After 6 years of running an international film festival, being involved in every facet, working with other festival directors, watching thousands of independent films, and screening hundreds, I thought maybe some of you might have a question to ask or two, that you might want the real truth on. So fire away. I will do my best to give you a straight answer, some things are trade secrets so I cannot comment on them but anything else is fair game.
Background on me: After making several short films, I teamed up with my father who has been an independent filmmaker off and on for 40 years and a number of other film/video pros and started what would become the Lakedance International Film Festival in Sandpoint Idaho in 2006, it grew to be the largest festival in the Inland Northwest, and we screened hundreds of indie films and hosted filmmakers from around the world. As we could not grow the festival beyond where it was in Sandpoint, we moved the event last year to Edmonds, Washington, a town by our estimation that was ready to pick up where Sandpoint left off. After a terrific demonstration event last year, we were ready to have a 9 day event this year, but negotiations with one of the major parties necessary stopped, the state of Washington has eliminated their tourism department and film incentive package, relegating the event to a no-go. After 6 years of running film festivals, and having what became a year-round job as festival director, I realized it was preventing me from continuing to make films, so in light of our situation, we have elected to continue our filmmaking careers rather than move the festival again or hold out for all parties in Edmonds to start working together again.
So let me start by answering some FAQs:
Is there some secret thing I can do to get my film into XYZ festival?
A: Yes, a few things: 1) Make an amazing film that will blow the screening committee out of the water. Failing that, just don't make any of the frequent, basic mistakes that many filmmakers make - bad sound levels, DVD doesn't play, acting not very good, dialogue stiff as a board, etc. 2) Have your film presented to the festival by someone of note or repped by a festival insider or agency with pull. this was not the case with us, but is the case elsewhere, it's very true. 3) Make your film the right length for the subject material - A documentary is very difficult to decide the right length, but honestly ask yourself - "can it be any shorter?". There's only so much programming time and theres a lot of films to choose from.
And that's very important to understand - the sheer numbers involved here. Simple math will tell you if a festival screens 100 films a year and receives 1000 submissions, that 1 in 10 gets accepted. Lets say that 50% of the submissions were just not very good or in some way disqualified themselves. That means that your film is competing with 5 other films for a screening slot. Lets say that only 2 of those other films are as good as your film, that means that your film has a 1 in 3 chance of being selected against films that are every bit as "good" and playable as your film. Its simply a numbers game. Now think about Sundance with 10000 entries and they play about 180. Do THAT math! Thats why you shouldn't get too concerned if you only get into 2 or 3 out of 10 fests...
Do I have to follow all of the rules of the festival? What if I don't have what they are asking for?
A: Don't piss off the festival by not following the rules. If they ask you to send in two copies of the DVD and you send one, and you're not Quentin Tarantino, you're already screwing up. Remember, there are reasons the festival asks you to do something - like put your ID# or TRT on the disc - and it usually has to do with their workflow. Don't mess up their workflow unless you want them to send your entry to the round filing bin (we never did this). Very important: If you really don't know about something they are asking for or if it would be a lot of trouble for you to get something to them, ASK THEM. Believe it or not they really will communicate with you (most of the time unless maybe its like a day before the final deadline).
Does sending my film in early help?
A: Getting your film in at the earliest possible time... I can't think of any real disadvantage, only many many advantages. I guess the disadvantage is you have to wait longer to find out if its been accepted. Try not to bug the festival unless it is simply to find out if they received the film and if they need anything else. They have a notification date on their website and they will notify you (or maybe they only notify or post the accepted films, make sure to double check that).
How do I know they even watch my film at all?
A: Really you don't, unless they grade it or send you notes on it. However, if you send it in early, and if you follow their rules, you can feel 99% satisfied that they at least popped it in their DVD machine to check it out. Of course, we watched every film until it disqualified itself or it simply was not going to work for the festival.
What do I really get for getting into a festival? Which one is right for me?
