Tickets to film festivals around the country are becoming more coveted and sought after every year. As event professionals, we asked ourselves, “What are these film festivals doing right?” Turns out it’s a lot! We sat down with the folks from the Napa Valley Film Festival, Marc and Brenda Lhormer, to learn more.

Films

NVFF’s film lineup includes both hot new independent films and studio sneak previews of films likely to be awards season nominees. The diverse film offerings attract a variety of attendees. Audiences are comprised of movie buffs, food and wine lovers, filmmakers, celebrities, and people who just love a great party. Event professionals looking to build broadly accessible experiences—take note.

Food & Wine

What comes to mind when one hears Napa Valley? Award-winning wine? Michelin star restaurants? The NVFF incorporates these aspects of Napa’s culture into the program in a big way. Whether it’s at wine pavilions, lavish parties, or decadent private dinners, attendees can sip vino from more than 150 wineries in Napa, and indulge in cuisine from locally renowned chefs. The festival leaves no taste unexplored on its broad culinary stage.

Venues

To showcase the unique personality of each community, the NVFF event team gets creative with their festival canvas. This often involves transforming non-traditional venues into spaces used for wine tasting, culinary experiences, and film screenings. Instead of megaplex cinemas, the NVFF opts for an eclectic set of screening venues throughout the valley—from winery barrel rooms to airplane hangars. Take a look at this year’s nine screening venues hosted by Napa, Yountville, and St. Helena here.

Tech Components

It’s no surprise that technology companies have made their way to NVFF. Napa is neighbors with the tech-rich Silicon Valley, after all. Large tech partners exhibit new products and services at NVFF, in addition to assisting with some of the event’s tech-related operations. Others simply come for the experience and use the festival as a backdrop to entertain key clients, vendors, and employees.

Opus team members draw inspiration from events around the world; the Napa Valley Film Festival is no exception. The dates for this year’s fest are November 8-12. Sign us up! Keep an eye on the NVFF website for the film lineup and ongoing festival updates.

Photos courtesy of the Napa Valley Film Festival.