BANFF 2016: Why shows must partner with existing fan bases on social media

By Bill Roberts

LOOKING BACK ON THE recent Banff World Media Festival, there are any number of valuable signposts for the future of our moving image industry.One which rattled my analog cage (in a good way) was the apparent devaluation of the concept of audience in favour of "fan-dom". Ten years ago when many of us attended Banff, we had an informed inkling, maybe even a giggly-tingling anticipation, for the creative potential of the internet. It was a vague notion – we didn't really know what was going to become of this new digital frontier.But this year at Banff, one can't miss the...