FestForums Santa Barbara

Producer/Director: Michael Raspatello

The music festival surge of the last five years has anchored a growth in live music attendance unseen in modern history. It has attracted new industry entrants, increased brand involvement, and spurred ongoing debate about the motives of the young people that drive this growth. But few have stopped to ask the fans themselves.
 
As a festival co-founder that was pulled into this world by the demand that was bubbling up in the US circa 2010, I became fascinated with what drove people to these communal experiences. Their motives were in many ways both diverse and shared. They were misunderstood. They were simultaneously well-meaning and disingenuous. And they hadn't been captured on "film." There had been great concert films and docs about the challenges of putting on a fest. But no one had turned the camera on the festivalgoers themselves. Like "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" before it, this fan-focused time capsule felt necessary. I was honored to have the opportunity.