Why Submit your film into film festivals?

You could upload your film directly online after completion. That is an option we presently have. In the past the only option for independent filmmakers to get their film seen, and hopefully be picked up for distribution was film festivals.

A film festival is there to get your film seen by people working in the film industry and hopefully win awards that will increase the likelihood of your next film being funded. A win at a major film festival can be a huge deal - an award win for an independent feature film could result in a cinema distribution deal and more

However there are thousands of film festivals to enter - estimated 3000 active film festivals world wide. Prior research will need to be done before you begin to submit your film into film festivals.

Types of Film Festivals

1. Local Film Festivals

These are the smallest of festivals, set up by independents or local cinemas. The awards won at these will not be Oscar qualifiers, these can be great for mingling with the local film industry. You also stand more of a chance of getting your film into a festival if you are based close to the festival location.

2. Niche Film Festivals

Niche film festivals focus on specific genres or disciplines. There are festivals for documentaries only (Sheffield Doc Fest) and ones for horror only (Fright Fest). So if you have a film in a niche genre or discipline such as animation entering into a niche festival is more likely to have investors looking specifically for films like yours.

3. Second Tier Film Festivals

These are larger film festivals, they have huge submission rates but a screening at these festivals could lead to distribution and help with being taken seriously as a filmmaker. There are many festivals that fall under this category. I would include festivals here such as Raindance, SXSW, Slamdance and London.

4. First Tier Major Film Festivals

It is very hard to get officially screened at a major film festival even harder to get nominated for an award. Your film will need to be of top quality and exactly what the festival is looking for. The biggest film festivals in the world are arguable - Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and Sundance.

It is also worth noting that having your film shown at a festival does not always mean that it is part of the official festival. A good example of this is the Canne Short Film Corner - this blunt blog post will help explain more - Read Here