A: If you are new to showing your film at a festival, getting into any festival will be its own reward. Its a wonderful experience to be part of the show, meet other filmmakers, be treated like an accomplished artist, and show your film to an audience. The only thing I would say is investigate the festival a little and make sure at least there is a real festival behind the website and that they don't just show films in a room with whoever shows up. You want a real experience and there are plenty of real fests out there to not waste your time on one that has a dubious reputation.
If you have been playing the fest circuit, chances are you are over seeing your film played before an audience. Realistically, most of the laughs, chuckles, and comments happen at the same time in most fests with most auds. Time of day, size of crowd and how the on-screen action is taken by a local crowd tends to have something to do with it, but most of the time, the response is the same city to city. So what else do you look for? All the other perks - networking, freebies, awards, other experiences like workshops, and so on. A festival is place to party with your film, meet cool people, and enjoy a new town, but don't expect much more than that.
Will I and my film be discovered if I get into XYZ festival?
Although certainly there are quite a few top-tier festivals with great industry participation, where buzz about your film will equal buzz about you and potentially some interest in your film or career, the fact is the "Napoleon Dynamite" situations are very few and far between (think a needle in a haystack). Don't enter a festival hoping for that, enter because you know the experience will be rewarding (most likely the networking by itself will be worth it). Instead, if you have a great film, consider any buzz or benefits you get from a festival run to be an added bonus that will help the film, not the entirety of the media or live showing attention your film should get. Its your job as a filmmaker to incorporate a festival run into the film's life cycle, not the festival's job to provide a full life cycle to a film.
Let me make an important point here: When you enter a festival, remember that if all that happens is either A) they watched your film and did not accept it, or B) they watched your film and will screen it, that is ALL they are required to do. Anticipating free airfare or lavish parties are not necessarily what you will get from the festival.
That being said, you may just be discovered and your film could be picked up by a distributor, or repped by an agent, it just doesn't happen all that often.
My film was perfect fit for the festival - it was the right length, the right genre, and I'm a local filmmaker (aren't they supposed to be supporting local filmmakers??), but they rejected it - why?
A: There can be all kinds of reasons. Maybe the film didn't play in their DVD player. Maybe you didn't follow a rule, or submitted too late and they didn't have room for your 25 minute "short film". Unless the festival is VERY transparent or you know someone on the inside, you probably won't get an answer directly, so just move on. I had a film I made rejected from a local fest similarly, and the next year the fest went belly-up it turns out they had all kinds of problems going on in-house, so you just never know.
How much does length REALLY matter? If a festival has an under 20 minute short film category will they accept my 21 minute film?
A: Length matters a LOT but is not the total reason a film is accepted or not, it just means the longer a film is, the less room there is for it in the festival. Another reason to send in early is if your film is pushing 18,19,20 minutes, get it in early so they can plan AROUND the film. That's how it worked with us, we would have half a dozen or so A+ short films that it would have taken a totally mind-blowing film to move out of the way, and finally these films would be programmed into slots and moved around until there was no time left to program. Hence why 1-5 minute great films would always find a spot with us (and in most festivals its the same way), and why 20 minute films had to be very good to be in.
You have to think of the audience too - a 20 minute span of time is a long time, and a film has to be entertaining for 20 minutes. If it feels like a 10 minute film stretched to 20 minutes, then it probably won't cut it with the auds. The last thing we as a fest want is for our auds to say "these guys choose crummy short films, I'm not coming back".
So make it as short as possible.
Features are the same thing. But it really comes down to how many venues, days, hours, and programming style a festival has with how flexible they can be on length. One thing is for sure - if they say 20 minute max short film and yours is 25 minutes, ask before you send. They may still tell you yes, but make sure that 25 minutes is good enough to beat out something they had chosen for a 20 minute slot AND a 5 minute slot (2 films!)
What can I do to be a great filmmaker at a festival?
