You might find it worthwhile to research how many films from open application festivals have actually been picked up, And then contact the filmmakers you find directly and ask them about the financial realities of their "win"
The unfortunate reality is that in the microbudget film world 9 out of every $10 is made by the people throwing the festivals rather than the filmmakers, And I'm counting people who got broadcast deals. That's an important consideration when strategizing how to utilize limited resources while pursuing a deal. I think in many cases the smaller festivals are essentially a doorway that costs a couple of grand to open, That just opens into a dead end alleyway. Most companies are drowning in an avalanche of submissions at their home office, And outside of Sundance and Cannes, There really aren't any legitimate talent scouts at those small film festivals for obvious reasons. Would you pack up and drive halfway across the country to see if you could find a new internet banner ad? That's kind of the position that studios are in. They are inundated with submissions before they ever left the parking lot. I saw an interview once with one of the guys that used to have this job, And he said he commonly threw movies into the trash can beside his desk after watching for less than a minute, Just to try and get through his workload for the day.
I'm not saying that it never works out for anybody, Just be aware that every executive who can greenlight a movie has three kids, a wife, and fourteen cousins, each of whom are pitching three movies a year for one of that persons 10 annual production slots.
