Ok, I know I sound like Donald Trump. But, I keep hearing "my friend can get us into this festival", "i know someone who runs that festival", and similar comments. I know the prevailing wisdom will always be "if your film is good it will win out". That can't be true in every case, though. There have to be a lot of good films that don't make it into festivals because there is just not enough spots.
So my question is, what percentage of slots do you think are "rigged" in the sense that the people got their film in because of connections or another type of string pulling?
And, is there anything I can do as a person with no connections, other than submit my film and hope for the best? It seems most festivals ask you NOT to send marketing materials and PR stuff unless invited. What are the other options? Can I reach out to the programmers? Will that be annoying or welcomed?
So my question is, what percentage of slots do you think are "rigged" in the sense that the people got their film in because of connections or another type of string pulling?
And, is there anything I can do as a person with no connections, other than submit my film and hope for the best? It seems most festivals ask you NOT to send marketing materials and PR stuff unless invited. What are the other options? Can I reach out to the programmers? Will that be annoying or welcomed?