Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to analyse film festival spectators on the basis of their motives for attending as well as other variables linked to cultural consumption, the evaluation of the event and certain sociodemographic characteristics of attendees. Design/methodology/approach: – Survey data were collected at the Valdivia International Film Festival, the case study. In order to achieve the goals of the paper, a variety of statistical methods and techniques were used. First, principal component factorial analysis was applied to identify the underlying motivational dimensions. Second, the authors adopted cluster analysis based on the dimensions pinpointed in the factorial analysis in order to segment festival attendees. Finally, analysis of variance and χ2 analysis were applied to establish each group's profile. Findings: – The empirical research reveals three motivation factors (discovery, entertainment and cinema) and three discrete groups of spectators, labelled as socially indifferent, film lovers and enthusiasts). They present different profiles from a consumption viewpoint. Research limitations/implications: – The results provide useful insights into cultural policy and management of this kind of events, and even for those in charge of tourism policies in the city and the region. Originality/value: – The paper aims to contribute to the literature addressing festival motivation for the specific case of a film festival, a field for which there are almost no studies into motivation, in a given geographical area South America which is active in creating festivals.