http://www.champselyseesfilmfestival.com/en/, www.clermont-filmfest.com/index.php?nlang=2, www.sansebastianfestival.com/in/index.php, http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/festival/festival.html, http://www.salemfilmfestival.com/2011/index.html, http://www.freerangefilm.com/submission.html, http://www.greatriverfilmfestival.com/submit.html, http://www.anightmaretoremember.com/home.html, http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/filmfest/index.php, http://strasbourgfilmfest.com/submissions.html, http://www.londonundergroundfilmfestival.org.uk/, http://www.torontourbanfilmfestival.com/submit, Ask the Expert: Can an Out-of-the-Box Indie Succeed, Balls of Steel: A New World of Distribution - Goodbye Promise Releases on IndieGoGo. It’s true that most niche festivals do not attract the number and caliber of industry reps that the top and mid-range festivals do, but they have the potential to launch your career nonetheless. 10 Groundbreaking Uses of Special Effects Makeup, http://www.aafilmfest.org/submissions.htm, http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/miff_2005.asp, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, http://festival.sundance.org/2005CallForEntries/faq.htm, http://festival.sundance.org/2005/?=prereg, http://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/entry.html, http://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/passes.html, http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2004/default.asp, http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2004/boxofficeinformation/default.asp, http://tribecafilmfestival.org/tff-bo-ticket-info.html, http://www.csif.org/festival/submissions.htm, General Regulations for Entering Films in the Berlinale 2005, The Directory of International Film and Video Festivals. They provide an opportunity for unknown filmmakers to get their movies in front of a real live audience and to have their films reviewed by professional critics. Fledgling filmmakers practice their craft far from the glitter of Hollywood. Most importantly, if a film gets great reviews at a festival, even a short film, it will add credibility to your voice and possibly find you an agent or a manager. Other awards given out include the Grand Prix, the Jury Prize, Best Performance by an Actress and Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay. — in the hopes that this will help you achieve your resolution of getting your film into a fantastic festival … Film festivals are typically divided into categories. Independent filmmakers might remain forever in obscurity were it not for film festivals. The best way to find work is to look for festivals in your area. Some festivals are broad in scope -- they welcome a wide range of subject matter and film lengths. At film festivals, cinema fans can see the new -- and sometimes daring -- films they would never be able to find in their local movie theaters. WHAT A FILM FESTIVAL CAN DO FOR YOUR CAREER: With the digital age, filmmakers no longer need festivals to get their work seen, but incorporating festivals into your distribution strategy is wise. See more, Photo courtesy Cannes - A Festival Virgin's Guide. This list of what film festivals want will hopefully give you an inside advantage: advice from the festivals themselves. Most festivals accept submissions from any filmmaker, regardless of his or her past experience or budget. Distribution expert Jonathan Sadler will confirm how difficult a theatrical … Film festivals usually sell tickets in advance, individually for each feature film, and for blocks of shorts. How to Enter a Film Festival. Generally, filmmakers are given a deadline by which they need to submit their film(s). Large studios use large-budgeted public relations and marketing campaigns out of the financial reach of an independent filmmaker. © 2021 Active Interest Media All Rights Reserved. Harmon, Renée and Jim Lawrence. But other festivals are far more specialized: They may accept only comedies, only Jewish films or only films made by female directors, for example. From 1935 onward, the film festival became an annual part of the Biennele. The Venice International Film Festival (see the Venice Biennele FAQ to find out about submitting and Venice Biennele: Tickets to learn about attending) has a much longer history than its counterpart in Berlin. You needed a film print at that time to go to festivals. Publicity: You’ll find fans and members of the press (Like Film Fervor!) A beautiful, custom web presence for your event where submitters can discover and submit their work directly to you. Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. And you get to see what themes/topics are present throughout the indie filmmaking world. Los Angeles Film Festival. As in any area of this industry, rejection is part of the process. Filmmaking.net: Should I submit my film to a film festival? Just because you didn’t get into a top festival, doesn’t mean your film isn’t good. Also consider the quantity of films being shown. Half of all the film festivals I could find were created since 2007, with the peak in 2009. The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Web site: http://www.fullframefest.org/... Festivals Around the World. Sure they’re fun, but will you rarely get a chance to build a lasting connection. Rob Leddy, Festival Director, Coney Island Film Festival See More Reviews Your One-Stop Shop. They may also be asked to submit a director bio, a film still, a synopsis and a list of production credits. The jury is usually made up of film critics, professors and/or filmmakers who will judge each film for its artistic merit, production value, creativity and overall impression. