Volunteer at MIFF!

 
Be a part of the action and volunteer with Miami International Film Festival! For 10 exciting days, March 7-16, 2014, MIFF will welcome film enthusiasts and professionals from around the world to celebrate the best of international cinema. As one of our grandest events to date, we'll need a stellar team of volunteers to make the Festival a remarkable experience for all our guests. Get involved, meet new people, and discover the latest in international cinema.

Apply to be a volunteer for MIFF 2014 starting December 1, 2013.

What we're about

The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) prides itself on being an iconic cultural event for Miami, and a growing festival on the world scene. With a small core team working year-round and for the extended season, we bring on about 500 dedicated volunteers to help activate all the moving parts of the Festival itself. We foster a culture of trust, strong work ethic, reliability, and quality. All team members are expected to uphold high standards of customer service and presentation value. (Sometimes this means answering the same questions many times over for bewildered or over-zealous festival guests and audience members, always with the same level of friendliness!) We welcome returning and brand-new volunteers alike. MIFF volunteers are people who love film, love community engagement, love special events, and love Miami. If you fit the bill, please apply!

How it works

  1. You sign up online. Registration is open DEC 1 - FEB 15. miamifilmfestival.com > about > volunteer
  2. We'll schedule a phone call or in-person interview to get to know you or your group
  3. You are placed, and receive an email confirmation with your assignment
  4. You attend a required pre-festival training session (don't worry, there are a couple dates to choose from!)
  5. You show up to volunteer!

Benefits you'll receive

  1. A cool commemorative MIFF volunteer T-shirt
  2. One voucher for every 3 hours of work, redeemable for any available regular screening ticket during MIFF14
  3. Amazing experiences and new friends you'll carry with you always!

Areas of volunteering

  • Ushers You can be on the front lines of the Festival! This is by far the job that requires the most helping hands. With six screening venues, we need many volunteers to become part of a cohesive team that helps scan tickets, hands out ballots, and helps people into the theater to find their seats. Ushers will report to Theater Managers, and are vital in ensuring the public experience in our venues is safe, welcoming, orderly, and as smooth as possible! People with smiling faces and strong customer service skills, who don't mind being on their feet, are best in these positions.

  • Line Captains Working closely with our Theater Managers, Line Captains will be on crowd-control duty, helping our excited patrons line up to enter the screening venues. Oftentimes, each screening will have a separate line for ticket holders, ticket buyers, MFS members, and Rush Line buyers. We need active, quick-moving volunteers that are natural leaders with loud, strong voices, to help communicate to the crowds which line they should be in, and what information they need to hear as they enter the theater. Many times it's repeating the message that gets the job done! Line Captains will work mostly afternoons or evenings at any of our screening venues.

  • MFS Member Masterminds Our membership team works hard to sign people up all year long to join the Miami Film Society (MFS) and receive great benefits during the festival. But some people still don't realize they want to join until right in the middle of the festival! We need helpful volunteers to work two stations, one at Regal, one at Gusman, to educate people about the alluring rewards of joining MFS and help them sign up when they're ready to take the plunge. These volunteers will become well-versed in all the levels of membership, and what each level has access to during the festival, and will be on hand to answer questions current members may also have, about how to redeem their benefits, or maximize their festival experience. Good for volunteers who have top-notch customer service skills, and are more comfortable sitting during their shift.

  • Press Office Warriors Headquartered at The Standard Spa, the Press Office is the place where all accredited press come to check in, pick up their credentials, order their tickets, request information, and conduct interviews. We need strong volunteers to help make this a smooth process for the press team! You will help with check-in, and be versed in all the rules and information working press folks need to receive. Press Office is open 9 am — 5 pm at The Standard. In the evenings, the Press Desk transitions to the Gusman, and sets up to facilitate press activity for the red carpet events! Some limited press volunteer positions will be available for these evening assignments, and promise to be exciting! Backbone required, and ability to say "yes" and "no" with equal kindness!

  • VeoMiami Librarians During the festival, MIFF builds a mini-library on the second floor of The Standard Spa, where out-oftown festival guests and members of VeoMiami Industry can go to check their email, surf the web, and watch MIFF films on individual computers (big, luxurious Apple screens!), that they might not catch during public screenings. We need volunteers to help work in the Library. It's a quiet job, but you'll keep an eye on everyone's viewing, and help if they need assistance logging in or finding the film they want. Good for someone who prefers a quiet environment, sitting, and would enjoy reading or watching films in the less busy hours. Library hours are from 9 am – 5 pm daily.

  • Master Greeters Aside from all the amazing films, the festival also hosts some fantastic Masterclasses with industry professionals, that are open to the public. Some are more hands-on, and some are more panel discussion style, but for all, we need outgoing volunteers to help our Industry team tear tickets at the door, meet and greet with the audience, encourage folks to sign up on our email list, and help people find seats. An awesome perk of this job is getting to sit in on the Masterclass for free! Most Masterclasses will be held at the Miami Beach Cinematheque the weekends of March 2-3, and 9-10. Classes last 90 minutes, and total shift lasts about 3 hours.

  • Festival Geniuses There are always bewildered guests and audience members wandering around who need information, or who just want some recommendations. If you are a film buff and love to talk shop, or a Miami native who can give the best restaurant recommendations around, or if you've been coming to MIFF for years, we need your talents! We'll train you on all the festival background information you need, and station you in key places within the footprint of the festival where lots of curious theater-goers always turn up. Think of it as a one-person information booth! If you're outgoing and friendly, have a good memory, and a high degree of accuracy for information, we would love your help in this area.

  • Sharp Shooters Try as we might, we can't be everywhere! So we need extra sets of lenses helping us capture the action. Become a volunteer photographer for MIFF, and you can keep the credit on all your photos, get exposure, and help us cover ground. Send us your website or Flickr gallery, and if you've got the skills, we'll provide you with a shooting schedule, and post your best resulting work as part of MIFF's daily content and archives. Work closely with our social media & marketing team and really make an impact!

Download 2013 Volunteer Guide

If you have questions, email volunteers@miamifilmfestival.com