To cut costs, TIGLFF to be a 9-day festival

It's a tough time financially for film festivals, and the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is no exception.

According to executive director Larry Biddle, one way the festival plans to save money this year is by shortening the annual October festival by two days. It will be nine days long, rather than 11.

â┚¬Å”We're taking some corrective action,â┚¬Â Biddle explained. â┚¬Å”We're also trying to build our audience throughout the year to keep the brand of TIGLF in front of people.â┚¬Â

Biddle said that the festival's monthly films series will be sponsored each month, rather than paid for by the festival itself.
In an e-mail, TIGLFF President Ken Hodges said that rising costs in the film world are what has motivated economical changes in the organization.

â┚¬Å”Filmmakers have recently quadrupled their film leasing fees,â┚¬Â Hodges said. â┚¬Å”We estimate TIGLFF will pay filmmakers $20,000 this year just to rent the festival films that you will see.â┚¬Â

Ticket sales to the festival's screenings cover less than half of the program expenses, and Hodges said that doubling ticket prices is out of the question. But what has changed are the spaces available for advertisers in TIGLFF's printed program. Advertising rates won't rise, but ads will run slightly smaller, making way for additional advertisers and sponsors in 2012.

â┚¬Å”Increasing fees isn't what we want to doâ┚¬â€this isn't the economy for that,â┚¬Â Biddle said. â┚¬Å”Now with more ad space, we have room to bring more sponsors onboard.â┚¬Â

Biddle is optimistic, adding that TIGLFF has raised its sponsorship advertising goal by 25% this year.

â┚¬Å”We're being very aggressive about sponsorships,â┚¬Â Biddle added. â┚¬Å”There are a lot of businesses that would like to have our LGBT business.â┚¬Â

So far, Biddle said that TIGLFF hasn't received any negative feedback from past advertisers about the reduced ad space. The support of past advertisers seems to be unwavering.

Hodges describes the state of LGBT film festivals as â┚¬Å”at a crossroads,â┚¬Â citing that the nation's two largest LGBT festivals in Los Angeles and New York have merged to maintain financial sustainability and operational efficiencies.

Both Hodges and Biddle are confident in TIGLFF's future, and monthly film series will continueâ┚¬â€beginning with a May 2 screening of Cloudburst, starring Olympia Dukakis, at Muvico Baywalk at 8 p.m.