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Festivals and Awards: What’s In a Name?
by Nadya Vlassoff
Sundance. Cannes. New York. Toronto. Tribeca. All these locations share the prestige of hosting some of the oldest, most influential film festivals in the world. Although Hollywood has invaded various film festivals in recent years, they’re still the red carpets for independent film, gateways to maximum exposure for small budget and original films that, at times, can be too real for mainstream audiences to handle and more controversial, which can be a great selling point. Earning a top selection or award from one of the "name" festivals not only adds to the momentum behind a higher profile film before it goes wide but the festivals still put the little guys on the map, too. That being said, the original concept behind the festivals has recently dimmed yet it has transformed into something different. How so, you might ask. The more important question is, why?
 The answer is within two very basic fundamentals of what these festivals represent: the individuality of creative expression and recognition. Winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival was, and still is, the premiere festival honor, which can result in even more awards at bigger events like the Golden Globes and the Oscars. It’s a simple formula. The more accolades a film receive as it moves into awards season, the more exposure it gets, which translates into greater opportunities for filmmakers, even studios, on the journey along the road to careers and box office bucks. Although larger film studios, with their own "independent" sub-studios, have entered the indie picture over the past two decades, in many cases the major studios are more willing to finance the expansion of a film from one of its smaller studios once a recognized film has done well at festivals and in limited release. Success is never guaranteed, but it can be measured.
For many films, true indies or small studio financed films, originality and creative expression can make or break its success. Take, for example, director Gus Van Sant’s latest film Milk, produced and distributed by Focused Features under the larger Universal Pictures umbrella. It’s based on the true story of Harvey Milk who was the first openly gay man to hold public office in San Francisco but was later murdered after fighting for his identity and the rights of his community. The subject matter itself is still an area that many prefer to shy away from. Ten or twenty years ago, releasing a film like Milk, even in limited theaters, would have caused much more controversy than now. But with names like Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco attached, culturally alternative films carry more weight, especially when they’re entered festivals like Cannes. On some level, the big names help prop up, support, and bring awareness to the issues. Despite the recent setbacks of Proposition 8 in California, which repealed gay marriage rights, public acceptance of gay men and women elsewhere has helped films like Milk, especially in countries like the U.S. and Canada. At the same time, though, there’s a symbiotic relationship in that both the theatrical medium and issues within Milk have helped the gay community.
 Still, without such bold creativity, the rise in popularity of independent films, and the exposure with the festival circuit and the major award ceremonies, the majority of moviegoers would not have been privy to La Môme, released as La Vie en Rose in the U.S., which won Marion Cotillard the award for best actress in a musical or comedy at the Golden Globes and the Oscar for Best Actress. Both premiere awards were follow-ups to Cotillard’s wins at the London Critics Circle Film Awards, the European Film Awards and the Hollywood Film Festival. We know what such names as Oscar and Golden Globe can do for films, filmmakers, and actors, but other names like Cannes help introduce the world to unfamiliar foreign names like Marion Cotillard. Juno, a cult hit and one of the most profitable independent films to have ever been released was extremely successful on the independent film circuit, picking up numerous Best Actress awards for Ellen Page who portrayed the film’s title character. Page also received a nomination for Best Actress at the 2008 Oscars only to lose out to Marion Cotillard. However the film did garner a Best Screenplay golden statue for Diablo Cody who began her writing career as a blogger. It doesn’t get much more independent than that.
 Despite the benefits all of the elite festivals have provided, what of the new names and festivals? Recently the Whistler Film Festival took place in Whistler, British Columbia, the future co-home of the 2010 Winter Olympics. With a roster of 92 films that closed with Bruce McDonald’s zombie film Ponypool, The Whistler Fest provides a glittering backdrop for those who come west from the rest of Canada, North from the U.S., and fly in from overseas. This year’s jury was headed up by veteran actor Donald Sutherland and featured a film slate that also included Anna Chi’s Dim Sum Funeral, Joel Hopkins' Last Chance Harvey, with Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson and James Brolin, plus Yonkers by Robert Celestino, with Chazz Palminteri, and One Week by Michael McGowan, starring Joshua Jackson and Peter Spence.
 So, what’s in a name? We all know what winning an Oscar or a Golden Globe will do for anyone but for rising annual events like The Whistler Film Festival, the location of one of North America’s premiere and picturesque winter tourist destinations can go a long way in attracting the industry’s elite. But can it truly be considered as prestigious and significant on an international scale like Sundance? It took a long time for Toronto to become a premiere festival, and surprisingly so to some extent. Can a film that won an award in Whistler create a ripple effect in such a big pond? For now The Whistler Film Festival is largely a Canadian focused festival. However, much like how big name actors help the exposure of smaller films, Whistler has extremely high value as a name. Spending a week in Austin or Toronto is a completely different experience than Whistler, but it’s true that names can put the little guys on the map, too. Who knew where Sundance was before Robert Redford rolled into town?
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