From in-depth interviews with four organizers of relevant and recognized film festivals held in Bogota, Colombia, this article explores the correspondence between the objectives of public promotion policies; especially in terms of forming audiences and their perceptions and experiences in practice. The speeches of the programmers of Bogoshorts, MIDBO, El Espejo and Smartfilms make visible the perspectives of these events in tension and, at the same time, in dialogue with the purposes expressed in state policies. This is why testimonies from the Ministry of Culture and the Cinematheca de Bogota are also included. The interviews transcend the figures of previous quantitative studies in order to put into dialogue various voices of the alternative exhibition. In the end this allows to explore other dimensions of these events, usually ignored by public policies, and other challenges are pointed out for the management of a film festival.