How to Visit a Film Festival

Imagine yourself seated in a theater in the hip New York City neighborhood of Tribeca, in the mountains of Utah or the streets of Toronto surrounded by film aficionados watching the newest, hottest films. Sound like your cup of tea? It's time for you to plan a trip to a film festival and see some great films.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Love of film

1. Visit the film festival's Web site and find out when the festival is taking place. The dates change every year. Decide if you want to stay for the entire festival or just for a day or two. If the festival is coming up soon, the site will have information about the films to be screened.

2. Book your flight, hotel room, rental car and anything else that requires a reservation. Many film festivals have become very popular making it harder to find hotel rooms or seats on flights near the event dates. The earlier you plan, the better.

3. Buy tickets for the screenings you want to see. Tickets to the high-profile Gala screenings are hard to get. They are available in advance along with tickets for regular screenings. There is often a limit to the number of tickets you can get per person, per screening. Passes and coupons are also usually available. Check the film festival's Web site for specific ticket information.

4. Get the skinny on the location. You may not have a lot of free time while you're at the festival, but discover nearby restaurants and sights. Buy a guidebook, check with the tourism office or look online.

Tips & Warnings

• On the day of the screening, if seats are still open, the festival will often make those seats available to the public. Check with the ticket office to see when or if they offer this.
• Arrive at your screening or event at least 30 minutes before it starts.