Film Festivals (Where to Start?)
 

As a beginning filmmaker, it's funny that only until recently have I considered submitting some films to film festivals! Frankly, I don't really know where to start here- are there some people out there that know how to get into this kind of thing? What are some general things that happen when a person gets involved in a film festival?

Thanks,

Corey C.

This question's come up a few times before. There are two things you need.

First, you MUST set up an account at http://www.withoutabox.com - almost every film festival is using it these days so that you can submit your film's information and details and press kit online (and the film itself by mail). Signing up is free and the site will provide you many answers to questions you might have. You can upgrade your account for a fee (optional), and of course you still have to pay to actually submit your film to a festival (but Withoutabox doesn't charge you for this - you just pay the festival through them).

Second, you should consider getting the book by Chris Gore entitled "The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide" - it is THE guide.

Good luck!

Imran has the right advice!

heath

Interestingly, there's no equivalent of withoutabox for Europe, and Europe has some very nice festivals. Somebody here could make a career out of setting one up.

Corey,

Being a cinematographer, I am not involved in the actual process of submitting films to festivals. But a lot of films that I have shot or been a part of have made the rounds. And the one piece of advice I can offer is, perserverance.

For every festival you get into, there will be at least two that said no. This doesn't mean your work isn't good enough. It just means that, that particular festival found other selections more to thier liking.

Even the best films have a hard time getting into a festival. Competition can be fierce. Competition from a standpoint of volume and quality.

Let me tell you two stories...

I shot a film called Blackwater Elegy for my friend Matthew Porter of 95 These Entertainment. Blackwater Elegy stars Barry Corbin (One Tree Hill, Northern Exposure) and John Cullum (Law & Order: SVU, ER). For every festival that has screened Blackwater Elegy, there are two that turned it down! Yet, Blackwater Elegy has won 6 Best Short Film Awards. John Cullum won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2004 Tambay Film Festival for his portrayal of J.T. And I won the Best Cinematography Award at the 2004 Thunderbird International Film Festival for my work on the film. So, did we get turned down because the film wasn't a quality piece? No. It just wasn't to the liking of everybody that was in charge of the selection process.

Now, take for instance a film I shot in 1999 called "Spunko: The Unknown Legend". Spunko was a MiniDV short that was done by a bunch of friends in our spare time on nights and weekends with resources that were begged for, borrowed, and studio time that was "stolen" (a friend working at the local TV station let us in the back door of studio B so we could shoot at 1 A.M. on a Sunday!). Spunko was a no budget mockumentary about a drunk amateur wrestler who made it big as a fashion model. The film wasn't slick, fancy, or by any means "art". However, it premiered at the 2000 Georgia Museum of Art Film Festival! When the selection commitee informed us that the film had been chosen to screen at the festival, they told us that Spunko was the last film they watched. And after sitting through weeks of ultra dramatic, over the top art films, Spunko made them laugh so hard that they had to rewind it and watch it again.

The moral of the story is not to get discouraged. You might make an award winning film that gets turned down twice as much as it gets selected. Or you might make a film that gets seen by just the right person at the right time to make it big. And with a little luck, your film could be both.

One more piece of advice I'll throw your way is to develope a strategy. At $25 to $50 per submission, film festival submissions can get expensive. And if you're getting turned down twice as much as you're getting accepted, you'll likely be spending a lot of money to get your film out there. So develope a strategy of which festivals you're going to submit to and which ones you're going to pass on.

When chosing festivals to submit to, consider the benefits of screening at that particular festival, the cost of submitting to that festival, and the odds of being selected to screen at that particular festival.

I read an article last year that Slamdance is statisticly more difficult to get into than Sundance now. So many people figure that Sundance is just beyond them that they submit to the Slamdance instead. Thus Slamdance has a higher volume of entries, making it tougher to be one fo the the very few official selections.

I suggest you start with smaller festivals that are closer to where you live. The odds of getting into a smaller festival will be better. And if it's not too far away, you can attend the screening of your film and make contacts with the other filmmakers who are screening there as well. This does two very important things for you. One, it gets your work out there which builds your name. And two, it gives you the opportunity to get in touch with other filmmakers in the area who you can collaborate with on your next film, or collaborate with on thier next film.

Don't be afraid to submit your films to the larger festivals around the country. But start by focusing on the festivals closer to home who are more likely to support the local guy. This way you don't blow all your cash just to get turned down by Sundance, SXSW, NY, LA, or Toronto. And you build a network of colleagues to work with.

Imran's advice is good. But without a box isn't a nescesity. And not every film festival uses them. Without a box does make the process easier, and a large percent of festivals do use them. Take the time to research the festivals you're interested in submitting to, to see what their submission guidelines are.