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Copyright © 2021 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. Movies entered may range from shorts that are just a few minutes in length to full-length features that run 1.5 hours or more. You needed a film print at that time to go to festivals. Each February, an International Jury decides which films will be awarded the top prizes at Berlin -- the Golden Berlin Bear and the Silver Berlin Bear. Head programmer and decision makers of Euregion Film Festival 2020 tell you how they work. This annual festival is a part of Film Independent, … New filmmakers have a better chance of getting into a smaller festival and then working their way up to the big-name festivals once they have achieved a few successes. In light of these considerations, small towns and cities with multiple screening locations are often good backdrops for film festivals. Politics: Many film festivals have politics surrounding them. Contact everyone you spoke to via email, thanking them for their time, etc. What they may lack in budget and star power they more than make up for in raw ambition. Click here to take a look at the Call for Entries for Sundance 2006. If the moviegoer is happy and well-cared for, their viewing experience will be that much better. Boom Time for New Festivals. For more information, see How the Cannes Film Festival Works. Often times, the parties, panels, discussions, Q&A’s, and networking events are where your best connections are made. How many do I enter? USA Film Festival – National Short Film & Video Competition – One of the oldest and most respected festivals and film arts organizations in the U.S. If we’re not attending them we’re reporting on them, and what happens at them affects what movies end up making it into theaters, where we report on them again. He gave me a grant to make prints of my graduation film. A lot of the top tier short film festivals such as Encounters, Clermont Ferrand and the London Short Film Festival do not have any type of premiere policy. Moreover, you can We'll describe how you can attend an event, how you can enter a film in a festival, how the films are judged and what the rewards are for those filmmakers who win. The less glamorous side of a film festival: Actually making a film. Bring screeners for the press to view in the press office. Hire a PR firm: They will get the buzz going about your film, set up interviews with press before, during and after the festival, and secure invitations to special events. International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), International Short Film Festival – Clermont-Ferrand, Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), San Francisco International Film Festival, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW), Portobello Film Festival (United Kingdom) -, African Diaspora Film Festival (New York) -, The London International Documentary Festival, Loisaida Cortos Latino Film Festival (New York), A Nightmare to Remember International Horror Film Festival (California), Arizona State University Art Museum Film Festival -, Calgary International Film Festival (Canada) -, Marabella International Film Festival (Spain), Lights. This list of what film festivals want will hopefully give you an inside advantage: advice from the festivals themselves. In 1930, the event was expanded to include music, theater and cinema. Industry connections and distribution: If you’re looking to connect with agents, managers or distributors, be sure those festivals are well attended by executives. Invite press, reviewers, and distributors to your screening. A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Make each meeting memorable and don’t be afraid to talk to anyone. The United States and Canada are home to dozens of festivals, both big and small. With the digital age, filmmakers no longer need festivals to get their work seen, but incorporating festivals into your distribution strategy is wise. Build a website for your film: Distributors and executives need a place to go to learn more about you and your film. It used 35mm archival footage, 16mm, Super 8, video. 4) You Can’t Do It All Film festivals are chaotic, and if you don’t approach them with a thought-out plan, you could end up missing choice opportunities. There are literally thousands of them -- from Albania to Zimbabwe. Because a lot of festivals rely on outside funding for support, they offer memberships for a yearly fee. How is it different from just going out to see a movie? Join the Script newsletter and find excellent resources to improve your screenwriting today! Learn about the Cannes Film Festival and see Cannes Film Festival photos. And the United States? We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Track Real-Time Progress. Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is an Executive at Pipeline Media Group and former Editor-in-Chief of Script magazine and a former Senior Editor at Writer's Digest, where she wrote the regular screenwriting column, Take Two, for Writer's Digest print magazine. Networking: Film Festivals provide a huge resource for filmmakers to find like-minded people in the business as well as audiences that, potentially, come from all over the world. Most film festivals also give the audience an opportunity to judge. This could result in establishing a reputation for your work or even job offers. Festivals accept one or more formats, including 35mm, 16mm, Super 8, VHS, Beta and/or DVD. Robert Gardner was very supportive of my work when I was there. How to Start and Organize a Film Festival: Film Festivals are a great way to showcase new movies that you and your classmates have produced. Prizes are also given out for Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Outstanding Artistic Contribution, Best Film Music, Best European Film and Innovation in Film. And How? Who are the people sitting on the juries? Every festival works differently, and every festivals … Offer to do a Q&A at the screening with the crowd. Are you waiting until the end of the submission process when the programmers are exhausted from watching thousands of films, or are you taking advantage of catching a programmer’s eye by submitting early? We’re posting this on January 1, 2021 — Happy New Year, by the way! The Berlin Film Festival was founded in 1951, just six years after the end of World War II, as part of an attempt to restore Germany to its former artistic glory. Some film festivals try to lead features with a short or two, to get them extra exposure and engage the audience with bit of fast-paced entertainment. Action! There are also individual prizes given out to short films. Maps should be provided for different venues, as well as places to easily find food and restrooms. Here are just a few: Visit just about any big city in the world and you'll find at least one annual film festival. Higher end regional festivals are more flexible, for example; the Dallas International Film Festival have a Dallas Premiere policy for both shorts and features. Your film may not open at Slamdance, but it could wind up there down the line. Culver City, California. Filmmakers whose movies get accepted into a festival also get valuable press attention and exposure to prospective agents and buyers, not to mention a sometimes sizeable cash award if they win. In 2003, the Sundance Online Film Festival site hosted more than 600,000 visitors. Participate in Q&A: Whether you are sitting on a panel or participating in the post-film Q&A, getting in … It evolved out of a Venice art exhibition that had its start back in the late 1800s. narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Selling Your Screenplay Podcast by Ashley Scott Meyers, Understanding Screenwriting by Tom Stempel. Trusted by the World’s Leading Festivals. Although they may lack the budget of their real-world cousins, online film festivals can reach far larger audiences. With thousands of festivals around the world, though, deciding which festivals to submit your film to and when to submit can be overwhelming.I am a filmmaker who has shown films at several festivals and submitted to many more. The film used many different formats. PR is critical. Its red carpet is graced by some of Hollywood's A-list celebrities, and its roster of past winners reads like a film buff's bible: "Easy Rider" (1969), "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Apocalypse Now" (1979), "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "Fargo" (1996). Marketing Yourself and Your Work is Key. He gave me a grant to make prints of my graduation film. We’re posting this on January 1, 2021 — Happy New Year, by the way! The Cannes Film Festival is the crossroads of international cinema. The 10-hour limited series version of the same project was selected as PAGE Awards TV Drama Pilot Finalist as well as a Sundance Episodic Lab semi-finalist. The Berlin International Film Festival quickly gained momentum, and by the mid-1950s, it rivaled Cannes and Venice as one of the premiere film festivals in the world. The first film screened at the Festival was "Rebecca," Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's novel by the same name. Nearly 2,000 films are submitted to the Cannes Film Festival every year, and the selection committee watches every one of them. France has Cannes; Italy has Venice; Canada has Toronto. For more information on film festivals and related topics, check out the links on the next page. Its choice is reflected in a special audience award. As Amber Sherman wrote in her piece at Filmagon, filmmakers need to be able to market not only their film, but themselves. WHAT A FILM FESTIVAL CAN DO FOR YOUR CAREER: . In this article, we'll visit some of the world's biggest, smallest and quirkiest film festivals. Some filmmakers are even creative enough to reach out to programmers without paying a fee at all! However, don’t get hung up on larger festivals like Sundance as the be all and end all. She is also Co-Founder of Writers Strong as well as Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and wrote a Tracking Board Top 25 Launch Pad Competition selected script, the narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, former senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. While many executives flock to Sundance, Toronto, and Austin, some like the thrill of finding a diamond in the rough in unexpected, more tranquil places. Consider the location: Can you afford to get there? The famous filmmaker Federico Fellini once said that "entering the Film Palace of the Venice Film Festival was like passing a final exam.". Keith: Why should anyone care about film festivals?That’s a loaded question coming from a site dedicated to film, since what we do tends to be tied to festivals in one way or another. Many new filmmakers are starting to produce and edit their films on computers rather than on celluloid. I've never been to a film festival. Feel free to use friends, or other people