First, realize festivals are not faceless organizations operating inside of a bunker. They are real caring people who love the arts and want to support independent film. Try not to take them and their opinions too seriously (as one fest may reject your film, and another give it the grand prize of the festival!) But try to be a pro-active filmmaker who tries to maximize the experience - start by promoting yourself and your film to anyone who will listen, and get in contact with all the local media outlets and start promoting your film and the screening time - offer to send a screening DVD and point them to a trailer on your website - more often then not you will end up with a great promo on your film! Dont forget about local TV/radio stations and look up the morning news shows as potential places to appear if you are attending the festival. Oh, and try to attend as many of the fests as you can. Even if you can't attend, still try to make an attempt to promote the film. Once at the fest, try to actively promo - hand out postcards, post flyers or posters, talk with people... be very active and network network network.
One of the things about networking is its not just about "what can I gain from being networked with this person", its "what can they gain from you", and more importantly, will they think you for their next project, do they know someone to help you with your next project, etc? At a minimum, starting a great industry/fan supporter base, keeping them informed at what you are working on is essential. And I have seen MANY cases of filmmakers who met at our festival and teamed up in a capacity on a future project. I have seen MANY filmmakers who had a small film at our festival but went on to do bigger and better things. You never know what that person who is having their first film at a film festival might do a year or five from now so stay in touch. Also, if you have a project you are gearing up for next, make sure you are ready to pitch it at a moments notice and try to do so to anyone who is interested.
Finally, please remember to thank the festival staff if you can after the fest if you had a good time. It doesn't take much but remember, they went out of their way to choose your film and give you that experience, a simple "Thank you, really enjoyed it" goes a long ways. While were at it follow up with networked people IMMEDIATELY, email is probably best. Follow up with media too! Remember, when you put that DVD up for sale, or move on to another project, these people already like you and your film so make sure to let them know!
How do I choose the right festivals for my film? How many should I enter?
A: This is decided by your budget, ability to travel, and really, what you want to get out of your festival run. There is a lot to be had - networking, exposure, awards, freebies, etc. but not all is right for all types and profiles of films. We have played great films like Last Stop for Paul, Binta Y La Gran Idea, The Garage, Flyboys, and many more that played over 50 festivals en route to a big exposure run. That costs money, especially if you are planning to travel to the festivals. So here is my quick way to decide how to enter:
1) The closer it is to your home, the more you should enter. If its in your hometown, its quick for you to travel there if accepted and the festival knows it will help in promotions, so it should be a mandatory - if there is a nearby fest, enter it.
2) Regional/state fests you can get to by car and be back at work on Monday is a plus. It is possible to do so by air too, but airfare is not cheap and sometimes awards are not held till Sunday night so either a red-eye or you might be "cough cough wink wink" sick Monday AM.
3) Realize national events that you enter that are far away from your hometown are not going to recognize any "local" benefit to have you be part, so make sure you really choose those events selectively.
4) Events that are a good fit for your film are:
a. Genre fests that meet your genre. Horror films especially.
b. Fests that specialize in your type of film - maybe short films, silents, comedies, whatever.
c. Fests that are underground tend to like gritty indies, fests that are government supported (ie state and city run or funded fests) tend to like more uplifting or mainstreamish kinds of films.
5) How many - well obviously this is a shot in the dark but I would say start with 8-10, mostly local, and then branch out from there. If you get a few acceptances, go on to 15-20. Once you've played the fest circuit enough with films you will know how you want to put together a festival run and what kind of fests you want to play. But remember, it is a numbers game, as I said in the question about what can I do to get accepted, so 5 fests may not accept your film, but another 5 will, and 2 may give you an award. Thats why its VERY important not to take one rejection or two too seriously, If you send your film to 4-6, and it gets into none, you should definitely ask some educated people why.
What should I do after my festival run?
Follow up with everyone - festivals, networked people, fans, friends etc. If you have a newsletter, blog, keep it updated. Finish your fest run by putting your film online or up for sale (or both) and MOVE ON. Don't be the guy flogging your film 20 years after you shot it, and after 147 festival appearances. Make another movie. And another and another. When you get to the point where you are thinking that your film will sell before you get to the fest circuit, that is the time to really start giving back and strategically playing a few fests while serving on panel discussions and as guest juror. Give back a little, its how this industry keeps going.
