What is the Fast Forward Film Festival?
Launched during Earth Week 2015, the Fast Forward Film Festival is an environmental film festival held annually in Rochester, NY.  All films are under five minutes and are made by people who live in Rochester and its surrounding areas. 

Building the website

The Fast Forward Film Festival’s website needed to serve a variety of functions.  Beyond sharing information about the festival, the site would provide an online space to match aspiring filmmakers with local organizations volunteered filmmaking support and resources.  

MVP must include

• Essential festival information
• Ticket purchasing portal
• Ability to upload film submissions
• Connect with festival network
• Sponsor information
• Volunteer information
• Ability to accept donations
• Press materials
• Filmmaker resources

I designed the entire website and worked directly with a developer to implement it on WordPress.  Research included: stakeholder interviews, filmmaker interviews, defining key audiences, and conducting competitive research. Design included: branding and graphic design, image sourcing, content production and copywriting.  I also researched and tested tools that would allow filmmakers to seamlessly upload submission files directly through the site.

The results

The website launched successfully.  In the first year of the festival, over 80 films were submitted directly through the website. The festival and website have become a platform for the Rochester community to share their perspectives on the environment. By fostering connections, promoting available resources and actively encouraging underserved youth to tell their story, greater community engagement around environmental concerns became a reality.

Marketing Material & Festival Swag