from your classes. The winning feature at Cannes each year walks away with the prized Palme d'Or along with worldwide recognition. Make sure you have a new project in the works to talk about! Rob Leddy, Festival Director, Coney Island Film Festival See More Reviews Your One-Stop Shop. The short answer to the economics of film festivals is… from many different places. The Beginning Filmmaker's Guide to a Successful First Film, New York: Walker and Company, 1997. Creating marketing materials: As an independent filmmaker, it’s essential you are comfortable marketing your film. What type of follow-up do I do after a festival? Some festivals are specific to one film genre, such as documentaries, or to one length, such as shorts. The film used many different formats. The importance of film festivals to a filmmaker rests in the marketing nous of the film festival they attend. In backyards, in small studios or on local sets they transform their vision into a film that they hope will one day be seen by thousands or even millions of people around the world. Face-to-face meetings are the best way to make lasting connections. This was so it could go to film festivals. Distribute your marketing materials everywhere you can. The data shows that film festivals are often run once, and then never again. A Facebook page or Twitter account isn’t enough. Following this trend, a number of festivals have expanded into the online arena. So, for example, let’s imagine that a made-up film festival i… While most film festivals will take a long time to prepare, they can also be done quickly, and less professionally at the high school level. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Through its YEAR-ROUND “live cinema” programs and special events, the USA Film Festival provides an opportunity for the public to discover new films and sheds new light on familiar films by facilitating discussion and encounters with master, mid-career and … The online festivals bring a large audience of fresh eyes to true indie work. Festivals generally sell tickets for individual screenings and, for a discount, for groups of screenings. who will write about you, review your film, and interview you about your process to share to their existing audiences. Any filmmaker, large or small, needs to raise awareness of their film. Toronto and Sundance are just two of the film festivals that have an online branch. They provide an opportunity for unknown filmmakers to get their movies in front of a real live audience and to have their films reviewed by professional critics. Specialized and Unique Festivals. Film festivals give new talent an opportunity to shine, while also showcasing the work of already well-known and respected filmmakers. Are you submitting it to the right festivals for your film? If there’s no evidence of … The United States and Canada are home to dozens of festivals, both big and small. The two other big names in the international film festival circuit are the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Germany (see General Regulations for Entering Films in the Berlinale 2005 to find out about submitting and Berlinale: Tickets to learn about attending), and the Venice International Film Festival (Venice Biennele) in Italy. It used 35mm archival footage, 16mm, Super 8, video. The biggest competition is the Venezia 61, in which filmmakers vie for the Golden Lion award for best film. Robert Gardner was very supportive of my work when I was there. Cannes is as much an event in itself as it is a showcase for some of the best films in the world. Film festivals tend to take place in a single locale that has several screening areas available, so that multiple films can play at once. Potential of exposure of your film: Quality exposure is as important as quantity. Less is more. Some previously unknown films debut at festivals and go on to become big commercial successes. Film festival success allows a buzz to be created about your film, get people in the industry’s attention to your work, and allow you to network with other filmmakers and screenwriters in person. It could be as simple as scheduling conflicts, or too many films submitted in that genre. Members not only get tickets to festival screenings, but they also get invitations to special events, discounts at local restaurants and shops and the opportunity to purchase festival tickets before they become available to the public. Every festival works differently, and every festivals … The preparation starts months in advance, as independent filmmakers vie to have their films screened at festivals (even in a non-competitive capacity) and the usually small teams of in-house festival coordinators begin lining up volunteers and planning out the details.. Festivals can range from huge, star-studded events, such as the Cannes festival in France or the Sundance Film Festival in the United States, to small, independent, local awards that garner just a few hundred attendees. But all festivals have something in common: They celebrate the art of film and they champion the artists who produce it. Cannes!" As an Official Selection of a festival, your film will play in at least one theatre for at least one audience. You’re not going to get far in the entertainment industry without the … : That depends on your budget and ability to attend. Track Real-Time Progress. The biggest and most prestigious festivals (Cannes and Sundance) are usually the hardest to break into because there is so much competition for a limited number of slots.
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