---
Have any questions you're dying to ask? Hopefully if I don't have the answer one of our resident gurus or others can answer.
Background on me: After making several short films, I teamed up with my father who has been an independent filmmaker off and on for 40 years and a number of other film/video pros and started what would become the Lakedance International Film Festival in Sandpoint Idaho in 2006, it grew to be the largest festival in the Inland Northwest, and we screened hundreds of indie films and hosted filmmakers from around the world. As we could not grow the festival beyond where it was in Sandpoint, we moved the event last year to Edmonds, Washington, a town by our estimation that was ready to pick up where Sandpoint left off. After a terrific demonstration event last year, we were ready to have a 9 day event this year, but negotiations with one of the major parties necessary stopped, the state of Washington has eliminated their tourism department and film incentive package, relegating the event to a no-go. After 6 years of running film festivals, and having what became a year-round job as festival director, I realized it was preventing me from continuing to make films, so in light of our situation, we have elected to continue our filmmaking careers rather than move the festival again or hold out for all parties in Edmonds to start working together again.
So let me start by answering some FAQs:
Is there some secret thing I can do to get my film into XYZ festival?
A: Yes, a few things: 1) Make an amazing film that will blow the screening committee out of the water. Failing that, just don't make any of the frequent, basic mistakes that many filmmakers make - bad sound levels, DVD doesn't play, acting not very good, dialogue stiff as a board, etc. 2) Have your film presented to the festival by someone of note or repped by a festival insider or agency with pull. this was not the case with us, but is the case elsewhere, it's very true. 3) Make your film the right length for the subject material - A documentary is very difficult to decide the right length, but honestly ask yourself - "can it be any shorter?". There's only so much programming time and theres a lot of films to choose from.
And that's very important to understand - the sheer numbers involved here. Simple math will tell you if a festival screens 100 films a year and receives 1000 submissions, that 1 in 10 gets accepted. Lets say that 50% of the submissions were just not very good or in some way disqualified themselves. That means that your film is competing with 5 other films for a screening slot. Lets say that only 2 of those other films are as good as your film, that means that your film has a 1 in 3 chance of being selected against films that are every bit as "good" and playable as your film. Its simply a numbers game. Now think about Sundance with 10000 entries and they play about 180. Do THAT math! Thats why you shouldn't get too concerned if you only get into 2 or 3 out of 10 fests...
Do I have to follow all of the rules of the festival? What if I don't have what they are asking for?
A: Don't piss off the festival by not following the rules. If they ask you to send in two copies of the DVD and you send one, and you're not Quentin Tarantino, you're already screwing up. Remember, there are reasons the festival asks you to do something - like put your ID# or TRT on the disc - and it usually has to do with their workflow. Don't mess up their workflow unless you want them to send your entry to the round filing bin (we never did this). Very important: If you really don't know about something they are asking for or if it would be a lot of trouble for you to get something to them, ASK THEM. Believe it or not they really will communicate with you (most of the time unless maybe its like a day before the final deadline).
Does sending my film in early help?
A: Getting your film in at the earliest possible time... I can't think of any real disadvantage, only many many advantages. I guess the disadvantage is you have to wait longer to find out if its been accepted. Try not to bug the festival unless it is simply to find out if they received the film and if they need anything else. They have a notification date on their website and they will notify you (or maybe they only notify or post the accepted films, make sure to double check that).
How do I know they even watch my film at all?
A: Really you don't, unless they grade it or send you notes on it. However, if you send it in early, and if you follow their rules, you can feel 99% satisfied that they at least popped it in their DVD machine to check it out. Of course, we watched every film until it disqualified itself or it simply was not going to work for the festival.
What do I really get for getting into a festival? Which one is right for me?
A: If you are new to showing your film at a festival, getting into any festival will be its own reward. Its a wonderful experience to be part of the show, meet other filmmakers, be treated like an accomplished artist, and show your film to an audience. The only thing I would say is investigate the festival a little and make sure at least there is a real festival behind the website and that they don't just show films in a room with whoever shows up. You want a real experience and there are plenty of real fests out there to not waste your time on one that has a dubious reputation.
