pathways for shorts and features, set grounded expectations, navigate embargos and announcements, and handle the professional etiquette of being on the circuit. The aim is strategic fluency: understanding how festivals create opportunities, but also where they don’t.
The programme is taught by one of the industry’s leading festival strategists and reinforced by privileged access to an exceptional roster of guests—senior programmers from major festivals, industry figures whose decisions shape global visibility. Their candid insights offer an unfiltered understanding of how films are chosen, how careers are made, and how emerging voices can position themselves with confidence and intelligence in an increasingly competitive environment.
This is a festival strategy playbook built on expertise, insider access and long-term career value.
