Dr Rebekah Louisa Smith is an Award-Winning Film Festival Strategist and founder of The Film Festival Doctor
The Film Festival Doctor. Dr Smith creates expertly tailor-made festival strategies for her clients, facilitating their films’ exposure to global audiences while supporting their mental health at every stage throughout the process.
The Film Festival Doctor and her team have helped clients win over 2,225 awards and have secured hundreds of festival screenings, including the Locarno, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Aesthetica, Sundance, Slamdance, Austin, Nashville, Cinequest & BFI London Film Festivals. One of her client’s short films was Oscar nominated in 2016 and another short film was short listed for the 2024 Oscars.
Her services include creating a streamlined and focused festival strategy, completing applications & everything else required to help navigate the festival circuit smoothly. Additional services include sourcing sales agents, distributors and film publicists.
Alongside creating bespoke festival strategies for clients, Dr Smith also prioritises a holistic approach in an industry renowned for being incredibly tough. She says: "Working in film is challenging; many filmmakers come from a baseline of stress, scrutiny, and rejection before they connect with me—more support is needed in this area. My approach includes looking after your mental health as you navigate and partake in the festival circuit."
In 2021, a shocking 87% of people working in the Film & TV Industry had experienced mental health problems, with only 10% of respondents agreeing that the industry was a mentally healthy place to work. A more recent report in 2022 states that 11% still find the industry mentally unhealthy *. However, more encouragingly, 80% of respondents now sense a positive change in the industry's capability to support mental health needs. For Dr Smith, it's a priority to be part of that positive change:
"83% of those working in film & TV say industry culture has a negative impact on their wellbeing, which is why I am offering resources to help. I appreciate scrutiny & judgement are part of a filmmaker’s journey, but developing a 'thick skin' is not enough, so I've created a mental health toolkit tailored to help you develop the right type of mindset to handle this specific area of the industry."
Dr Smith’s support includes some free resources such as her groundbreaking new e-book: Film Festivals & Looking After Your Mental Health, alongside The Film Festival Doctor’s Guide to Navigating The Festival Circuit – both available from
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