Median: $34,483, C) DID NOT PREMIERE AT AN “A LEVEL” FESTIVAL: Those in-the-know simply refer to the festival as Berlinale. Among the awards at the Nantucket Film Festival is the Adrienne Shelly Foundations Excellence in Filmmaking Award. Click here to read our Fall 2020 issue, featuring this year’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Steven Soderbergh on Let Them All Talk and more... by Scott Macaulay in Distribution, Filmmaking Filmmaker submission fees make up less than 15% of the total income of film festivals. Your email address will not be published. Don’t tell every festival you are waiting to hear from Sundance. Absolutely! And when it comes to the submission fee — there isn’t one! Travel costs. The Raindance Film Festival accepts features, short films, music videos, VR and AR experiences, and web series. Shorts vs. It’s additionally regarded as one of the world’s best short film festivals. You no longer have to choose between festivals or online. This is what we call fucking bullshit. How do film festivals decide which movies to program, and why are film festival submission fees so high? Or a cause that you're passionate about that would make a great documentary? We truly believe live screenings are an integral part of the film festival experience and (while we see some festivals moving to "online screenings") we are committed to screening our selected films in front of a LIVE audience, once it is safe to do so! Founded in 1995, Slamdance prides itself on being by filmmakers, for filmmakers. Is it worth the submission fee? But there are also many seminars with industry executives and film professionals. Median: $12,400, E) ENVIRONMENTAL FILMS: Still, it’s definitely worth considering as acceptance to the renowned festival is considered a predictor for success in the United States. More than 85 world premieres take place every year at the Busan International Film Festival, making it well-worth the submission fee for any independent filmmaker. Again, Telluride and many of the top fests, only want premieres so make sure to keep track of the submission dates and deadlines with a production calendar from StudioBinder. Along with two very influential out-of-competition screening series. A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. My view is that most film festivals are a flat-out scam. With that said I have seen many less than honorable film festival organizers throughout the process. They screen 200 shorts and features over twelve days. The Telluride Film Festival is held every year over Labor Day Weekend. I interviewed more than 100 filmmakers and festival programmers trying to find out. You already paid your submission fee — don’t let festivals nickel and dime you further. There are a few festivals that you’ve dreamed of getting into since you were a teenager: Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Venice… But what kind of numbers are being argued over? The tour travels around the globe visiting 300 cities and reaches an audience of half a million people annually. Any festival strategy worth its weight only concentrates on a few of these long-shots, and includes more than a dozen of the others. Especially if you are a filmmaker with limited budget. Started as a festival to showcase screenwriting and storytelling, it is still committed to shepherding writers with its Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Competition. It’s appropriate that the Chicago International Film Festival is one of the most esteemed festivals in the US. The cost of shipping prints to the Festival is borne by the sender. Another major consideration: Sundance tends to favor American films. But what kind of numbers are being argued over? Last year nearly 50 countries were represented. COVID-19 UPDATE. The mission of the Tribeca Film Festival is to bring independent films to the widest audience possible. It’s not easy to get into the Cannes International Film Festival. 1. In fact, the Raindance Film Festival is known for showcasing bold and provocative work that challenges the rules of filmmaking. ilmmakers looking to get publicity for their films have a lot of festivals to consider. Close to 100 world premieres take place on average every year. It combines all the glamour of Tribeca, the western sentiment of Sundance and the prestige of Toronto. When we compile the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list every year, we start by imagining you: an independent moviemaker, probably English-speaking, heading into post on a short or a feature.. Every filmmaker has their own muse; likewise, they have their own reason for submitting to film festivals. Both Ivan Reitman and  Cary Joji Fukunaga have won prizes for their films at the Austin Film Festival. Out of the thousands of films submitted, less than 100 films are chosen to make their debut at the Venice International Film Festival. Four of the ten films to win the coveted Golden Bear prize in the 90s were American: Grand Canyon, Sense and Sensibility, The People Vs Larry Flynt and The Thin Red Line. In fact, Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman, is well-beloved by the festival. Out of more than 7600 submissions this year, only 300 films from 50 countries were screened. In fact, the Austin Film Festivals was initially called the Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference. The annual contest provides winners with an all-expenses-paid writer’s retreat and private consultations with Showtime executives. Gathering data from the films they’ve been involved with over the past several years, The Film Collaborative has determined screening fee revenue ranges based on films’ niches and premiere venues. Where did my film premiere (or where is it most likely to)…because, simply put…premiere matters. Screening Copy. I wanted to know about the ones that weren’t. As with all festivals, it’s advisable to submit to Raindance as early as possible. Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi and Greta Gerwig’s Ladybird also made their debut at the Telluride Film Festival. There are some exceptions, and in general it’s still worth applying to and attending film festivals. For instance, some festivals require a specific type of media format for screening . Though studio films are chosen for opening night, closing night and centerpiece presentations, let there be no mistake: This is not a festival for studio-sponsored fare. His films Juno and Up in the Air both premiered at the Austin Film Festival. The movie festival caters to its international fans with sections devoted to Nordic regions, Israeli offerings, and both Latin American and Asian filmmakers. Of course, if you have a great film, those numbers are no reason not to submit! There are plenty of small, local film festivals that are enthusiastically supported by their local community. - To qualify for the 2021 Macon Film Festival submissions must have been completed after May 31, 2019. Big news: the 2021 Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by Associated Bank, will take place May 6-20 of next year and, like the 2020 event, will largely take place in a virtual format. Not too shabby. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is another Academy-Award qualifying opportunity that extends an open hand to indie filmmakers. The average festival submission fee is $65. But that the Busan Film Festival has really become the go-to festival in Asia is saying plenty. The Sundance Film Festival is arguably the most well-known American film festival. You must get as specific as possible when choosing a film festival. Without any shred of doubt, this is one of the best film festivals, period. Median: $12,825, D) SOCIAL JUSTICE / HUMAN RIGHTS FILMS: At just 16 years old, the Tribeca Film Festival has quickly become one of the largest and most revered festivals in the world. So should you submit to the Sundance Film Festival when there is such a small chance your film will ever be seen? This year alone, the Busan International Film Festival screened 329 films from 79 countries. Not from the US? The Florida Film Festival is the perfect opportunity to experience an Oscar®-qualifying festival for less. Using a production calendar that automatically creates a timeline or gantt chart is the best way to keep track of all your submissions. Today, stars and media from around the world flock to the island of Lido in the Venice lagoon to attend the respected event. Over 10,000 of the world’s best film festivals and screenplay contests, including 173 Academy Award / BAFTA Award accredited festivals, use FilmFreeway to reach over one million filmmakers worldwide. Outfest festival site. Absolutely. And while plenty of competition from Hollywood’s elite makes the Toronto International Film Festival a tough one to get into, its status among buyers and producers definitely make it worth a shot. Pulp Fiction also had its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival. The coolest city in Texas also hosts the coolest film festival in the US. In 2019, the Chandler Film Festival in Chandler, Arizona, gave accepted filmmakers a free ticket to their own screening but charged them $119 for a full festival pass … Range: $0 – $30,690 The Festival will pay for one-way onward shipping of DCPs. The truth is that smaller regional festivals show a greater variety of films, giving filmmakers more opportunities to play in front of dedicated and eager audiences. We’re in a golden age of TV writing and development. But that also means the odds of getting into the Tribeca Film Festival are significantly better than getting into Sundance. Top 5 Film Festival SCAMS Filmmakers Need to Be Aware Of! The VIII Naples Human Right Film Festival (Locally- Festival Del Cinema Dei Diritti Umani Di Napoli) is a Italy based No Fee Film festival, now calling Entries of the Short Films (Less Than 30 Minutes) and Documentaries (Longer Than 30 Minutes) to their upcoming section held from … It’s great to know that at least one of the programmers at the Sundance Film Festival watches every single film. Vanderpool is proud of the quality of films submitted noting the festival has been unable to pay screening fees this year. Film festivals want to screen the best of their submissions, certainly, but they also need to consider turn out when programming the festival. You can create the calendar with StudioBinder software in a few minutes. The day before the screening, she was informed that the DCP didn’t work and she needed to pay another couple hundred dollars to make a new DCP if she wanted to screen. Film premieres usually unfold in one of five different ways: World Premiere: First time film is shown for the general public. 1. If you've ever entered a film into a festival, whether it was a short, documentary, or feature, you've probably had to pony up some decent cash just to be considered -- and that doesn't include the additional costs once you're accepted. Median: $32,650, B) PREMIERE @ SXSW FILM FESTIVAL: No problem! The Berlin International Film Festival has always been a strong contributor to the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Oscars too. 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