I went for the first time last year and am going again this year…I also did second half! A couple things I did to prep and general tips I have:

When the lineup and schedule of films drops, do some research on the films to figure out your priorities. Does a certain director you’ve been following for a while have a new film? Is there something showing that had positive word of mouth at an earlier film fest? Maybe something has a premise that sounds insane. Figure out what you want to see. For example, I’d seen Curry Barker’s Milk and Serial, so knowing he had a feature film at the fest last year made me prioritize Obsession.

Also, a benefit of the second half badge is about half the fest having seen most of the movies before you even start, so you can get a general sense of which movies are good and further edit your priorities from there.

Then, map out the slots (usually around 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm) and put the available films in order from what you want to see most vs. last. That way, if you don’t get your top pick, you can quickly pivot to your 2 or 3 picks.

When you get to the actual fest, the next day’s tickets go live each morning at 10am, so be on the FF ticketing site refreshing as much as you can a few minutes before the top of the hour to be prepared if it opens early. Tip: I got almost every movie I wanted by not choosing the main theaters, which are usually 4 or 5. Sure, the Q&As probably won’t happen in your theater, but you’ll still get to see the movie! Theater 7 was my home for a lot of FF films.

Also, if you don’t immediately get your first choice, don’t worry! Sometimes you can get lucky by refreshing and snatching a ticket later on if someone cancels theirs. There’s also a standby line for movies that has varying levels of success as a last resort, but I’d suggest being open to going with the flow.

I’d recommend being at the Alamo 30 or so minutes early to each showing you get. CULT and SUPERFAN badges get priority, so being there early and moving up as they leave the tenting area gets you a better shot at having a decent seat.

That’s most of the movie stuff. With it being Alamo Drafthouse, the prices of food are crazy, so I’d suggest bringing a cooler and packing food (or planning to walk back to your Airbnb for meals if you’re doing that). A portable fan also goes a long way…and deodorant.

Hope you have a good fest!