Why Local Film Festivals Matter (Especially Now)
- Rick Flynn
- Nov 19
- 4 min read
There is still hope for independent documentary. Audience-driven film festivals deserve your attention.
Streaming, social media, affordable home entertainment systems, and convenience have gotten us all accustomed to watching in our PJs.
The skyrocketing cost of movie theater tickets doesn’t help, up 26% since 2019, and that’s for the cheap seats, which are an average of $23.10 per movie in New York, almost three times the cost of a monthly Netflix subscription.
Beyond that, the shifting distribution landscape has made it difficult for most people in the US even to find independent documentaries in theaters. If you’re willing to make the trek to a theater (a big if), and you don't have an arthouse nearby, your choices are probably celebrity biography, politics, and the inevitable impact film – more on that trend in a subsequent post.
And the rub? Audiences have been conditioned to gravitate towards these films. Phenomenal, entertaining independent documentaries are being made, but the connection between visionary and viewer has been severed. Strangers can no longer gather in dark rooms with a sticky floors for an uninterrupted 90 minutes to watch stunning, thought-provoking, off-the-beaten-path gems. Those dark rooms don't play them.
Time to resign yourself to a life of leftover pizza on the couch watching true crime in your underwear. Go ahead—eat dinner, and take a break to walk the dog.
But just when you thought all was lost... in steps the local film festival: a growing trend that won’t pay your rent (yet), but that I believe is reseeding audiences (aka rebuilding demand), reminding moviegoers that independent documentaries are more than just background noise playing on a MacBook while an audience of one doom-scrolls on an iPhone.
The discovery: my festival tour
Over the course of 2025, I had the pleasure of bopping around the US on a festival tour with my first post-pandemic documentary, Power Lines. We played at some larger festivals like AmDocs and AoBFF, but I also attended our screenings at many non-market film festivals (also known as local or regional film festivals). I’d honestly forgotten about the magic of audience engagement outside of the industry.
Most of the festivals I attend, whether as a panelist, with a film, or with industry accreditation, are market festivals, where films get pitched, funded, or bought. The Sundances and Berlinales.
But in a world with shrinking opportunities for independent cinema distribution, non-market regional festivals and local event-based screenings have become an integral part of the life cycle of a documentary.
What cut through my jaded shell? Enthusiastic audiences. People in theaters. Hoards of them. Sold out screenings. Laughter, applause, tears, debate. All with people who have nothing to do with the film industry.
Over the course of the run, one thing became crystal clear: moviegoers in all corners of the US are itching to see independent documentaries… in movie theaters.
The theatrical experience matters.
What was the last film that made you laugh so hard your abs hurt the next morning? Where were you when you saw it?
Watching movies in theaters, in groups, with strangers, heightens emotions, creates stronger memories, provokes thought, and makes movies more entertaining. Science backs this up. For example, here, here, here, here, or here.
This communal experience can be transformative. It’s what made cinema a cultural phenomenon in the first place. Today, we need a reminder that movies are made to be seen together, in the dark, on big screens, without distraction.
What we can do
Festivals give audiences the rare opportunity to encounter independent documentaries in the way they were meant to be experienced. They give filmmakers a place to learn from our work. They are keeping the soul of indie cinema alive right now.
Filmmakers should support them. Submit your work. Write to ask for a fee waiver. Show up when you can. Even small festivals will often help with costs to get you there. Participate in panels. Be present for audiences. Enjoy the applause.
Audiences should seek them out. Find your local festival. Buy tickets (even if that means pausing your Netflix subscription for a month or two). Bring friends. Engage with the work. These festivals exist because of you.
And we should all recognize that the future of meaningful, independent cinema depends on the spaces that still care about putting strangers in a dark room and forcing them to turn off their devices for an hour and a half.
Long live the local film festival.
Special thanks to AmDocs, Capital City, Urban MediaMakers, Central Michigan International, Royal Star, Art of Brooklyn, and Daredevil. These are the festivals that pierced my jaded shell and inspired this post. Their generosity in accommodating filmmakers, and their audiences’ enthusiasm for indie documentary, have made them some of my favorites in the US.
