Film Festivals and Short Films? at DVinfo.net

Silas Barker · October 31st, 2011, 10:27 PM

Hey guys,
I have spent the last year making and attempting to make the highest quality short film I have ever made so far. I have sent out to about 18 film festivals and I just wondered if any of you had had any positive experiences with film festivals etc. I would be happy if its selected any even just a few festivals after all the work that has gone into it. Check out the trailer and what film festivals on my website here: PERSPECTIVE short film by Silas Barker

Also, I shot the short film on the Canon 5d markii and the Sony EX1r.
Its 16:30 minutes long and is a sci-fi thriller type of film.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Hopefully this is the right place for this thread, if not hopefully it will be moved to the correct place.

Brian Drysdale · November 1st, 2011, 03:56 AM

To get the best out of a festival screening, it can be worthwhile attending, so you can extend your range of contacts. That's not always possible, but it's a part of the festival experience.

Kevin Spahr · November 2nd, 2011, 06:01 AM

I did a feature length doc and tried the festival circuit. I consider it to be a waste of time and money, unless your film has a "name" attached to it. Since most festivals want a premier, you can't promote it or sell DVDs. So my hands were tied for a year. When I went out and started contacting distributors and networks on my own, I had a distribution contract in my hand in less than a month, plus a network has shown a bit of interest in it - which my distributor will follow up. Isn't distribution the goal of going to a festival or wining at a festival?

At this point the only good thing about film festivals is that it is an easy way to get an IMDB listing - and you only need to submit to one festival to get that.

Brandon Furst · February 23rd, 2012, 03:16 PM

Here's my experience with a fest:

I accidentally submitted to the Nashville Film Fest on WAB, but I never paid the fee or sent the film to them to watch, and of course I don't know of a way to delete submissions on WAB.
My favorite part is the minimum of two times.
I got a rejection letter today saying:

Dear Brandon,

Unfortunately, your film Enemy of the Mind, has not been selected for the 2012 Nashville Film Festival.

We received more than 2,900 entries this year and the decision process was a difficult one. Our process allows for each film to be seen a minimum of two times, some film are seen up to five times prior to rejection or acceptance.

If you have questions regarding our decision, please email filmmakers@nashvillefilmfestival.org and we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can. We ask that you email and do not call as we are still in the notification process.

If you are curious to see which films made the selection, we will begin public announcements on February 29, continuing through the end of March.

We wish you the best of luck in the future and thank you for submitting.

Sincerely,
Wm. Brian Owens
Artistic Director
Nashville Film Festival

Comments?

Kevin Spahr · February 23rd, 2012, 04:41 PM

"...the decision process was a difficult one..."

Sounds real tough!

It's a shame that so many festivals come across like this - it sure makes me wonder...

Silas Barker · February 23rd, 2012, 05:56 PM

Sorry to hear that, on the bright side for my film, we won Best Narrative Short film at the Trail Dance Film Festival, and just became an Official Selection for the local Sacramento Film Festival here. I entered into the Nashville Film Fest and have not heard anything so no news is good thing I hope!

We ve been rejected at: Sundance, Slamdance, Durrango, San Luis Obispo, San Fran Independent, Atlanta, IFS, Phenoix, and maybe one other one. But if at first you don't succeed, try try again. The big ones are harder to get into because they get so many films of course.

Check out my webpage and trailer here:
PERSPECTIVE short film by Silas Barker

Brandon Furst · February 23rd, 2012, 09:04 PM

Kevin:
Tough is right!

Silas:
Sorry to hear what? That the Nashville Film Fest is perhaps a fest that needs to do a better job of accounting for what they've seen or haven't even received? That they possibly...dare I say it...don't watch the movies?
Go back and read my post, and you'll see what I mean.
I'm not upset I got rejected, they didn't even watch the film because they didn't have it.
So yes, be sorry, but not for me, for all filmmakers who sent in to the Nashville Fest, or to any fest that simply sends out rejection letters without seeing the very film they intended to reject.
I congratulate you on your success and I hope you are in the Nashville Fest.

