Here at truefix, we primarily focus on Movies and Short Films that are made by Indian independent film-making community. We try and help this vibrant Indian Indie Filmmakers, who have put their hard-earned money and time into crafting a Movie or a short fil, to be seen by audience, at film festivals, and later develop a strategy, to help them distribute and market, the Movies or Short Films on leading online VOD platforms
Why Film Festivals Matters – Are They Worth Entering?
An “Official Selection” at a film festival, not only provides every filmmaker with EXPOSURE and PRESTIGE, the film or movie or short, will also play in at least one theatre to an audience.
Everyone browsing the internet, wanting to watch a film or short, will be more likely to click on the film with laurels, since they represent a vote of confidence from industry professionals.
“Watch me,” the film says, “I made it through festival (x)’s curation process. I’m worth your time.”
GREATER YOUR PRESTIGE, GREATER THE FILMS POPULARITY, GREATER WILL BE YOUR PROFITS.
Whether you’ve got a feature on your hands or a short, film festivals open the door to the world of DISTRIBUTION OPPORTUNITIES.
Many film festivals present AWARDS OPPORTUNITIES, as well. These vary from festival to festival, recognizing everything from outstanding performances and technical merit to “Best of Genre” and “Best of Fest” distinctions.
When you win an award, you’re “Official Selection” BADGE evolves into a “Winner” BADGE. It can lead to more popularity, not only with audiences, but also with other festivals, creating more badges, more audiences and eventually more PROFITS.
How and Where Do I Start?
Globally, more than 3,000 film festivals create more than 3000 different opportunities.
Cur rating the list that best suites your fim or short is a process.
If you have a short,you might apply to some of the short film festivals out there, such as International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala , The Clermont Ferrand Film Festival in France, Aspen Shortsfest in Colorado, and Palm Springs International ShortFest in California, to name only a few.
If you’ve completed a nonfiction film, documentary festivals such as The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in North Carolina, Hot Docs in Toronto, and The International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) in Amsterdam should be on your radar.
In general the film festivals can be classified into three categories;
The top-range includes The Sundance Film Festival in Utah, The International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands, The Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, Cannes Film Festival in France, The Venice Film Festival in Italy, and The Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.
Mid-range combination festivals include National Film Awards in India, International Film Festival of India in Goa, Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), The Slamdance Film Festival in Utah, The Tribeca Film Festival in New York, SXSW Film in Texas, and The Raindance Festival in the UK. The Seattle International Film Festival in Washington, The Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia, and Austin Film Festival in Texas are examples of regional festivals in the mid-range.
Niche festivals accept films that fall within the genres and causes to which they’re devoted to , such as Calcutta International Cult Film Festival in Calcutta, The Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia, for instance, is the world’s foremost international festival for fantasy and horror films. The Cartegana International Film Festival in Columbia, the oldest cinema event in Latin America, focuses on films from Ibero-America. There’s also a plethora of smaller festivals around the world, bumping our count to that staggering three thousand. You might consider The Philadelphia Film Festival in Pennsylvania, The Tallgrass Film Festival in Kansas, and The Starz Denver Film Festival in Colorado, all well-respected regional destinations.
Average entry fee ranges from $20 – $100, so it can be important to pick your battles wisely.
Filmmaker and Premiumbeat contributor Noam Kroll suggests a useful point of reference for indie filmmakers figuring their festival budgets:
- “Submit 30% to major festivals
- Submit 50% to mid-range festivals
- Submit 20% to niche festivals”
Why does it cost to submit to a film festival? Where does the money go?
It takes time and money putting together a festival. As organizers, they have to find space to rent, market the event and pay for print and online advertising. Keep in mind that, submission fees aside, without a festival’s business sponsors, it would be impossible to put together a film festival.
How can a filmmaker improve their chances of getting into a festival?
First, make the movie that you as the filmmaker you want to see.
Understand that you’re not only marketing your work, but also marketing yourself as a filmmaker.
Get on Vimeo, social media, go to festivals to meet people, create a website with a press kit, and be easily available to programmers if they email you with questions.
Does a rejection necessarily mean your film is “bad”?
No, being rejected from a film festival doesn’t mean your film is bad.
All of these merit serious consideration when developing your festival strategy, regardless of whether you’ve completed a feature or a short film.
If you have a festival strategy, you can submit through film festival submission platforms such as “WITHOUT A BOX”, “FILM FREEWAY”, “FILM FESTIVAL LIFE” , “REEL PORT” etc.,
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