Nonprofit Talk: NYC film fest goes drive-in style to limit COVID spread
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Jayson Simba is founder and executive director of the Festival of Cinema NYC. Photos courtesy of Festival of Cinema NYC
By Jayson Simba, as told to the Eagle
Jayson Simba is founder and executive director of the Festival of Cinema NYC, which is presenting 28 independent films from around the world of all length and genres, projected on a majestic 5-story outdoor screen at St. John’s University starting this Thursday.
We are now about six months since the pandemic essentially shut down most of New York City. How has your organization adapted during this time?
Being that our organization is an Arts & Cultural not-for-profit, we hit pretty hard as was the rest of the Arts and Entertainment industry. Normally we hold a huge 10-day festival beginning with the first Friday in August, every year since 2017. With movie theaters shut down in New York City, we had to postpone our summer event and figure out a new way to deliver our content and present the work of the many filmmakers whose work we selected to screen at the 2020 film festival. Ultimately, our festival was able to restructure our event into a Drive-In Film Festival that will be launching October 1.
How have you adjusted in serving your audience?
Filmmakers mingled with audience members during the 2019 Festival of Cinema NYC.
With our newly structured format, we try to present the work of our filmmakers in an environment that resembles a Film Festival experience. While there won't be live Q&A's with presenting filmmakers - we've arranged for them to each be interviewed via ZOOM, and then post and promote those videos across our social media. We've also built a large Red Carpet 'Ride' & repeat which will allow cars to drive up on a red carpet and have their picture taken from the safety of their vehicle.
How are you balancing the needs of our audience with the level of risk to your employees and filmmakers?
Because of the nature of our event, both employees and filmmakers can work with each other remotely from the safety of their homes. During the event we will be providing PPE Equipment, sanitizer and wiping down all equipment used. In addition, attendees to the festival will not be prohibited from exiting their vehicles except for restroom breaks. We require that everyone wear a mask and stand at a 6-foot distance from others when outside their vehicle.
How has the pandemic affected your staffing and are you hiring?
We aren't hiring per say, but for our event we have acquired about 20 volunteers which is pretty much the average we use every year.
As you look the remaining part of 2020, what are your expectations and hopes?
For the remainder of 2020 I just hope that we can continue to stop the spread of the virus and maintain a low percentage of cases while a cure for COVID-19 is discovered.
How have you personally been impacted by COVID-19?
Absolutely. I think most of us have been impacted by less work and lower income. Interacting with close friends and family members has also been affected.
What types of support do you most need support now?
Raising funds and getting sponsors to sign on for our event has been particularly difficult this year, so I think it is safe to say we could definitely use support in the form of public donations.
What is next for your organization?
After our Drive-In Festival, we'll be taking a break to decompress and assess the pros and cons that came out of this format. We won't begin work on the next festival until January 2021.
What do you think the future holds for your sector as a result of the pandemic?
I really don't know. A lot of events and organizations are moving content online, but I am hoping for the best and that we can resume live events to some extent.
You can learn more at www.FestivalofCinemaNYC.com.