Brandon Furst · February 23rd, 2012, 09:33 PM

another update:
my status in withoutabox suddenly changed to the Nashville Film Fest having received my film TODAY after I initially posted:

screen capture
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...-25-16PM-1.png

Silas Barker · February 23rd, 2012, 10:07 PM

Oh wow, they NEVER got your film!!! Sheesh.

Silas Barker · February 23rd, 2012, 10:12 PM

My guess is they send the same message to everyone who does not get in and or the people like yourself who made an error and never ment to submit anything or pay anything... Did your film make it anywhere else?

Brandon Furst · February 24th, 2012, 11:08 AM

Silas, I apologize for hijacking your thread!

The fest got wind of my posts, this is an email I received:

Hi Brandon,

We caught wind of you being upset about receiving our rejection email and I wanted to write to you to apologize.

Your entry, having not been received, was supposed to be deleted instead of “yellowed”. My assistant Sara has been out this week due to a death in the family and I’ve been working with an intern, and she misunderstood some of the WAB instructions and miscategorized your entry. As a result, you accidentally received the wrong email through the WithoutABox messaging system.

Again, my apologies for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Wm. Brian Owens

Artistic Director

Kevin Spahr · February 24th, 2012, 11:25 AM

Congratulations Silas!! That's something to be proud of!

I read somewhere that films that went on to be successful in a theatrical run got into less then 1/3 of the festivals in which it was submitted.

Silas Barker · February 24th, 2012, 12:13 PM

No worries, I figured they probably just made a mistake with that many films to keep track of.

Thanks for the congratulations Kevin! I am excited. I also entered the Nashville Film Festival and have not heard back from them yet, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we might get selected!!

Brian Drysdale · February 24th, 2012, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Spahr

Congratulations Silas!! That's something to be proud of!

I read somewhere that films that went on to be successful in a theatrical run got into less then 1/3 of the festivals in which it was submitted.

Each festival has its own agenda, so they have differing reasons for selecting films. The possibly of having a successful theatrical run may or may not be a criteria for selecting films by a festival. Some films deal with difficult subjects or are more difficult in how they tell their stories and so will not be successful commercially (at least for mainstream theatres), but they may possibly still be stunning pieces of cinema.

October 31st, 2011, 10:27 PM	#1
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Film Festivals and Short Films? Hey guys, I have spent the last year making and attempting to make the highest quality short film I have ever made so far. I have sent out to about 18 film festivals and I just wondered if any of you had had any positive experiences with film festivals etc. I would be happy if its selected any even just a few festivals after all the work that has gone into it. Check out the trailer and what film festivals on my website here: PERSPECTIVE short film by Silas Barker Also, I shot the short film on the Canon 5d markii and the Sony EX1r. Its 16:30 minutes long and is a sci-fi thriller type of film. Thanks in advance for your input! Hopefully this is the right place for this thread, if not hopefully it will be moved to the correct place.

November 1st, 2011, 03:56 AM	#2
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,143	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? To get the best out of a festival screening, it can be worthwhile attending, so you can extend your range of contacts. That's not always possible, but it's a part of the festival experience.

November 2nd, 2011, 06:01 AM	#3
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? I did a feature length doc and tried the festival circuit. I consider it to be a waste of time and money, unless your film has a "name" attached to it. Since most festivals want a premier, you can't promote it or sell DVDs. So my hands were tied for a year. When I went out and started contacting distributors and networks on my own, I had a distribution contract in my hand in less than a month, plus a network has shown a bit of interest in it - which my distributor will follow up. Isn't distribution the goal of going to a festival or wining at a festival? At this point the only good thing about film festivals is that it is an easy way to get an IMDB listing - and you only need to submit to one festival to get that.

