Film Festival Strategy 101: The KEY Steps for a New Filmmaker

So you’ve made a film and you want more people than just your friends and family to see it. Well, film festivals are a great way to get your project exposure, and to introduce you as a new filmmaker to others in the field.

Film festivals often play an important part of the folklore of how new filmmakers get their big break or how a film is introduced to the world. But it’s important to not get too swept up in idealistic fantasies of the film festival experience.

Film festivals definitely require a game plan based on what you are hoping to get out of them. You’ll want to create a strategy. To try and touch on all the bases, we’re going to look at the key elements of strategy to think about. Each of these steps will leave you with things to think about in order to make the most of your film festival experience.

What to Consider Before Submitting to a Film Festival?

Planning for film festivals really begins before you’ve made your film, at the budgeting stage. Most film festivals charge a submission fee of anywhere from $25 to upwards of $100, depending on the format of your submission. While the lower end may not sound outrageous, remember that you are likely submitting to multiple festivals.

This should be factored into your film’s budget – which, as a new filmmaker, is likely to be on the tighter end. The number you decide on may fluctuate depending on how much funding you get and how faithful you remain to your budget during production. Having a festival budget will help you prioritize your submissions.

Which film festivals are worth your money? Well, that really depends on a few factors, including:

Format. Some festivals are better suited to short films, others to features, and others across formats. Does the film festival’s focus match the format of your film? This is key to try and figure out by researching past iterations of the film festival in question.

Genre. There are all kinds of festivals, particularly smaller ones, that are more focused on certain genres. This can be the case for larger festivals, too. Sundance Film Festival, for instance, champions horror films with horror short film compilations and a wide selection of features within the genre.

Themes. Film festivals revolving around certain themes, such as social justice, are getting to be more common. And it’s important to try and figure out which festivals favour which themes. If there is a theme at the forefront of your film, can you find a film festival that would champion that theme?

You. There are festivals aimed at women, the LGBTQ community, or certain ethnicities and cultures. Try and find the festival that seeks to represent you.

It’s advisable to pick a handful of large, general film festivals and another, typically larger handful of smaller, more specific festivals and apply to those. Resources such as FilmFreeway are helpful for researching festivals based on their qualities and how well-suited they are to your project.