For the third year in a row, prominent members of the online video community are headed to Toronto to meet up with their fans and share some of their work. The Canadian metropolis will once again play host to the Buffer Festival, an online video gathering meant to resemble a traditional film festival.
Buffer Festival, which was launched in 2013 by vlogger Corey Vidal, works a little differently most of the other events on the online video calendar. Its schedule is filled with 90-minute screenings, each one representing a different genre on YouTube. At a Saturday afternoon Science and Education screening, for example, relevant creators like Jake Roper of Vsauce3 and Matthew Santoro will present topical videos from around the Internet.
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As Vidal told the Toronto Sun, this “film festival” feel is all part of the plan. “We want to be taking YouTube really seriously,” he said. “It’s not a fan convention, it’s not a conference and it’s not like Fan Expo. It’s more like [the Toronto International Film Festival].”
Of course, just because Buffer Festival doesn’t operate like VidCon or Playlist Live doesn’t mean it won’t feature some of the same events. Each screening will be preceded by meetups between YouTube creators and their fans, and a “Creator Day” on Friday, October 23rd will give aspiring YouTubers a chance to learn from the site’s top performers.
When you take all of these elements together, Buffer Festival attendees should expect a well-rounded weekend in Toronto. Tickets are still available; you can pick them up (and check out a list of all the creators who will be in attendance) from the festival’s website.
