Saabel ITIT for film festivalsNorway

saabel.it

Festival IT from someone who has worked the guest desk.

Tell me what's slowing your team down Short email, no forms

AccreditationSince 2014
Jonas
Saabel
Festival IT
Saabel IT · Norway
Films · Guests · Print
Web · Support
ALL ACCESSIT
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Hi, I'm Jonas.

For more than a decade, I've been on the floor at international film festivals, as a guest co-ordinator, event manager or festival producer. I know what ill-fitting IT does to a team: the double work, the late nights, the errors that slip into print.

I'm a full-time software developer, working on data systems for public transport. Through my consultancy, I also help festivals get their IT setup right.

Sound familiar?

  • You're copy-pasting 200 guest names into a mail merge at midnight.
  • You made one last-minute change, and now the programme is wrong in five different places.
  • You're chasing 150 filmmakers for screening copies, one email at a time.
  • You're paying for a platform that does everything except what you need.

I've been there.The good news is that most of it can be fixed. Often it's just a matter of getting the tools you already have to work together.

Jonas Saabel at the guest desk during Fredrikstad Animation Festival, surrounded by festival guests
Behind the desk at Fredrikstad Animation Festival: on the team since 2017, building its tools and database since 2021. I built the website too, so have a look around: animationfestival.no ↗

My approach

First, I listen. How does your festival work, and what tasks take up your time? Then I build on the tools your team already uses, and only write code where it earns its place.

  • FilmFreeway
  • Eventive
  • Notion
  • Slack
  • Dropbox
  • InDesign
  • Canva
  • CMS
  • Email
  • AI assistants
  • whatever you're using

What I can do for you

Advise

An honest look at your setup: what's working, what's costing you time, and what's worth changing (or buying) before next season.

Automate

Bye bye copy-paste. Run imports, mailings and batch updates with a single click. Plus AI where it actually helps.

Integrate

Submissions, databases, ticketing and website. Connected and kept in sync, so every change is made once.

Publish

Schedules, tech sheets, catalogues and badges. Produced as print-ready files or served live on the web.

Showcase

A festival website that shows off your films, events and guests. Fed from the same data as everything else.

Support

Remote help through the season, for when something breaks.

Set it all up

Not married to an existing system? For small and medium-sized festivals, I offer a complete setup built on Notion: films, guests, programme, mailings and more in one place, with everything above built in. It's what Fredrikstad Animation Festival runs on.

Let's talk

Tell me about your festival.

[email protected]
English · Norsk · DeutschAdd to contacts

A few lines is enough. We'll start with a chat, no strings attached. I take on a small number of festivals each year, so it's worth getting in touch early.