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You may think that film festivals are only limited to large venues such as Sundance, TriBeca and others, but the truth is that smaller film festivals can be organized almost anywhere. It just takes a little planning, and if you’re like most people, a checklist really helps with this. So, here’s one for organizing your own film festival.

• First, find your venue—where the festival will be held. This is important because the availability of the venue is most likely what will determine when your festival will be held. Consider the weather when choosing a venue. Depending on when it is available, the weather may not be conducive with that date for an outdoor venue; however, if you can find a venue that allows for both indoor and outdoor activities, you might want to use that one.
• As soon as you’ve located a suitable venue, go ahead and choose the date for your film festival and book the venue for that date.
• Obtain permits, licenses, and any other pertinent documents you will need for your film festival. You probably won’t be able to do this until you have a firm date established, anyway, so you can wait on these. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to have everything approved and issued, however.
• Now, decide on the theme of the film festival. Will it be romantic movies, horror/science fiction, comedy, or action? Will the movies be suitable for all ages?
• Once you have established a theme, consider whether or not you may be able to get a film producer, director, or even an actor or actress (a local one who has gone on to make a name for him/herself would be a good choice).

Go ahead and print up your flyers, making sure you mention all information. Don’t delay printing your flyers. You want plenty of time to advertise your film festival in coffeehouses, on university campuses, in public libraries, and other places.