Does "Premiere" mean what I think it means?

April 12, 2007 5:14 AM

What, precisely, constitutes a film premiere?

Say I had an independently produced film that I wanted to submit to a film festival such as AFI or Telluride or Venice or Cannes or whatever. Most festivals stress that they want a film to premiere at the festival, and that preference will be given to films that do.

Does “premiere” mean “first time shown at a festival,” or “the first time shown anywhere?”
In order to qualify for a festival, do I have to keep the film locked up and not show it to anyone?
Can I show it locally to friends, family and cast members?
Can it run for a week at a local theater (here in the boondocks?)
Can it be marketed and distributed and sold ahead of its festival premiere?

posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup to media & arts (5 comments total)

A premiere is the first public showing of a film, period. You can have a private showing for cast and crew, but if it was open to the public, the movie has premiered.
posted by headspace at 5:40 AM on April 12, 2007

Is a premiere considered "open to the public" even if the tickets are all allocated to random celebrities and people related to the film, as at many premieres? I mean, you can't buy tickets from the box office for most of them, right?
posted by wackybrit at 5:48 AM on April 12, 2007

H'wood premieres are actually open to the public; you just don't buy tickets at the box office. People with press passes, and people who know people* can get tickets for themselves and their families. We see all the pix of celebs on the red carpets, but there's also a regular audience in attendance. (It's not unusual for the celebrities to show up to be seen, then to bail on the actual showing.)

* And it doesn't have to be anyone incredibly famous or connected. I've got a friend who works reception at a TV studio- she could get me tickets to a premiere if I wanted to go. Admission gets passed around like free corporate baseball tickets.
posted by headspace at 5:59 AM on April 12, 2007

Useful to know, thanks!
posted by wackybrit at 6:00 AM on April 12, 2007

basically any time that someone who was not involved with the movie's production can see it in a public venue, it's probably a premiere. free screening at a local independent theater where you rented out a showing? that's a premiere. one time screening at a bar where people could buy tickets at the door? that's a premiere. sitting in your living room with friends? not a premiere. sitting in a bar or theater with just cast and crew and no ticket sales or invitiations to the public? not a premiere.
posted by shmegegge at 9:31 AM on April 12, 2007