Festivals are a scam for the most part. Only the big ones like Sundance and SXSW are worth applying for. Get Chris Gore's "Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide". It will list the ones that might do you well.

Don't waste lots of money applying!

Laurence, no need to be so cynical or sensational. There are some that are scams - that charge tons and offer no value. But most festivals do exactly what they say they're going to do, which is simply provide you a venue to have your films watched by people. You pay the fee for entry which covers their operating costs. Most operators of festivals will tell you that they barely make any money if at all, save the really big ones. They are usually started by filmmakers to support filmmakers.

Nothing scam-like about that unless a particular festival you encounter is doing something different from the above.

Choose your festivals wisely. Make sure they have some merit. By this I mean, that they are well known/well attended. Have been around for a while. Have people there that you WANT to meet, or see your film. Offer something that you need/want.... acclaim, recognition, cash awards, options, exposure. If they don't offer all or most of these things, don't enter.

I've spent the morning preparing submissions for my documentary, and some scripts. I'll spend over two hunderd dollars on festivals today. You can bet I peruse the list carefully.

Our film "After Twilight" was chosen to screen in Los Angeles on the 12th of June. It was selected by the Texas Film Commision for the Texas Filmmakers Showcase. Having garnered some acclaim at festivals prior to this,(gold award last month at Worldfest) it helped in the Commision's decision. It's the only film from Houston being screened at Raleigh Studios'The Chaplin Theatre. This is an invitation only event, that the commision hosts each year for Industry folks in LA to see what sort of crews, locations and filmmakers are in Texas. I'll drive down from San Mateo to be there. www.nu-classicfilms.com

My point being, sure the BIG festivals are great to enter and win, but the mid sized festivals offer crediblity and acclaim that can open other doors as well.

That's what I did with the Voices of Local Film (www.pbfilmsociety.org) at the Palm Beach International Film Festival (www.pbifilmfest.org).

heath

Come on Laurence
That borders on mean spirited and sounds extremely jaded... Just because after years and years, your film hasn't been released or had the success you had hoped for doesn't mean it can't work for others. For many people these smaller less known festivals are the road to bigger ones and or theatrical opportunities. An aspiring film maker opens themselves up for advice and all you can say is all festivals are a scam... and don't waste your money!

My recommendation
 

I have been in a few smaller festivals such as NFC, and 48hfp and those are all time based contests which are a lot of fun. I found myself at the end, really getting absolutely nothing out of it and no reason to why I didnt make the Top50 or any feedback. I have registered for the Filmerica Challenge this year, and hope others decide to check it out. They seem to be growing rapidly and are promising the Top 50 Films to be streamed online. Registration is only $99 and at least you can win prizes and be seen. Thats all I have ever realy wanted, is just for people to see my films, small or large. anyways, I would love to compete with more and more people and I have heard they are starting to fill up, so check it out. www.filmerica.com. I think Videomaker did some blurb last month on them.

PS. they also are doing it time based.. im excited.

James, those 48 or 72 hours things aren't festivals - those are competitions or challenges or whatever you want to call them, but they aren't 'festivals' in the traditional sense as being discussed here. Whatever the label, these are much different entities, with much different screening methods, and much different audiences.

By the way, are you affiliated with Filmerica yourself or through friends? It seems you posted on them a couple of times today on this forum, and I see you're also based in Oregon. Just want to make sure you're not simply pushing a site for some purpose since that's not the purpose of this thread. If not, I apologize in advance.

Nope
 

I am from oregon, and know the owners but not affiliated. There are actually a few teams from Portland. I am just excited about it, and saw a posting about insomniac. I ran into this forum by searching for film challenges and saw insomniacs. I signed up for a team and figure I would share with others. You are right, this is not a festival, That topic reply can be removed, as I dont want it to take away from the original festival request. This is how I got started though. :)

Thanks,
James

Would it be possible to put up a list of those that are considered as established or definitely worth submitting to? I only ask as a beginner, and as someone in the UK. There may be a whole bunch of festivals in the US that are well known to people who are in the US or know the field well, that I will know nothing about.

I have searched some of the links in this section of the forum, and I have also googled film festivals. It's becoming apparent that on a small budget, submitting to a large proportion of them will be out of the question. For a newcomer, it really would be more hit and miss than for someone who at least has a bit of form or knowledge of the terrain.

www.withoutabox.com is your best bet. There are over 2000 film fests in America, I think, and more in the world. I thought I read that somewhere.

heath

Withoutabox is indeed the best place to start. They allow for easy entry, usually at a discounted rate.

The 'biggest' film festival in America? Probalby Sundance. But "Slamdance" which started as a counter-cultural 'anti-slamdance' has it's own weight and credibility now. SXSW is good. Austin Film Festival is good. AFI, Ann Arbor... really - each festival has it's own strengths and weaknesses. You have to decide where you film will shine. What the festival specializes in (as many do just that.) Narrative? Short? Doc? Avante-Garde? Gay/Lesbian/Transgender?

