r/FilmFestivals

I usually get a conformation to my email from film freeway about my submission to the festival but for AFF I got an email confirmation addressed to me directly about my short submission from one of the team members (i assume) and other information included when will the status be updated, passes etc.

Wondering if this is normal as I didn't receive anything from other festivals that I submitted too.

Maybe just over thinking it as they probably wanted me to know about their passes.

This is the GOAT for me and truly my dream. Submitted my debut feature length doc for next year’s festival! Anyone else submit?

I've been attending the Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF), and I've noticed that a lot of the films have used Generative AI. As a festival with over 2000 submissions I find it really disappointing that quite a few of the films heavily use gen AI.

The festival director even openly told the theatre before screening that he was receiving complaints via email.

What really boiled my blood was hearing how the festival director spoke about student worries surrounding AI. I overheard him speaking to the volunteers who were asking about it. Clearly, some of them were students.

He was telling them things like "students complain to me in class about AI, but they all have smartphones, so they're really just hypocrits."

"Students only complain because they're worried about getting jobs, they shouldn't go into uni expecting to come out with a job. That's just the world now, and they have to get over it"

And much more.

Considering MIAF opens with a student showcase and clearly relies on students to volunteer to help run events. I feel like its a bit out of touch to so harshly criticise student worries.

I feel like festivals like this contribute to setting the tone in the industry. It doesn't seem like the best idea to alienate the next generation of submissions.

I won't be attending anymore events.

Since having my film premiere earlier this month, I’ve had a few festivals reach out asking me to submit and offering discount codes. Some of them don’t seem legit at all, but I’ve had one or two directly from the lead programmers, and while not big festivals they seem legitimate.

Is a discount worth it or would it only really be worth it if it were a full waiver? Since they’re inviting me to submit, do I have any leverage or would you take the offer?

With so many festivals around, I’m curious what people’s best experience has been from a festival and why?

In terms of engagement, communication, covering travel costs, the actual festival itself and planned events… the atmosphere, audience etc?

Obviously if they're scamming and doing something illegall, y'all, yes I'm gon' get mad. But I've been volunteering as a screener for a respectable fest and the sheer, utter volume of films you have to watch to meet the quota is insurmountable.

Even with 100 volunteer screeners, you're looking at weeks of work.

And the submissions keep coming. And coming. And coming.

And most of them are bad. Sorry. They are just bad.

And I've only watched about 17 hours, mostly shorts.

So to the festivals who operate with creative and ethical integrity, who watch each submission 2-3 times, I do salute you for truly trying to dig through the rip-offs and half-baked concepts to find the gold nuggets.

I will never complain about you again.

That's all.

I applied to the Playa Film Festival in Aruba and was thrilled to get an acceptance, only to read that it is only for their online website portion, not the in-person. (On Film Freeway I did not see anything about an online portion.) If I participate, my narrative short would be online for a weekend. My intuition says NOT to accept because I want to be more strategic about the first time my short film is online with unrestricted access. Any thoughts out there? I did reply to the festival that I don't take acceptances lightly and would let them know shortly....

Looking at a few different Chicago festivals for my narrative short, but I’d like to hear what you guys think.

Any suggestions are helpful — please tell me why you like them. Thanks!

So this is a weird question, but a festival keeps watching my film (4 views in two different days), after rejecting my film and also after the festival has just taken place. I know it's the festival because the views come directly from their platform as a source. Could another festival share their platform? If not what else could this be?

Thank you!

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.

Hey, everyone. I’m an 18 year old filmmaker from Western North Carolina. After the success of my most recent film, with almost 15k views on YouTube and a lot of positive feedback from friends and family, I feel confident enough to try and submit it to a festival.

Obviously, I’m keeping my expectations realistic and knowing it’s still a long shot to get accepted to a festival. Since this seems like a costly process with submission fees and whatnot, I wanted to make sure I’m submitting to the right place.

Any advice on if I should even submit it at all, where I should submit it, and what kinds of festivals I’d have the most luck? The film is a psychological drama about AI, if that matters at all. Thank you everyone for your feedback!

A festival programmer posted yesterday to assure filmmakers that their festival watches all films (https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmFestivals/s/Gt7WAeAVdc ). This led to a much warranted discussion about the flaws in the process and a call to action to try to come up with a better system. I had an idea I wanted to share. What if screeners logged the total number of minutes watched during the initial screen. If it’s an obvious No (for whatever technical or narrative reasons cited by screeners/programmers) they are permitted to turn it off and not finish. They then log the minute mark of their stop, and the total number of minutes of the film. Festival then refunds the filmmaker percentage of fee proportional to unwatched minutes. Screeners save time, filmmakers save money, you get de facto feedback by learning when a screener is turning off your film and/or if you weren’t a good fit for the festival. Yes it would be disappointing to learn the screener didn’t “hear you out” - but it would at least be realistic and helpful and more frugal for filmmakers. The refund logistics would probably be annoying for the festival - but it would be made up for by the time saved by not screening the films in their entirety if they’re obvious nos. Is this too wild? At first I thought so, but the more I think about it the more I think it makes some sense. Festivals would of course need to be honest with their refunds etc. for it to work.

EDIT: Not implying that film festivals are greedy or a cash grab whatsoever, I’m genuinely curious if this would be feasible as a kind of win-win compromise to save time and money.

Who is the point of contact at a film festival I should be in touch with if I would like to join as a screener?

What is the workload like? How many films a week do you have to watch?

I am building out the program for a Philadelphia-based short film festival I am launching this July, called DO NOT DISTURB, which is organized around the theme of embodied liberation.

I would love to find any films/filmmakers who have made non-fiction work around the general theme of body autonomy.

That can include anything from films about:

- Reproductive access
- Advocacy for sex workers and assault survivors
- History of censored and uncensored bodies in media
- LGBTQAI+ rights and protections
- Any other cinematic reflection of the free body in modern society

Narrative work on these themes is welcome too, but figured the documentary space would be a simpler place to start.

Any leads on this would be really appreciated - I am really hoping to find ways to connect with filmmakers and festival organizers who explore and champion these themes. Whether that's here, or in being pointed to other message boards or communities I might not know about.

Thanks so much!

My short film is starting to get a bit of traction, but it’s a little over 20 minutes.

Many people say that length is hard to schedule because you could fit four 5 minute films in the slot.

Any recommendations on festivals that have a “mid-length” category?

It’s an offbeat dark comedy with a slight touch of surrealism, if that helps. Thanks.

Sorry if this isn't the right place but I've hit a wall with my question - how does one change the production date on a Short Film Depot film card??? I cannot figure it out for the life of me; has anyone else encountered this?

Hey,

For film festival owners, I’d love to hear about your first experience running a film festival.

How much funding were you able to raise? What were your total expenses? Did your original budget turn out to be accurate? If not, what caused the difference?

What surprised you the most during your first festival, and do you have any tips or lessons learned for someone planning their own?