Film festivals are more than just red carpet glamour. They're THE launchpad for movies, and the difference between a positive critic reaction versus an across the board trashing can make or break a film. But whilst there are a much more representative cohort of critics working today, it's still the same faces and traditional demographic attending the big festivals. Which means those big first reviews that can decide whether a film gets picked up for distribution and ends up on cinema screens - or not - are being written by the same narrow demographic, which potentially continues to exclude films that aren't traditionally valued. PR and film festival strategist Mia Farrell has worked for most if not all of the big festivals over the years so she was my go-to expert for a look at the relationship between critics and festivals. What might still need to happen for more films to get a fair shot at success and how exactly do critics play a role in that? #critics #festivals #filmfestivals #paolamalanga Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.