Behind the Scenes at the Beacon Independent Film Festival!

Samantha Ketelsen, BIFF Account Representative

The fall semester at Marist didn’t start until August 28, but preparations for the 5th annual Beacon Independent Film Festival–also known as BIFF–were well underway since the summer. The three-day festival took place this past weekend at The Theatre at University Settlement (right at the base of Mount Beacon), and as an account representative for North Road Communications, I helped with media outreach for the event.

A.R. Samantha Ketelsen volunteering at BIFF with other NRC members!

I was assigned to the BIFF team back in July and was really looking forward to getting to work as a first-time member of North Road Communications. It began with some press releases and pitch email drafts, which I worked on alongside account executive Tom Quinn and firm directors Emma Stanton and Meghan Trausch. After the drafts were finalized with feedback from the client, we were ready to begin sending out the press releases and pitches to the press! It was really exciting when we began to get emails back from the media asking for more information.

In addition to the media outreach, I also had the opportunity to volunteer at the film festival on opening night. After taking some pictures on the BIFF red carpet with the other NRC volunteers (you can see these on the North Road Instagram account!) we split up to help with various tasks such as hanging up lights, taking care of food purchases and assisting Zero to Go with composting and recycling. It was a very welcoming environment, and we could tell that all of the attendees were ready to see some great features, shorts and documentaries by local filmmakers.

Overall, this was a rewarding experience that allowed me to apply the skills I’ve learned in the classroom and at internships to a North Road Communications client and have some fun, too!