Star-studded

TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival

The TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival is a digital shorts competition that invites aspiring and established international filmmakers to share their original works through the world’s largest creative digital community — Instagram.

In a world where everything is rapidly digitizing and digital becomes the cultural default, a commensurate backlash arises—a reactionary force that proclaims that real connection only occurs in person. The truth is in the middle, but we on the Short of the Week team have jokingly observed that every film festival is seemingly racing to become relevant online, while every online platform is simultaneously in a rush to establish a beachhead in events. Nobody is happy solely in their own domain—the grass is always greener I guess—yet because of the mismatch in skills and organization required to succeed in on the other side of the divide, the results of these initiatives are usually pretty underwhelming.

The logic of it makes undeniable sense though, and so festival and online platforms will keep trying, and their success, or failure, is worth examining. Today, in the midst of selection announcements for the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, we’re analyzing one of the most hi-profile and interesting examples of an events/digital mashup, the recently concluded TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival. A partnership between two titans of their domains, we want to dig deep into how it works, what the two sides are looking to get out of the partnership, and, most importantly, ask the question—is this creating something of value? Are we glimpsing the hallowed “future of content”, or is it all just marketing? I chatted with the team at TIFF earlier this month to get the scoop.

See more, here.