So You Want to Enter the Film Festival Circuit?

Ready for the red carpet?

You finished your film and are ready to receive all of the praise. So what do you need to do? You probably have to enter the film festival circuit. But the truth is, film festivals can be a very daunting experience if you have none and, if you're not prepared, you'll end up wasting all of your money in events that aren't worth it.

So, in order to make this process easier, start with these five easy steps.

1. Define Your Objective

What exactly are you expecting by sending your film to festivals?

Do you want to have laurels to show off? Are you hoping to network at the event? Get picked up by distribution? Make some money back through awards?

Defining what you want as an outcome from the festivals can help you narrow down the list of those suited for your film. If you just want as many laurels as possible, sending it to cheap online monthly competitions is an easy way to do so. If you're hoping to find distribution however, not such a good idea.

So figure out what you want to get and compare it to what the festival says it has to offer. Filter for in-person, industry-recognized festivals near you if you're looking to network. Festivals that are well-established yet cater to more newbie films with no big names attached if you want awards/monetary earnings. Etc.

2. Know Your Skill Level

If you are a rookie filmmaker, accept this and don't set your aims too high. Competition in the film world is tough and if you're hoping to get to the Academy Awards as a newbie, maybe reconsider your position.

Check out the types of films that have played at the festivals you're eyeing. Is you skill truly on-par with their selections? This is not about making yourself feel bad and your film might actually be on that level. This is about being honest to yourself and critical, in a healthy way, about what stage in your development as a filmmaker you are at before throwing money at festivals you have no chance of getting near. Aiming for festivals with works within your skillset is also a great way of avoiding constant disappointment from rejection e-mails, because there will be a lot of those.

3. Establish a Budget

As hinted at before, most festival submissions require money and those that don't, well, be prepared for a tripled amount of competition. Establishing a budget ensures that you prioritize festivals where your chances of getting selected or perhaps even have a shot at an award rather than, again, throwing money at those that won't even look your way.

By establishing budget, I don't mean how much are you willing to pay for a festival. The budget should determine the grand total you are willing to spend in the entire circuit you are now carefully planning out. Festivals can quickly become a money-sucking blackhole if you're not keeping track of the expenses, especially if you get noticed and start receiving invitations from small festivals that charge you only $5 or are giving you a grand 75% discount because you're special and you're invited. What you don't know is they send these to anyone they can find and enter into the official selection anyone who is willing to pay.

4. Go For Niche

Target festivals that speak to a certain cause, theme, or are looking for creators of certain characteristics. Your chances of getting selected at ultra-specific festivals whose requirements you meet are much higher than general events where everyone can submit.

Search for festivals that cater to whatever your film speaks about, whatever type of people it features, even where it was shot. There are all kinds of ultra-specific festivals always looking for fresh content that suits their niche audience. Take advantage of this. These types of festivals even help with establishing an audience for you as a creator if your film hits the right points and you'll be much more memorable.

5. Keep Track of Submissions

Finally, keep track of every festival you have submitted to, their announcement dates, festival dates, and place. Not only will this help you keep on track with the budget you created for step three, it will keep you sane once you start receiving responses. Depending on how many festivals you've submitted to, things can start to get fuzzy especially if the dates are close.

If you've been selected, you will generally be asked to provide additional material while you'll also be announcing to the world your newly obtained laurel, so keeping track of all deadlines and event dates that you need to connect or travel for is particularly useful. Sometimes, you might even start noticing trends about the type of festivals or the places where you have better chances of selection or have achieved higher placing which can help in planning for future festival circuits with a different film.

In conclusion...

Don't be scared about the festival circuit, even if it can be overwhelming but plan your jump carefully before you dive right in. If you have done the research and the prep work, all you have left to do is let your film speak for itself.

Good luck and hope to see around in the circuit someday.