{"id":103100,"date":"2018-06-25T11:13:22","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T16:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=103100"},"modified":"2018-06-25T11:13:23","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T16:13:23","slug":"10-tips-screening-film-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/10-tips-screening-film-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things to Know Before Screening at Film Festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are ten must-know tips for getting your film or video project into a film festival \u2014 and what to know before your film screens.<\/h2>\n

Cover image by\u00a0Fer Gregory<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u00a0recently had my first experience screening a film at an indie film festival, and it seemed like a whole new world opened up. Having covered festivals for several years, I was no stranger to how they worked from an outside perspective, but after\u00a0receiving a \u201cfilmmaker\u201d badge for the first time, it became a completely different experience.<\/p>\n

So, with this new perspective in mind,\u00a0here are 10 helpful things I gleaned from screening a film \u2014 and what I wished I would have known going in.<\/p>\n

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What to Include in Your Submission<\/h3>\n
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Image via FilmFreeway.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Let’s\u00a0backtrack one step: you have to submit your film to festivals before they invite you to screen. If you go to your favorite festivals\u2019 websites, you\u2019ll find their submission guidelines and forms available, but nowadays it\u2019s probably best to use a platform like FilmFreeway<\/a> or Withoutabox<\/a>. For those interested, I used FilmFreeway \u2014\u00a0and even wrote this article with some quick tips based on my submission process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Get All the Info<\/h3>\n

Once you are accepted into a festival, you\u2019ll usually get a confirmation email\u00a0that makes you feel warm and awesome. Be sure to keep an eye on your submission platform as well though, as updates to your status will appear on those sites just as regularly (and will let you know if your submissions were rejected, meaning you can\u00a0direct your efforts elsewhere).<\/p>\n

In your acceptance email, you should get all the info you\u2019ll really need regarding dates, travel, events, and even your screening time(s) \u2014 although that might come later or be\u00a0subject to change. If you are accepted and don\u2019t receive all the info you need, definitely reach out to the programmers. The longer you\u2019re in the dark, the harder your travel and work arrangements will be to coordinate.<\/p>\n

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Plan Your Travel and Accommodations<\/h3>\n
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Image via Zorik Khutoryan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Depending on\u00a0many variables (size of the festival, type of film you\u2019re showing, popularity of your film), travel and lodging may or may not be provided. If you\u2019re being comped a hotel room and given a travel stipend, that\u2019s awesome. However, for many indie festivals and up-and-coming filmmakers, the onus is on you to get yourself and your team to the festival and find a place to crash at night.<\/p>\n

If the programmers don’t offer accommodations outright, hit\u00a0them up to see if they can hook you up with a \u201ccouch network\u201d with festival programmers and volunteers who live nearby.<\/p>\n

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You Better Like Your Photos and Assets<\/h3>\n

Remember when you put together your submission and built your film profile page on Filmfreeway or Withoutabox? There were those boxes telling you to import promotional photos to represent your project. Well, you better like those photos a heck of a lot because you\u2019ll be seeing them often throughout your festival experience.<\/p>\n

Not only will they be the one-and-only piece of information about your film in the programs and any other festival literature, they also may end up blown up on the big screen before or after your screening for everyone to stare at (and judge your photography’s artistic merits).<\/p>\n

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Shorts vs. Features<\/h3>\n
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Image by\u00a0Brian A Jackson<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Short films and feature films are different presentations. Features usually get their own billing and screening time. Before features, a programmer will usually introduce the film and may ask the filmmakers to come up front to answer a few questions. After a feature screening, if the filmmakers are in attendance, they\u2019ll often come back up to do a Q&A with a programmer and\/or the audience.<\/p>\n

Short films, however, are screened in blocks (usually around six to ten shorts for a 90- to 120-minute block). The blocks are usually broken into narrative, documentary, or experimental (or late night). If it\u2019s a big festival, you may have Narrative Block 1, Narrative Block 2, etc. The individual short films in the blocks seldom get individual distinction\u00a0other than listings in the programs. At short block screenings, a programmer will sometimes introduce the whole block and\u00a0offer a few words about each film. Afterward, all the filmmakers in attendance\u00a0come up together to answer questions, which can sometimes make for a crowded stage.<\/p>\n

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Be Prepared to Promote Your Film<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can offer, which you\u2019ll learn very quickly once you show up for your screening, is that it\u2019s up to you to promote your film. Yes, the festival will promote itself in its local community (and probably abroad too), but that’s only a small part of overall promotion. If you really want people off the street to come in and see your film, you\u2019ll need to do the legwork to get them into the theater.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been planning for it, this is where your marketing and promotional materials come in. If you have posters, get there early and get them up in the area. Bigger features have marketing teams\u00a0that hit the streets with postcards and other materials \u2014 with screening times already printed up. It\u2019s up to you and your team to get the word out \u2014 with your friends, with the festival attendees, and with the general public.<\/p>\n

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Work on Your 10-second Pitch<\/h3>\n
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Image by\u00a0Jacob Lund<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Another thing you\u2019re going to need to practice is your 10-second elevator pitch about yourself and your film. You\u2019ll get good enough at it when attending your first festival because you\u2019ll have to do it over and over again. You\u2019ll also hear dozens of other filmmakers give theirs, so you can learn from those, too.<\/p>\n

Basically, at any mixer, party, or event, you\u2019ll be meeting attendees and other filmmakers who will ask the same basic questions. Who are you, and what is your film?<\/em> Your answer is your chance to promote yourself and your film. You can keep it loose, but having your pitch ready will help break the ice.<\/p>\n

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Stay Out Late and Get Up Early<\/h3>\n

Film festivals are awesome. And as I\u2019ve written before<\/a>, the indie film festival is hugely important part of the filmmaking ecosphere as a place to make connections, build relationships, get audience feedback, and invigorate a community. If you value yourself and your project enough to put the time into\u00a0creating it and submitting it to festivals, you better make sure you get the most out of the experience.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a weekend festival from Friday to Sunday, or a week-long (or longer) major festival, there will undoubtedly be lots to do, from workshops to panel discussions to mixers to after-parties and, of course, tons of screenings. If you can, I highly suggest doing damn near everything.<\/p>\n

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Export the Right Way<\/h3>\n
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Image by\u00a0iamwayclick<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

This one is a little nitty-gritty, but festivals vary. And even within\u00a0a given festival,\u00a0there may be several different screening setups\u00a0that require specific files. When your screening is set up, your festival contact should let you know if they have any specific export requests.<\/p>\n

Be sure to follow up with an export\u00a0that meets their standards and double-check to make sure it\u2019ll work with their system. The last thing you want is a technical issue minutes before your screening.<\/p>\n

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Follow up and Stay Engaged<\/h3>\n

This is a piece of advice from some old business development days, but it still holds true. If you feel you were lucky enough to have your film screened at a festival\u00a0that seemed cool to you, make sure you let the folks know who gave you the opportunity and shared the platform. It may be a contest in some ways, but at\u00a0its heart a festival is a community. Having seen festivals work for some time now, I can tell you these programmers and coordinators and volunteers do it for their passion for films and filmmaking.<\/p>\n

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Once you do get a film into a festival, and would like to get more in the future, stay engaged, supportive, and positive. If you stay at it long enough, chances are you\u2019ll see the same people around and get plenty of opportunities to pay it forward.<\/p>\n

For more filmmaking advice and inspiration, check out some of these articles.<\/p>\n