In its 10th year JiFFest struggles for sponsors, yet again

Kenny Santana ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 12/05/2008 11:41 AM  |  Lifestyle

As one of the biggest film festivals in Southeast Asia, the Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) has a title many events would covet.

However, in its 10th year running, the event is having trouble drawing in sponsors.

Up until two weeks ago almost everyone in the film industry believed that this year's JiFFest wouldn't happen. The reason was simple and clear: no funding.

But the festival is still on, albeit cut to five days from the usual 10, which means this year's schedule will be the shortest in the festival's history.

JiFFest's director, Lalu Roisamri, said he had spent a lot of time working on securing funding for the event but several key sponsors declined to participate. This year, of the more than 80 company doors he knocked on, only 15 firms actually called him back.

"Businesses find it difficult to meet their branding requirements, because the venues JiFFest uses for its screenings have strict regulations.

"For example, some credit card companies couldn't provide sponsorship because cinemas don't allow their branding to appear on the premises," Lalu said.

Factor the recent global financial crisis into the equation, and the festival is facing its worst funding year ever.

"Rejections came before and after the global financial crisis. Some companies reduced the amount of sponsorship because of the crisis," he said.

Vita Sabrina, an account manager at a Jakarta advertising agency, explained it this way: "The film festival itself is not attractive enough for the sponsors here. The image of a film festival is still independent movies, which doesn't draw in their target markets.

"Sponsors favor mainstream events like international concerts."

Most concerts held this year have still managed to line up major sponsors to support them, but JiFFest has fared less well.

"The companies never expressly told us they preferred music events. However, since in the end they sponsored the concerts, it's pretty clear where they stand," Roisamri said.

Despite the wrangling behind the scenes, JiFFest attendees, even the most loyal ones, have no clue there is a funding issue.

"I had no idea after 10 years JiFFest would still be having a hard time finding sponsors. Especially since many movies are sold out long before they're screened and theaters enjoy full houses during the festival. I assumed from the public demand, sponsorship would easy," said Rio Rinaldo, a 36-year-old festival fan.

Even though JiFFest pulled in 54,000 admissions last year, the ticket price alone paid off only 10 percent of the total festival bill.

Raising ticket prices was not an option, organizers said, as the festival would like to maintain good attendance and continue to be accessible to all markets.

JiFFest charges Rp 20,000 per ticket, which is lower than the Rp 25,000 ticket price at a recent, more commercial horror film festival in the city.

The trouble with finding sponsorship is nothing new to the festival organizers. In 2003, a lack of sponsorship meant the festival had to cut back to six days and to reduce the number of films screened. It also only used cultural centers as its venues.

"The government has offered some cash support, albeit just a little. We're working towards a better partnership with the government to see JiFFest fully acknowledged and supported in every aspect in future years," Roisamri says.

Tourism boards, which work closely with film festivals in other countries, have been able to attract more travelers.

In a press conference on Nov. 26, JiFFest organizers decided to make some sacrifices and hold the festival with a smaller budget.

Beside fewer days, the festival has also cut the number of venues, scrapped some side events and hired less staff than in previous years. Sadly, there is little visible promotion, such as billboards. Promotion has been reduced to mostly word of mouth and some print media coverage.

Despite the limited publicity, tickets have been selling fast with some shows already sold out.

"Given the limited publicity and promotion, we're ecstatic about the pre-sale figures. Though it's the shortest festival we've had, we're confident it will be as engaging as the previous ones," Roisamri said.

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