If you have been playing the fest circuit, chances are you are over seeing your film played before an audience. Realistically, most of the laughs, chuckles, and comments happen at the same time in most fests with most auds. Time of day, size of crowd and how the on-screen action is taken by a local crowd tends to have something to do with it, but most of the time, the response is the same city to city. So what else do you look for? All the other perks - networking, freebies, awards, other experiences like workshops, and so on. A festival is place to party with your film, meet cool people, and enjoy a new town, but don't expect much more than that.
Will I and my film be discovered if I get into XYZ festival?
Although certainly there are quite a few top-tier festivals with great industry participation, where buzz about your film will equal buzz about you and potentially some interest in your film or career, the fact is the "Napoleon Dynamite" situations are very few and far between (think a needle in a haystack). Don't enter a festival hoping for that, enter because you know the experience will be rewarding (most likely the networking by itself will be worth it). Instead, if you have a great film, consider any buzz or benefits you get from a festival run to be an added bonus that will help the film, not the entirety of the media or live showing attention your film should get. Its your job as a filmmaker to incorporate a festival run into the film's life cycle, not the festival's job to provide a full life cycle to a film.
Let me make an important point here: When you enter a festival, remember that if all that happens is either A) they watched your film and did not accept it, or B) they watched your film and will screen it, that is ALL they are required to do. Anticipating free airfare or lavish parties are not necessarily what you will get from the festival.
That being said, you may just be discovered and your film could be picked up by a distributor, or repped by an agent, it just doesn't happen all that often.
My film was perfect fit for the festival - it was the right length, the right genre, and I'm a local filmmaker (aren't they supposed to be supporting local filmmakers??), but they rejected it - why?
A: There can be all kinds of reasons. Maybe the film didn't play in their DVD player. Maybe you didn't follow a rule, or submitted too late and they didn't have room for your 25 minute "short film". Unless the festival is VERY transparent or you know someone on the inside, you probably won't get an answer directly, so just move on. I had a film I made rejected from a local fest similarly, and the next year the fest went belly-up it turns out they had all kinds of problems going on in-house, so you just never know.
How much does length REALLY matter? If a festival has an under 20 minute short film category will they accept my 21 minute film?
A: Length matters a LOT but is not the total reason a film is accepted or not, it just means the longer a film is, the less room there is for it in the festival. Another reason to send in early is if your film is pushing 18,19,20 minutes, get it in early so they can plan AROUND the film. That's how it worked with us, we would have half a dozen or so A+ short films that it would have taken a totally mind-blowing film to move out of the way, and finally these films would be programmed into slots and moved around until there was no time left to program. Hence why 1-5 minute great films would always find a spot with us (and in most festivals its the same way), and why 20 minute films had to be very good to be in.
You have to think of the audience too - a 20 minute span of time is a long time, and a film has to be entertaining for 20 minutes. If it feels like a 10 minute film stretched to 20 minutes, then it probably won't cut it with the auds. The last thing we as a fest want is for our auds to say "these guys choose crummy short films, I'm not coming back".
So make it as short as possible.
Features are the same thing. But it really comes down to how many venues, days, hours, and programming style a festival has with how flexible they can be on length. One thing is for sure - if they say 20 minute max short film and yours is 25 minutes, ask before you send. They may still tell you yes, but make sure that 25 minutes is good enough to beat out something they had chosen for a 20 minute slot AND a 5 minute slot (2 films!)
What can I do to be a great filmmaker at a festival?
First, realize festivals are not faceless organizations operating inside of a bunker. They are real caring people who love the arts and want to support independent film. Try not to take them and their opinions too seriously (as one fest may reject your film, and another give it the grand prize of the festival!) But try to be a pro-active filmmaker who tries to maximize the experience - start by promoting yourself and your film to anyone who will listen, and get in contact with all the local media outlets and start promoting your film and the screening time - offer to send a screening DVD and point them to a trailer on your website - more often then not you will end up with a great promo on your film! Dont forget about local TV/radio stations and look up the morning news shows as potential places to appear if you are attending the festival. Oh, and try to attend as many of the fests as you can. Even if you can't attend, still try to make an attempt to promote the film. Once at the fest, try to actively promo - hand out postcards, post flyers or posters, talk with people... be very active and network network network.
