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.

I've spent over ten years at international film festivals, as guest coordinator, event manager and producer. So I know what it's like when the IT is working against you: the double work, the late nights, the typos that end up in the printed programme.

By day, I build data systems for public transport. Through Saabel IT, I help festivals sort out their IT.

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.

Been there.The good news: most of it can be fixed. Sometimes it's about getting the tools you already have to talk to each other. Sometimes you need something new.

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

How I work

I start by figuring out how your festival actually works and where your team's time goes. Then we work out what to keep, what to connect and what to replace. Often the answer is to build on what you already have, but I'll also tell you when there's a better way.

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

What I do

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

Imports, mailings and batch updates that take one click instead of an afternoon. And AI where it actually helps.

Integrate

Your submissions, database, ticketing and website connected, so you change something once and it's updated everywhere.

Publish

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

Showcase

A website where films, guests and events are all linked up, and that knows where you are in the festival year, so visitors see the right things before, during and after.

Support

Someone on hand when something breaks mid-festival.

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]
Based in Norway, working remotelyEnglish · Norsk · DeutschAdd to contacts

A few lines is enough, and we'll take it from there over a chat. Most work is a fixed-price project or a seasonal arrangement. Either way, you'll know the cost up front. I only take on a few festivals a year, so the earlier the better.