Tanya Kersey | Hollywood Career Strategist | Hollywood Career Coach | Entertainment Industry Consultant | Hollywood Career Resources

If you’ve got a film ready to make its debut on the film fes­ti­val cir­cuit, I’m sure you’re won­der­ing which film fes­ti­vals you should sub­mit you film to. This tar­geted action-based strat­egy will help you tar­get the right film fes­ti­vals to sub­mit your film to based on the goals you are hop­ing to reach. First let me say that “all fes­ti­vals are not cre­ated equal” so you should choose your film fes­ti­val wisely. Let’s take a quick look at three major fac­tors that will inform the film fes­ti­val you choose to sub­mit to. First: film fes­ti­val pol­i­tics, sec­ond: indus­try con­nec­tions and third: dis­tri­b­u­tion opportunities. Film Fes­ti­val Pol­i­tics Film fes­ti­val pol­i­tics is prob­a­bly the most impor­tant fac­tor you should con­sider in decid­ing what fes­ti­val to sub­mit to. You don’t want to “can­cel out” your chances at one fes­ti­val by apply­ing to another. What I mean by that is you don’t want to miss the oppor­tu­nity for a slot at a top tier film fes­ti­val because you’ve already “pre­miered” in a small, no-name fes­ti­val. Many film fes­ti­vals have screen­ing poli­cies that pre­clude you screen­ing at any other fes­ti­val prior to their fes­ti­val because all fes­ti­vals want to tout the num­ber of pre­mieres they screen. Some are writ­ten poli­cies and oth­ers are unwrit­ten poli­cies so you have to do your home­work. The unwrit­ten poli­cies are the ones that will get you if you’re not pay­ing atten­tion. I can’t begin to tell you how many films miss an oppor­tu­nity to screen at a top tier fes­ti­val because they had jumped the gun and accepted invi­ta­tions to a smaller, no-name fes­ti­val first. Think that doesn’t hap­pen? Think again. It hap­pens all the time. Indus­try Con­nec­tions The sec­ond fac­tor that will inform what film fes­ti­vals you decide to is indus­try con­nec­tions. Ask your­self if one of your goals is to make indus­try con­nec­tions. If you are, be sure the fes­ti­vals you sub­mit to are vis­ited by indus­try pro­fes­sion­als such as agents, man­agers, pro­duc­ers, sales agents and dis­trib­u­tors. If you’re screen­ing at a little-known fes­ti­val out­side of the major mar­kets or out­side of the regional big film fes­ti­vals, you need to ask your­self what indus­try pro­fes­sion­als will you have the oppor­tu­nity to meet? I’m not say­ing there is some­thing wrong with screen­ing at that fes­ti­val, I’m say­ing keep in mind what your goals are and make sure the fes­ti­vals you choose move you closer to achiev­ing what­ever your goals are. Dis­tri­b­u­tion Oppor­tu­ni­ties The third fac­tor that will inform the film fes­ti­val you choose to sub­mit to is Dis­tri­b­u­tion. If you’re hop­ing to land a dis­tri­b­u­tion deal, then you need to make sure that dis­trib­u­tors attend the fes­ti­vals you are sub­mit­ting to. If in doubt, ask the pro­gram­ming dept. which dis­trib­u­tors have attended in the past, and more impor­tantly, what films have been picked up for both the­atri­cal and direct-to-video dis­tri­b­u­tion as a result of screen­ing in their fes­ti­val. Its not enough that dis­trib­u­tors attend the fes­ti­val, you want to make sure they are actively acquir­ing films at that fes­ti­val. Also find out if the fes­ti­val has any spe­cial pro­grams where film­mak­ers are able to engage in more direct, one-on-one con­tact with dis­trib­u­tors. Many fes­ti­vals now offer face-to-face meet­ings with dis­trib­u­tors as part of their pro­gram­ming strat­egy. Other Fac­tors Other fac­tors that will be more or less impor­tant depend­ing on your over­all fes­ti­val strat­egy are which fes­ti­vals have good prizes? Who has par­tic­i­pated on their juries? What are their atten­dance fig­ures? Do they get much press cov­er­age? What type of hos­pi­tal­ity pro­gram do they offer? How many films from the fes­ti­val have been picked up for the­atri­cal dis­tri­b­u­tion? At the end of the day you have to be clear on your goals for screen­ing on the fes­ti­val cir­cuit and decide which film fes­ti­vals you should sub­mit to based on your goals. Bot­tom line, make sure you’re going to get a good ROI in terms of expo­sure via a top tier fes­ti­val, indus­try con­nec­tions and the oppor­tu­nity to nab a dis­tri­b­u­tion deal. Always remem­ber, an invi­ta­tion to pre­miere at a film fes­ti­val is cer­tainly a great accom­plish­ment, but it is also only the begin­ning of your jour­ney. Once you get accepted, that when the real hard work begins. For more infor­ma­tion on nav­i­gat­ing the film fes­ti­val cir­cuit, be sure to pick up a copy of the “Black Filmmaker’s Guide to Unlock­ing the Secrets to Film Fes­ti­val Suc­cess.” This tele­sem­i­nar and com­pan­ion book are a ‘must-have’ for any film­maker look­ing to develop a strat­egy for mak­ing the most of their fes­ti­val expe­ri­ence. It answers ques­tions such as: Is my film right for the fes­ti­val cir­cuit? Is it okay to sub­mit a rough cut? What can I do to increase my chances of get­ting accepted? Which fes­ti­vals do acqui­si­tions exec­u­tives attend? Do I need a producer’s rep? Should I build a web­site? What type of pro­mo­tional mate­ri­als do I need? And of course: If I get accepted to a fes­ti­val, how do I make the most of the expe­ri­ence? The Guide includes check­lists, tip lists, resource lists and rec­om­mend­ing readings.