One of the things about networking is its not just about "what can I gain from being networked with this person", its "what can they gain from you", and more importantly, will they think you for their next project, do they know someone to help you with your next project, etc? At a minimum, starting a great industry/fan supporter base, keeping them informed at what you are working on is essential. And I have seen MANY cases of filmmakers who met at our festival and teamed up in a capacity on a future project. I have seen MANY filmmakers who had a small film at our festival but went on to do bigger and better things. You never know what that person who is having their first film at a film festival might do a year or five from now so stay in touch. Also, if you have a project you are gearing up for next, make sure you are ready to pitch it at a moments notice and try to do so to anyone who is interested.
Finally, please remember to thank the festival staff if you can after the fest if you had a good time. It doesn't take much but remember, they went out of their way to choose your film and give you that experience, a simple "Thank you, really enjoyed it" goes a long ways. While were at it follow up with networked people IMMEDIATELY, email is probably best. Follow up with media too! Remember, when you put that DVD up for sale, or move on to another project, these people already like you and your film so make sure to let them know!
How do I choose the right festivals for my film? How many should I enter?
A: This is decided by your budget, ability to travel, and really, what you want to get out of your festival run. There is a lot to be had - networking, exposure, awards, freebies, etc. but not all is right for all types and profiles of films. We have played great films like Last Stop for Paul, Binta Y La Gran Idea, The Garage, Flyboys, and many more that played over 50 festivals en route to a big exposure run. That costs money, especially if you are planning to travel to the festivals. So here is my quick way to decide how to enter:
1) The closer it is to your home, the more you should enter. If its in your hometown, its quick for you to travel there if accepted and the festival knows it will help in promotions, so it should be a mandatory - if there is a nearby fest, enter it.
2) Regional/state fests you can get to by car and be back at work on Monday is a plus. It is possible to do so by air too, but airfare is not cheap and sometimes awards are not held till Sunday night so either a red-eye or you might be "cough cough wink wink" sick Monday AM.
3) Realize national events that you enter that are far away from your hometown are not going to recognize any "local" benefit to have you be part, so make sure you really choose those events selectively.
4) Events that are a good fit for your film are:
a. Genre fests that meet your genre. Horror films especially.
b. Fests that specialize in your type of film - maybe short films, silents, comedies, whatever.
c. Fests that are underground tend to like gritty indies, fests that are government supported (ie state and city run or funded fests) tend to like more uplifting or mainstreamish kinds of films.
5) How many - well obviously this is a shot in the dark but I would say start with 8-10, mostly local, and then branch out from there. If you get a few acceptances, go on to 15-20. Once you've played the fest circuit enough with films you will know how you want to put together a festival run and what kind of fests you want to play. But remember, it is a numbers game, as I said in the question about what can I do to get accepted, so 5 fests may not accept your film, but another 5 will, and 2 may give you an award. Thats why its VERY important not to take one rejection or two too seriously, If you send your film to 4-6, and it gets into none, you should definitely ask some educated people why.
What should I do after my festival run?
Follow up with everyone - festivals, networked people, fans, friends etc. If you have a newsletter, blog, keep it updated. Finish your fest run by putting your film online or up for sale (or both) and MOVE ON. Don't be the guy flogging your film 20 years after you shot it, and after 147 festival appearances. Make another movie. And another and another. When you get to the point where you are thinking that your film will sell before you get to the fest circuit, that is the time to really start giving back and strategically playing a few fests while serving on panel discussions and as guest juror. Give back a little, its how this industry keeps going.
---
Have any questions you're dying to ask? Hopefully if I don't have the answer one of our resident gurus or others can answer.
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