In the most hectic moments of the festival, it’s nice to think about the hundreds of people that want to contribute volunteerly.
«Is it possible to fall in love with a film festival?»
This tweet about the Tromsø International Film Festival brings warmth and light to the frozen and dark December days in Tromsø. It’s the season for volunteers to apply for participating in next year’s festival. Reading the applications we realize that volunteers at TIFF are extremely well qualified. Language is one example. Through our volunteers we a festival can communicate in Russian, French, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Swahili, Kikuyu, Polish, Romanian, Greek and Bengali. In addition, we have people that manage lorries, trucks and forklifts. Some are trained as engineers, others as salesmen or emergency first responders.
Silver medal flipping pancakes
Among our volunteers there is a high percentage of students (or ex-students) from all over the world with degrees in film studies, art or theatre. Above all, our volunteers bring experiences from other festivals. A wide array of sport events, film festivals and music festivals all over the globe are listed in the applications we receive. A great number of popular Norwegian festivals are also mentioned: Bukta – Tromsø Open Air Festival, Film From the South, Døgnvill, Lofoten International Art Festival, Insomnia festival, Ordkalotten, Kalottspel, Kråkeslottfestivalen, Silent Film Days in Tromsø, Kosmorama, Riddu Riddu, debutUKA, Ungt Blod and Cinemateket.
The volunteers at this year’s festival are displaying a huge portion of enthusiasm:
«I can do ANYTHING!»
«I’m a nice person :)»
«Polite, outgoing and friendly»
«Make use of me!»
Among the more unusual achievements accomplished by our volunteers we mention the scout champion with the 1994 silver medal flipping pancakes (no spatula). No doubt we are dealing with a lot of creativity and people with a sense of humor!
Better volunteers
Together with Bukta – Tromsø Open Air Festival and the Insomnia festival, TIFF has developed a project called Samdrift. Over the course of the next two years, this project will focus on how to make it even more worthwhile volunteering at festivals and cultural events. A more professional way of handling volunteers and training volunteers to become even more skilled, are among the central points for this project. All the knowledge developed through Samdrift will make Tromsø a city that provides unique possibilities for volunteers.
Often visitors at a festival are first welcomed by a volunteer. Volunteers fill the role of hosting, and they represent the festival. Like all other festivals, TIFF depends on highly motivated volunteers that have all the information and the training they need to do their job. Friendly and skilled volunteers welcoming guests create a more positive image of the festival. Samdrift will, through training programs and sharing information, contribute not only by making volunteering more interesting. The guests at TIFF will also be affected in a positive way.
The best film festival in the world
In many ways, volunteering and professionalism are opposites. More than anything, volunteering at TIFF is about enthusiasm and the desire to be a part of a team and accomplish something wonderful. There are lots of tasks to do. Distribute posters, pick up and deliver goods, print and check tens of thousands of tickets or cater for visitors. In the most hectic moments of the festival, it’s nice to think about the hundreds of people that want to contribute. They want to spend their spare time making TIFF a great experience. In the words of one of our voluteers:
«I’m looking forward to contribute to making TIFF 2012 the best film festival in the world!!»
By Ragnhild Daae Gjertsen (Samdrift) and Frode Henriksen (TIFF volunteer coordinator).