If most films were made that cheap with that bad of picture and even worse, sound quality, and using ADR even, it would be rejected by most film festivals. However El Mariachi went big, and boosted off Robert Rodriguez's career? How is that his film was the exemption to the rules? Did the producers just have really good international connections to get it shown in theatrical releases all over the world or what?
How did El Mariachi get so big with such poor quality?
- Thread starter harmonica44
- Start date
And I give you a very sincere thanks. A certain amount of egomania comes with the territory in what we do. If you don't have a healthy ego and the courage of your convictions you will wilt under the setbacks and criticism that are part of the game. I have never failed at anything I sincerely gave my best effort. That doesn't mean this won't be the first time, but it gives me the conviction to plow ahead. In the words of Richard O'Brien, (that I have quoted to me son many times) Don't dream it, be it.
And I wish the same for you guys. We deserve it.
And I wish the same for you guys. We deserve it.
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Not mean at all. Just kind of sad, I know a lot of filmmakers
who are at least three of the four. Sorry that you don't. It's
inspiring to be around talented people.
Despite being in Los Angeles and the copious amount of talk that happens, I will say that I've managed to surround myself with doers and workers, a lot of which are two of the things out of the four. So I'm inspired and constantly motivated to keep going.
However, that's a miniscule percentage of the microcosmic world of filmmakers.
I guess if someone thinks you need to be lucky then to each their own! Gotta work your way in the end.
Just curious what is meant by "tenure" in this context. I've always heard the fourth T was "tenacity".
They both work, tenure was given to me by a producer and-- when explained, it made more sense.
Tenure referring to actually working, whether that be under someone else, in a certain position or positions for a while to serve your time in the trenches.
Tenacity suggests that youre constantly going out and getting knocked down, but you won't quit until you die.
It's a mental thing, or a jedi mind trick. I'm not tenacious although I work as much as I can as a DP or filmmaker so I have years of experience, although short, and I'll need a lot more before I can get to the level of someone like Boyle.
Similar to asking yourself "how can I make this happen?" versus "what am I doing wrong?"
They're the exact same questions, but the latter carries negative weight that forces you to reflect on circumstances that may seem "bad" but are really just building blocks to achieve a goal. Ask yourself the former more often and the answers are a lot positive.
Thats why I use Tenure versus Tenacity, but both are fine and I heard Tenacity first as well.
I am relating it to my experience in the music biz. Don't think filmmaking is AS bad, but in music it's about 80% luck. Dozens of the best bands of the past 30 years didn't make enough money to pay their rent.
So how come the people at the festivals can't get a movie distributed near as well? Why does it have to be seen by someone like Spielberg, or someone connected to the movie company? Can the critics of festivals at least make effective recommendations?
My opinion is festival success can open the door and sometimes get you in front of the right eyes, but it still comes down to somebody with the money to handle the up front costs looking at the film and thinking 'I can make some money on this one".
In my own shorts it's an even lower level than that. It's building a resume (festival circuit) than can then be used to convince people I have the ability to take their money and make a marketable film with it. Then we'll still face the earlier step.
Most festivals are run by fellow filmmakers, not by distributors.
Their goal is to program movies they believe people will pay to see
at their festival. The top ten festivals attract distributors - most of
the others do not. And getting into any of the top ten (or the next
ten) is very, very difficult.
The reason a movie needs to be seen by someone connected to a
movie company (usually a distributor) is because people connected
to a movie company are the people making the decisions about what
films to buy. Sure, the people running a film festival can recommend
a movie they like, but they have no more power to write a check than
the filmmaker does.
The other thing with festivals - and this is just my own perception - is that they sort of serve as a "first line of defense". In other words, anyone who pays a festival's entry fee gets their film judged by the selection jury, but only certain films are actually accepted for screening. There may be a myriad of reasons a jury rejects one film in favor of another, but with so much material out there the process might serve as sort of an initial weeding out of less worthy material.
If you approach distributors with a number of festival acceptances under your belt they may give your film a bit more consideration than they might otherwise, knowing it has passed muster with the front line.
Or not.
If you approach distributors with a number of festival acceptances under your belt they may give your film a bit more consideration than they might otherwise, knowing it has passed muster with the front line.
Or not.
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You're right. Approaching distributors with several "Official Selection"
notices and a win or two can help. But the caveat is only some festivals
are "worthy" and many can be a black mark on your film.
notices and a win or two can help. But the caveat is only some festivals
are "worthy" and many can be a black mark on your film.
