r/FilmFestivals

We were there for the October 1 screening of Whistle Down Wind (dir. Andie Morgenlander, co-written by and starring Julia Christgau). For weeks, searching for the festival only brought up the 2027 submissions page. The schedule didn’t appear until around September 21, and the venue changed the day before opening. The “venue” turned out to be a mostly empty corporate/mall-type building. The screening area was pipe and drape in the middle of a vast empty floor, with folding chairs, a small screen, and a projector. Almost no signage, and no talkback, closing party, or awards to speak of. When the film ended, the projectionist had left. The volunteer who came in didn’t know how to turn the lights on or the projector off, so I found the switches myself so we could have a short discussion. I’ve been part of festivals from New York to Edinburgh to Tbilisi and have produced events my whole adult life. The lack of a legitimate venue alone should disqualify an event from calling itself a film festival. Filmmakers, think carefully before submitting. — Terrence Christgau (Julia’s father)

Hey y'all!

First time reaching out, and I'll say right away: My life's been nuts as of late.

I was recently accepted to the Austin Film Festival, and in the same week, I was also laid off from my job.

Attending this festival has been a priority for me, and the plan was already to road trip from LA to Austin. Initially, I was going to sleep in my car in order to further save costs for the dates that I will be attending (October 28th-November 1st), until I heard that the programmers are running a discount on hotel rooms.

The only problem is that the cost is still roughly $140/night, which will bring me close to $700 total.

I was wondering who else is in the same boat as me, or if anyone's a free-roaming spirit who would be down to split a room with a stranger. I'm not asking to share a bed or any weird stuff like that; I have my own air mattress if we can't book a room with two beds.

Just to know me better, I can pass along the link to my film upon request! Or you can dig further into my profile for a background check

Hoping for the best! If you see this post and can't help at this time, an upvote is enough to boost visibility. Thanks so much!

I'm happy to get an honorable mention after being rejected by three other festivals so far. They gave me laurels for "official selection" and "honorable mention." But they are not screening the film for an audience; however, my films's title and director's name (me) will appear in the program and also my film's details will feature on the big screen during the festival. Not sure what all that means but again, I'm happy to have something as opposed to nothing. Is this a common practice, being selected but not screened? Is it simply a consolation prize? I hope someone can tell me if this is really encouraging or a lot of "not much." Thank you!

I’m one of the organizers of Odds & Ends, an independent experimental film festival in Charlottesville, Virginia. We’re preparing for our 5th annual festival, taking place February 19–20, 2027 at the Vinegar Hill Theatre.

We started Odds & Ends to create a space for short experimental films that can be difficult to place in more traditional festival programs. We’re interested in films that take chances with form, genre, structure, or the medium itself, as well as work that is poetic, personal, political, funny, strange, or difficult to categorize.

We’re currently accepting films for the 2027 festival.

Submission requirements

• Maximum runtime: 20 minutes
• Completion date: After January 1, 2025
• Earlybird deadline: November 6, 2026
• Regular deadline: December 7, 2026

Submission fees

Under 5 minutes: $7 earlybird / $12 regular
5–20 minutes: $12 earlybird / $20 regular

We’ve tried to keep our submission fees as low as possible, and we pay screening fees to all accepted films.

We’re a small, independent festival focused on discovering emerging filmmakers and presenting work that falls outside traditional commercial and festival categories.

 ⁠FilmFreeway — Odds & Ends Experimental Film Festival