Creativity at Work: Film Festival Prize Juries

This case focuses on juries that award prizes at film festivals. Prize juries usually award a preordained set of prizes to a preselected slate of films, but on grounds or criteria that are usually up to the actual jury itself to formally or informally establish and administer. The consequences of film festival prize jury allocations can accrue to many different groups and individuals. The most obvious beneficiaries are the persons associated with the films and roles that win prizes, though what the tangible benefits of winning prizes are depend both on what prize at what festival and still is a matter of debate. The film festivals themselves and their leadership also are impacted by the jury and its decisions, as these build or erode legitimacy and publicity for the festival. Likewise, the jury members themselves may receive a number of benefits from their jury work, as elaborated on below.