What do you want to achieve from entering? Is the fest juried, or do they screen everything? Is there an 'award'? Is it monetary or is there some sort of distribution posibility attached? Is it associated with a film market? (Films being bought and sold) Will screening there allow your film to be considered for an Academy Award? How about being included in the Internet Movie Database? Is the festival old and established - or brand spanking new.

Only you can decide how to spend your hard earned dollars.

"Choose wisely."

So, how exactly does withoutabox work. Without actually signing up it doesn't give away much information...

I strongly suggest visiting the site and checking it out for yourself. It's very cool.

www.withoutabox.com

heath

Basically, you log in, and create a 'listing' for your film. It's sort of an electronic generic film festival application. Then WaB sends you updates on all the current festivals deadlines. Pick one you want to apply to, and hit 'send'. It's on it's way! They make their money off the festivals. Though they will charge you to host trailers and such, the basic listing service is free. That's all I use.

If you're submitting to tons of fests, like a friend of mine did (over 200 now), sign up for the paid membership because the discounts on admission will pay itself off.

heath

So does the 'generic application' serve as a press pack - what aboout the stills and bits and bobs? Is the film itself uploaded and sent electronically too? OR do you use the listings they supply to send out press packs and DVDs etc...?

Again, check out the site. All the details are there.

heath

Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF)
 

Heath,

Have you ever had a film screen at PBIFF? I was fortunate enough to have my (first) short "Alibi Phone Network" screened at PBIFF/05..

Really enjoyed PBIFF, it was great fun!

-tom

Hey,

I have a relationship at the film fest--my Film Society puts on the Voices of Local Film event, but they have allowed me to show tiny short films out of competition and also talk about the technology. For instance, in 2005, I showed 2 shorts shot on HDV (HD10 and FX1) and did a seminar on HDV.

Congrats on the film!

heath

IFP maybe...
 

Becoming an IFP member may not be a bad idea. They provide you with some additional information about film festivals...

Is there or should we start a list of known 'bad' festivals? There's a list of bad/suspect agents for writer's. Doesn't seem like such a stretch to me for filmmakers to police their own.

you could check magazines: Moviemaker, Screenplay, and others... thay have some information about "good" festivals.

Does anyone know if Wihoutabox has included European film festivals in their database?

Yes.

Go to the website. Spend twenty minutes looking at it. You'll see many European festivals listed.

If anyone in here is going to to be producing a feature film and enter into a film festival. These are the top 24 you need to enter. DO NOT ENTER INTO ANY OTHER FILM FESTIVALS THAT ARE NOT ON THE LIST!! The AE's (Acquisition Executives) will not be at the ones not listed. Plus the AE's are the ones who will buy your film for distribution. Basically, if you enter the other ones not on your list, you're just wasting your time, not to mention the money you spent producing the movie. Without further ado, here is the list. You can thank Dov S-S Simens. Here it is:

1. Sundance
2. Slamdance
3. Palm Springs
4.Berlin
5. Rotterdam
6. Santa Barbara
7. South by Southwest
8. L.A. Independent Film Fest
9. Seattle
10. TriBeCa
11. Cannes
12. Hong Kong
13. Karlovy
14. Edinburg
15. Hollywood Film Festival
16. Montreal
17. Telluride
18. Toronto
19. Vencie
20. Hamptons (The Hamptons I believe.)
21. New York
22. Raindance
23. Tokyo
24. Pusan, Korea

The withoutabox.com site is great as well. The info I just gave comes from Dov S-S Simens book: "From Reel To Deal" Buy this book! It's $20 at Barnes & Nobels and Books-A-Million. You might find it cheaper online...

I'm with Laurence.
The festival circuit exists to support festivals, not film makers.
90% of them are a complete waste of time.

Excuse me if this is a dumb question, but if you submit to a festival and the festival decides to show your work, are you expected to appear at the festival personally?

No you don't, Adam. It would be great for us to go to these film fests and meet people, enjoy the screening, checkout the fest, maybe win an award, and visit the town. Of course, many of us don't have it in the budget, but if you can, film fests are great places and events!

Heath

Thanks, Heath. Yes, budgetary concerns were the main reason behind my question.

Quite a few European film festivals don't have entry fees.

Getting into festivals is a pretty competitive business, so it does help if you make it stand out with good marketing material etc. Some festivals will invite film makers to attend, however, this usually just involves the accommodation not the travel costs. Some festivals specialise in certain areas, such as shorts, horror etc, so it's best to check which festivals best suit your film and what you're trying to achieve with it.

By going to the festivals you can make contacts that may pay off later, or just new friends. Quite a bit of networking does take place at the good festivals.