Getting Started with Submitting to Film Festivals

Congratulations. You made a movie. Now the hard part begins. Everyone dreams of getting their picture noticed at a film festival and starting a Hollywood career. But the film festival circuit is more overcrowded every year, and with the sheer number of fests out there it’s hard to muddle through and find the right festival for your film.

Let’s assume your movie’s all ready to go; tight edit, final sound mix, copyrights cleared, all that. Festival time. Now what?

(1) Count the money.

Assume that you’re going to apply to about forty fests at around $25 apiece. Forty seem like a big number? Just remember you’re not going to get into all of them. Get used to the concept of sunk costs here. With every check you write, tell yourself that nothing may come of it. It’s all part of the fun.

(2) Load up on supplies.

The basics are clear. Padded envelopes are your friend. The kind with bubble wrap inside, not fiber. No one wants to open a disgusting, crud-filled envelope. You’ll also need blank DVDs and nice cases to put them in, the convenient kind that snap shut, not the cheap jewel cases that break if you touch them too firmly. You don’t have to get the fanciest cover or label art around, but if you’ve got something nice, so much the better.

(3) Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

There are a few things you may not need to apply to a festival, but you’ll need upon acceptance. Are you going to apply to festivals that will require a BetaSP tape—or an HD tape or film print—of your movie? Then you’d better be able to get one made! Do you have good production stills on hand? A press kit? How about a slick poster? Don’t be caught empty-handed!

Ideally, you budgeted for all this before production began; festivals aren’t cheap. You may want to start gearing towards fests with cash prizes.

(4) Figure out what your film is.