The Art of Brooklyn Festival

When coronavirus struck we developed a Digital Edition of our 10th annual festival that would serve us both during this crisis and create a model for our future. We produced the 2020 AoBFF using a new virtual festival platform to stage online film screenings, with integrated video conferencing software for live streamed filmmaker talkbacks and industry expert panel programming in a webinar format. The Virtual Festival platform allows for ticketed on-demand and live streaming on its own site and compatible streaming TV apps with studio-grade DRM protection for films. This technology, and the necessary changes we made to staff roles to adopt it, are an essential part of how we will move forward post-Covid.The steep learning curve of this new tech required expanded roles in our Technical, Communications and Production areas in particular. Our goal was to retain as much of the in-person festival experience as possible and filmmakers and audiences around the world were happy with our ability to deliver a robust, interactive film festival in real time using technology. We will devote budget numbers to both this software and to additional staff trainings for next year. As part of our commitment to support filmmakers during this crisis we also instituted a revenue sharing plan that will return them a percentage of their ticket sales, which we'll also continue moving forward. Based on the grim projections for the lifespan of the coronavirus in the US, and the impact on venues in New York, AoBFF 2021 will be a hybrid season, with digital screenings, Q&As, panel and workshop programming balanced by live screenings and in-person events in venues across Brooklyn. But the percentage of live events will be dictated by venue availability, rising insurance costs, permit changes and the willingness of audiences to assemble in public. In any event we have created a way forward that supports filmmakers and audiences in accordance with our mission.