February 23rd, 2012, 03:16 PM	#4
Brandon Furst Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 32	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? Here's my experience with a fest: I accidentally submitted to the Nashville Film Fest on WAB, but I never paid the fee or sent the film to them to watch, and of course I don't know of a way to delete submissions on WAB. My favorite part is the minimum of two times. I got a rejection letter today saying: Dear Brandon, Unfortunately, your film Enemy of the Mind, has not been selected for the 2012 Nashville Film Festival. We received more than 2,900 entries this year and the decision process was a difficult one. Our process allows for each film to be seen a minimum of two times, some film are seen up to five times prior to rejection or acceptance. If you have questions regarding our decision, please email filmmakers@nashvillefilmfestival.org and we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can. We ask that you email and do not call as we are still in the notification process. If you are curious to see which films made the selection, we will begin public announcements on February 29, continuing through the end of March. We wish you the best of luck in the future and thank you for submitting. Sincerely, Wm. Brian Owens Artistic Director Nashville Film Festival Comments?

February 23rd, 2012, 04:41 PM	#5
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? "...the decision process was a difficult one..." Sounds real tough! It's a shame that so many festivals come across like this - it sure makes me wonder...

February 23rd, 2012, 05:56 PM	#6
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? Sorry to hear that, on the bright side for my film, we won Best Narrative Short film at the Trail Dance Film Festival, and just became an Official Selection for the local Sacramento Film Festival here. I entered into the Nashville Film Fest and have not heard anything so no news is good thing I hope! We ve been rejected at: Sundance, Slamdance, Durrango, San Luis Obispo, San Fran Independent, Atlanta, IFS, Phenoix, and maybe one other one. But if at first you don't succeed, try try again. The big ones are harder to get into because they get so many films of course. Check out my webpage and trailer here: PERSPECTIVE short film by Silas Barker

February 23rd, 2012, 09:04 PM	#7
Brandon Furst Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 32	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? Kevin: Tough is right! Silas: Sorry to hear what? That the Nashville Film Fest is perhaps a fest that needs to do a better job of accounting for what they've seen or haven't even received? That they possibly...dare I say it...don't watch the movies? Go back and read my post, and you'll see what I mean. I'm not upset I got rejected, they didn't even watch the film because they didn't have it. So yes, be sorry, but not for me, for all filmmakers who sent in to the Nashville Fest, or to any fest that simply sends out rejection letters without seeing the very film they intended to reject. I congratulate you on your success and I hope you are in the Nashville Fest.

February 23rd, 2012, 09:33 PM	#8
Brandon Furst Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 32	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? another update: my status in withoutabox suddenly changed to the Nashville Film Fest having received my film TODAY after I initially posted: screen capture http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...-25-16PM-1.png

February 23rd, 2012, 10:07 PM	#9
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? Oh wow, they NEVER got your film!!! Sheesh.

February 23rd, 2012, 10:12 PM	#10
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? My guess is they send the same message to everyone who does not get in and or the people like yourself who made an error and never ment to submit anything or pay anything... Did your film make it anywhere else?

February 24th, 2012, 11:08 AM	#11
Brandon Furst Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 32	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? Silas, I apologize for hijacking your thread! The fest got wind of my posts, this is an email I received: Hi Brandon, We caught wind of you being upset about receiving our rejection email and I wanted to write to you to apologize. Your entry, having not been received, was supposed to be deleted instead of “yellowed”. My assistant Sara has been out this week due to a death in the family and I’ve been working with an intern, and she misunderstood some of the WAB instructions and miscategorized your entry. As a result, you accidentally received the wrong email through the WithoutABox messaging system. Again, my apologies for the inconvenience. Sincerely, Wm. Brian Owens Artistic Director

February 24th, 2012, 11:25 AM	#12
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? Congratulations Silas!! That's something to be proud of! I read somewhere that films that went on to be successful in a theatrical run got into less then 1/3 of the festivals in which it was submitted.

February 24th, 2012, 12:13 PM	#13
Silas Barker Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 577	Re: Film Festivals and Short Films? No worries, I figured they probably just made a mistake with that many films to keep track of. Thanks for the congratulations Kevin! I am excited. I also entered the Nashville Film Festival and have not heard back from them yet, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we might get selected!!