The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival is growing, and we’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic people with a passion for film to volunteer for the 2008 film festival. Your involvement will consist of an assortment of responsibilities including, but not limited to, ticket sales, event organization, transportation, and guest services. Volunteers will be expected to attend at least one training session (dates and times TBA), provide their own transportation, and donate at least eight hours per week to the festival. If you are seventeen years of age or older and you would like to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, please fill out an online application and we will contact you shortly. (Student volunteers can often receive credit for this kind of experience, so check with your school to see if they have a program available!)

What are some requirements in order to volunteer?
-Seventeen years of age or older
-No criminal record
-Access to your own transportation
-Commit to at least two days/eight hour shifts during the festival (March 24 - 28) and a
minimum of eight hours/week leading up to the festival
-Perform well in a fast-paced environment
-Able to do some work from home
-Sign a volunteer commitment form
-Attend at least one training session
-Licensed drivers with clean transportation desired but not required for all positions
-For some positions, volunteers will be required to submit to a background check
-MUST be friendly, dedicated, professional, and positive!

How can I sign up to volunteer?
First, fill out the online application. Once your application has been reviewed you will be contacted by a volunteer coordinator. If accepted, you will be expected to attend a training session during which you will be assigned your first job area and task, based on your experience, preferences, and availability.

What kind of work can a volunteer expect?
There are a lot of important steps to putting together and running a film festival, so your duties may change as we get closer to the actual event, but some of the job areas include:

Marketing and distribution: spreading the word and getting the community interested in attending and supporting our festival. Duties include clerical work, communicating with sponsors, administrative work, posting ads, flyers, and posters, and more.

Guest services: assisting patrons, sponsors, and VIPs by answering questions and providing information about movies, special events, seminars, industry panels, locations, and the BNFF. Volunteers may be asked to meet visitors at the airport and assist in checking them into their hotels. This is a great job for people who enjoy meeting new people.

Ticketing: be able to answer questions on ticket purchasing and policies, and provide information on ticket sales to the public. Volunteers will handle will-call ticket sales, and some day-of sales.

Theater operations: checking tickets and VIP passes, crowd traffic control, and keeping the theaters presentable. Volunteers in this area will also handle BNFF merchandise sales in theater lobbies.

Runners: volunteers will act as liaison or assistant to an assigned staff member or VIP during the festival, handling special and/or personal needs. Runners are expected to be exceptionally patient, friendly, and polite and can expect to be on-call during their assigned VIP's stay.

Festival Maintenance: we're not talking repairing projectors or replacing spotlight bulbs, but we are talking about keeping the gears turning. While not the most glamorous volunteer work, volunteers providing maintenance keep the festival running smoothly by picking up the important details that sometimes get lost or crop up unexpectedly in the midst of everything else. Making copies, picking up supplies, making deliveries, and taking care of last minute surprises are just some of the ways they help out.

Why should I volunteer?
The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival is only in its second year and already it is making a mark on the film festival map. Submissions have doubled, staff has tripled, and press and community involvement is skyrocketing. In other words: BNFF is getting big. As a charitable, cultural, and educational organization the BNFF is servicing Western New York by providing and encouraging opportunities for filmmakers, film enthusiasts, and arts appreciators in a non-commercial atmosphere.

As a volunteer, not only will you contribute to the mission of BNFF but you will also gain personal experience in an exciting, arts-oriented environment, as well as dealing with the public and the press. You will meet members of the local filmmaking and media arts community, others who share your interest in film and video, and potentially a celebrity or two, who besides leaving you star-struck can also give valuable insight into what it’s like to work within the film industry.

In addition, student volunteers can often receive credit for their time with BNFF, so check with your advisor to find out if such a program is available.

Additional Volunteer Benefits
To thank you for your time and hard work for the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, volunteers receive four free tickets to the festival and one free festival T-shirt.

The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival relies greatly on volunteers in order to keep everything running before, during, and after the event. Whether you have experience with other festivals or if this is your first time volunteering, we greatly appreciate your interest and support.

For more information on volunteering, please contact Madeline Franklin at madelinef@buffaloniagarafilmfestival.com with any questions not answered here.