Temporary clusters in the independent film industry A qualitative research on investigating the role of international film festivals as temporary clusters in stimulating production

This study examines how film festivals positioned as a temporary cluster in the film value chain in order to stimulate the production of film work, using the International Film Festival Rotterdam as the case study site. Drawing on the heritage of previous film festivals research, this study adopted the concept ‘temporary cluster’ to further explore the role of film festivals played in the European film industry and the nature process of such formation. To do so, nine expert interviews were conducted in the chosen case study site, in order to gain in-depth understanding on film festivals being a cite of cultural legitimation, how film festivals function as market as well as temporary cluster to foster knowledge exchange and network establishment. Thematic analysis was further used to analysis the collected data, results showed by becoming a community of practice, film festivals have the ability to aggregate new talents together in a global context to learn, practice and form an identity. Findings further elaborated several key roles the film festival played as an active agent in industry as well as fostering face-to-face interaction that film festivals enables for the professionals to compare but also cooperate. In conclusion, by studying film festivals from a business perspective, this study has offered a more nuanced understanding on the role of film festivals in European film industry.