Independent film festival promoters are acting less and less independent when it comes to attracting corporate sponsorship – and some of the year’s best finds for Toronto’s festival were spotted at other festivals first. In fact, the tag team approach to corporate sponsorship between festivals works so well that one-stop shopping may well be next.

‘There are opportunities for that,’ says Rob Lamb, director of development for the Toronto International Film Festival, adding it would be quite difficult logistically – but not impossible.

Air Canada, for example, only this year managed to link itself specifically to the People’s Choice Awards at all three Canadian film festivals – Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Tying itself to a specific event at all three festivals took a lot of effort, says Lamb, because the airline was forced to approach each festival separately and in Toronto, for example, it had to wait until this year for the People’s Choice Award to open up.

Forcing potential sponsors to do all the legwork goes against promoter needs – a fact some event marketers recognize. For example, Tourism Toronto has formed the Atlantic-Pacific Event Marketing Company, an alliance between several Canadian cities to attract sponsors for their events.

‘We’re trying to make it easier for sponsors to break into existing events,’ says communications director John Hamilton.

The alliance will be based in Toronto and will be responsible for attracting corporate sponsors for events taking place in any city or cities across the country. So far, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal have given the nod to the plan, says Hamilton, and the goal is to sign up close to 10 cities.

However, film festivals are a very different breed and, although they don’t compete amongst themselves, there would still have to be a very diplomatic approach to cross-festival sponsorship, says Toronto film festival’s Lamb. He points out that it wouldn’t be easy because one agent would have to be chosen to represent several festivals. ‘We’re so deadly serious about customer service. In order for us to partner, we’d have to be unbelievably secure that (sponsors) would be serviced.’

As it stands, promoters compare sponsor lists all the time. In fact, linking themselves to independent film festivals has become de rigeur for companies interested in upping their profile with the hip and urbane. ‘Companies like the association – it’s a pretty upscale audience,’ says Lamb, adding that over half of Toronto’s $5 million budget is covered by corporate sponsorship this year. All of this year’s best finds in terms of corporate sponsorship first starred at another festival. This year, The Sundance Festival turned Toronto festival promoters onto trendy shoe company Dr. Martens and Sainsbury & Company Ltd.’s Absolut vodka, both supporters of the Robert Redford brainchild for a few years, while Starbucks – which started out sponsoring its hometown festival in Seattle – also joined the Toronto festival for the first time this year.