I promise we watch your films
So I work for a T1 festival and, out of curiosity, have been reading some of your posts over the last couple weeks.
I want to clear up a misconception that is all over this subreddit. I promise you, we watch your films, I promise you. I know the process is incredibly opaque and cloistered, but trust me - your film gets watched, from beginning to end.
And I beg of you - I BEG OF YOU!!! - stop looking at Vimeo and YouTube analytics. They are not accurate, period.
Our literal job is to watch and evaluate your work, we have no other motive than that of programming our festivals. The cost of submissions goes directly to pay for the screening and programming process, it is a lot more expensive than you may think. Not one screener, programmer, or curator is getting rich off this. This isn't a racket, a scam, or a get quick rich scheme - it's a huge amount of work.
Please, I beg of you.