Inside the Career of A Film Festival Doctor: Rebekah Louisa Smith’s Journey. Written by Mira Mahishi

Rebekah Louisa Smith never set out to become a “film festival doctor.” But, when she noticed that filmmakers were submitting to the wrong festivals, she diagnosed the problem and created a solution the industry didn’t know it needed. Smith is a dedicated film festival strategist who owns a consulting agency and hosts an engaging podcast. Her personal interests include designing tarot cards, water painting, and nature walks. Being a film festival doctor is a very intense and busy job, so whenever she gets the chance, she uses her interests to unwind. When asked what led her to pursue a career in the film industry, she explained, “...The reason why I got into this line of work was [because] I found there was a gap in the market at the time. When I launched my company, back in 2010, filmmakers needed help getting their film seen in film festivals. I didn't know who to turn to to help them get the film seen in festivals and create a strategy. So I thought, you know what? I'm going to do this because I know the festival circuit.” The gap in the market mentioned above was related to how filmmakers were not submitting to festivals tailored for their specific film. She felt the need to help those filmmakers out and prove that her service would work. 

Smith has a PhD in film, so when asked about the process of the schooling she needed, to get to where she is today, she said, “The schooling was not so much doing…like a course at university or film school…What you need to have is a knowledge of how the film festival circuit works. It's not a very straightforward process. It's very convoluted. There are a lot of things that you have to take into account.” Aspiring film festival strategists need to learn how film festivals work. They can do this by volunteering at a film festival, attending a film festival, or even producing a film festival. There are also many pieces of media to teach people about film festivals, like books, blogs, and videos. After all, running a film festival is not easy and requires substantial knowledge in the area. So, the more film festivals you are involved in, the more experience and knowledge you gain.

While Rebekah Louisa Smith is now a renowned film festival doctor, she overcame many hurdles to get to where she is today. Smith mentioned that it was hard for her to launch her company, as then, nobody had developed a full-service agency focused on assisting filmmakers with submitting their films to festivals. She ended up being assisted by Christopher Holland, the CEO of Film Festival Secrets. Holland helped Rebekah Smith figure out what she had to build on, as not many people understood what exactly she was doing. When she told filmmakers about her profession, they categorized her as a sales agent, which was a very different type of work. She was not selling films, but assisting with getting them into festivals. She had to be able to convince people of her potential and get her first clients on board. She worked extremely hard to gain the trust and praise that she has today.

To kickstart her career, she received her PhD in film and audience research in Wales, and moved to London, because it was a very happening area, and the heart of the film industry in the UK. She wanted to be able to network with professionals in the industry while also meeting some potential clients. When asked for her advice for filmmakers wishing to start their career, she said, “You're going to be a bit restricted if you're in your little bubble, and you're not going to go any, really, farther afield… so, a really big thing to kick-start your career is to go where you need to go. If that means you're going to move away from home, then so be it, because it will pay off in the long run.” Smith also met a business coach, who mentored her and taught her some business skills that were essential to survive in the industry.

In 2017, Rebekah Louisa Smith was getting a little restless. She had been going to the US very frequently to attend film festivals and speak at events. She felt more connected to the US than the UK. At this point, Smith had been in London for 6 years, and was not feeling as connected to it anymore. She moved to the US during the pandemic and chose Dallas, since she’d been to the city a few times. She wanted to be somewhere where she could call home, somewhere up and coming that wasn’t too industrial. She started being introduced to more and more industry professionals when she was at the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF). She enjoyed the community in Dallas and the similar feel to London that she had gotten used to.

Smith's “I made it moment” was when her company was turning into a real, full-time job, and consisted of many clients. She quit her part-time job, and focused all her attention on her company, becoming a full-time businesswoman. Another milestone was when a film she was working on got into an Academy-qualifying film festival. Now, in total, Smith has three Oscar success stories. This year, one of her features was selected to represent South Africa for the best international feature film category. When asked about her thoughts on big moments like this, she said, “So there’s a lot of moving parts, and, you know, it’s very exciting for the filmmakers as well. But yeah, I mean, the films that do well when it comes to the Oscars are the ones that never wanted to actually win one or don’t intend to make it for the Oscars, but that tend to make it to tell the story and make the message out there.”

The most common mistake that Rebekah Louisa Smith sees all the time is when filmmakers do not have a strategy. They will not have a specific plan, and will submit to festivals that won’t have an audience fitted for their film. She said, “I cannot stress enough…how important it is to have a strategy and to be very specific and targeted with your goals and with your festival choices. That way, you can save money, but also get a better chance of getting selected. It can get very demoralizing and very upsetting if you don't get the results you want, or you attach yourself to a certain outcome… it can be very, you know, it's a lot to learn, so I'd always recommend that.” She also suggests that filmmakers get feedback on their film from someone who is not connected to them. Most people who are connected to the filmmaker will likely tell them what they want to hear, instead of telling them real, objective feedback. It is very important to be able to take criticism and feedback. It’s not something personal, but something true.

Not all films get accepted into film festivals, so what does Smith do to help her clients deal with rejection? When asked, she said, “So I always tell them, the best way to cope with rejection is to see it as feedback. It could mean that maybe you just need to tweak your festival strategy and submit to different types of festivals. If it's not qualified for this type of festival level and tier, how about maybe try a different type of festival?” It all eventually comes down to the film; these rejections are helping filmmakers, and they should easily be able to change their plan if they’re willing to accept the feedback.

You can find Rebekah Louisa Smith on Instagram @rebekahfilmdr and her website:                                   https://www.thefilmfestivaldoctor.com/