With the 2015 Sundance Film Festival just a few months away, I felt like taking a look back at the 2014 event – in particular this "by the numbers" infographic published by Cultural Weekly. Unlike most crappy infographics which are just articles tortured into vaguely graphical presentation, this one mostly makes good visual use of the data by comparing the last few years of the Festival against one another.
You probably know that one of the most valuable traits of a film festival is the access it affords you to others in the industry. Festival programmers, distribution companies, potential colleagues-- they're all there. If you know that your feelings of intimidation and awkwardness are costing opportunities to make valuable connections, try keeping these tips in mind.
Heidi Burkey, director of documentary feature Makin' Wookiee, asks: How do you know when to stop submitting to festivals?
Making industry contacts at a festival in a strange town can be a daunting task. Find out how to go in with a game plan and make it look natural. Whether your goal is to play more festivals, build your career, or sell your film, you'll learn the right and wrong ways to introduce yourself and make new friends.
The Sundance deadlines are just days away, and I encourage you to submit to the Park City festivals lest you regret it later. However, you should also acknowledge that Sundance acceptance is a miracle no matter what your film is. In this mini-episode I talk briefly about the possible opportunity costs of waiting on Sundance.
The Film Festival Secrets podcast is back with a new mega-cheesy theme song and an interview with Will Lennon, director of the short film Phoebe’s Birthday Cheeseburger and Program Manager for the Cinema Eye Honors. Plus: how many calories are there in a McDonald’s cheeseburger?
Yes.
A young man in Ohio named Zack “Danger” Brown posted a Kickstarter project in early July with the modest goal of raising $10 to buy the ingredients for a potato salad. With 25 days left in the campaign, Brown has raised more than $30,000 from nearly 3000 backers. What can we learn from Mr. Brown and his crowdfunded bomb of mayo-soaked root vegetables?
This is the future of film distribution that "the industry" has anticipated in increasing degrees over the last decade: filmmakers creating quality content, cultivating an audience, and selling directly to that audience with as few middlemen as possible. The tools for this distribution model have been sneaking up on us but they finally seem ready for prime time. More importantly, there finally exists a critical mass customers who have the technology to watch movies this way -- and they seem perfectly fine "owning" just a digital file.
This new advocacy campaign from gun-safety group Evolve shows two young gents fencing with a pair of marital aids they've discovered, much to the dismay of their onlooking mothers. I appreciate the humor (and the seriousness) of the message "if they find it, they'll play with it," and the initial embarrassment and horror of both women is perfectly natural. The drawn-out shame sequence, on the other hand, makes me weary.
Here's a little secret: film festival directors everywhere are killing themselves to make their events "more than just a movie." As a filmmaker, you should do everything in your power to create a compelling live component that can accompany your screenings. Use it to sweeten the deal so festivals will program your film, or mention it after an invitation as an incentive to provide you with travel funds. Hell, do it because it will get more butts in the seats at your screening instead of the zombie flick playing across the hall. Read on for some ideas for your film.
 | The Better Film Festival Submissions Toolkit has a very simple purpose: to help you improve the way you submit your work to film festivals.
Divided into 7 core tasks with a discussion of each task, the 16-page Toolkit is designed for quick reading and gives you concrete, actionable tasks to make your film submissions package better. Best of all, you'll get the insight you need to better understand what programmers look for and how to submit with confidence. |