Film Fests like CANNES, SUNDANCE, TORONTO, and SXSW have proven that feature films selected by those fests have gone on to make money in the box office and on home video.
Other film fests have a reputation that movies that come from them are crap (see TROMADANCE, NYIIFF, etc.).
Wow, that's scary to hear, as I'm in process of submitting to festivals right now. With zero budget and zero stars I figure I have zero chance at Cannes, Sundance, etc. so I've been concentrating on horror movie fests.
Is there a list anywhere of "must-to-avoid" fests?
Is there a list anywhere of "must-to-avoid" fests?
I've never seen a list - I've just talked to distributors and sales agents.
Any festival that charges you to program your movie (like NYIIFF) should
be avoided. Be cautious of first year festivals - learn a lot about them before
sending your entry fee. Do a search on any festival that is in it's second
or third year.
I'm not saying newer festivals should be avoided - do your research. If your
goal is to attract distributors to your movie with a festival "win" or even an
"Official Selection" make sure distributors have heard of the festival. It does
not help you get distribution by getting selected to a first time fest that never
has a second year.
Good advice, thank you!
I've not yet encountered any "pay-to-play" festivals, but that sort of thing always sends up a red flag with me anyway.
And - as you say - I've also been suspicious of first year fests, although I (sheepishly) admit submitting to the New Orleans Horror Film Fest, which is just starting. The entry fee was fairly low and I figured what better city to screen horror films?
I've not yet encountered any "pay-to-play" festivals, but that sort of thing always sends up a red flag with me anyway.
And - as you say - I've also been suspicious of first year fests, although I (sheepishly) admit submitting to the New Orleans Horror Film Fest, which is just starting. The entry fee was fairly low and I figured what better city to screen horror films?
Good advice, thank you!
I've not yet encountered any "pay-to-play" festivals, but that sort of thing always sends up a red flag with me anyway.
And - as you say - I've also been suspicious of first year fests, although I (sheepishly) admit submitting to the New Orleans Horror Film Fest, which is just starting. The entry fee was fairly low and I figured what better city to screen horror films?
I approach it like applying to college.
A couple of top tier you probably don't have a prayer of getting into (hey, you never know).
The bulk in established, but not top tier ("mid tier"), established genre festivals like Erie Horror would fall in here.
A c couple in brand new or very small fests (the fest may turn out to be crap, but they won't get a lot of submissions so odds of acceptance for a decent movie are high).
This is good to know. How hard would it be to submit a film to the Toronto or Sundance festival? Most people I have met who have made features have not gotten in, or have only submitted to lower end festivals. How come the directors of El Mariachi or Paranormal Activity didn't submit to those first? Or did they and they didn't well?
Very easy. It's the getting in that's difficult.
Seriously though, don't worry about it. If your film's good enough, it'll get in - there's no point in trying to tailor it to a specific festival or resting all your hopes on it getting into Cannes. There are films that have been commercially unsuccessful despite the commendations of many festival judges, and many others that have made a fortune despite being unpopular with the critics.
Specific to El Mariachi, the intention was never for it to go to film festivals. It was made specifically for the Spanish language home video market. He had a short film called BED HEAD that was playing at festivals at the time quite a bit....El Mariachi DID play at the Toronto Film Festival. That's where the historic meeting between RR and Quentin Tarantino happened. It didn't hurt that Columbia had already picked up El Mariachi first and sent it there with a 35mm film print.
You really need to read his book REBEL WITHOUT A CREW. All of this is in there.
And Paranormal Activity was discovered by Spielberg's assistant at the 2007's Screamfest Horror Film Festival, and brought to his attention. It was rejected from Sundance. Twice.
**** EDIT ****
EL MARIACHI Festivals
September 1992 (Toronto International Film Festival)
January 1993 (Sundance Film Festival)
February 1993 (Berlin Film Festival - Panorama section)
February 1994 (Fantasporto Film Festival)
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Festivals
October 2007 (Screamfest Film Festival)
January 2008 (Slamdance Film Festival)
October 2009 (Pusan International Film Festival)
October 2009 (Dublin Horrorthon Film Festival)
November 2009 (Oslo International Film Festival)
November 2009 (Festival Internacional de Cinema Negre de Manresa)
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