Why do film festivals have this rule?

H

harmonica44

My actors are encouraging me to enter my short film into festivals after seeing samples of the project so far. I have looked at some of the submission deadlines for local festivals, and they all have different times throughout the year. There is one coming up I will not be able to make cause I will not be able to finish the film in time, and in such a hurry without the product being good, instead of rushed. But there are later ones.

I was reading about some of their rules, and one of them so far said, that they do not accept films that been in a previous festival before, and that is had to be a new one, of the year. But that means I would have to wait all the way till next year and submit all the copies at the same time, rather than just submitting them throughout this year till next. Why do they care if one has entered one, like eight months before, just because the festival had a different deadline?
 
This usually doesn't apply to shorts only to features.
They do it for features (some top tier festivals) because they want it to be a "premiere". For some festivals it has to be a world premiere, for others maybe a premiere in that region or state or city, others don't care.
 
Because if there are more "World Premiere's" at one festival, especially in the same region, they will draw more of an audience looking for movies people haven't seen before.
 
Jan 5, 2012: The Santa Barbara International Film Festival this
morning announced its full lineup of movies including 16 world
premieres and 37 U.S. debuts.

That's why film festivals have this rule. This makes people want
to attend. It's very, very difficult to get people to attend a film
festival. How many have YOU gone to? World Premieres and US
debuts are important to people who go to festivals - they are the
first to see a movie. In many cases they see movies that never
get wide release at all.

The more World Premieres and US debuts a festival offers the
bigger their paying audience is.
 
Last edited:
Oh okay. Well one of them said it counts for shorts too, that I asked. But... I guess if that's the case I can wait. I will hopefully have one or two more shorts done in between at least.
 
Some fests want premieres for short films. For the same reasons:
they want something to entice people to show up and pay to see
movies.
 
I see. I wonder how some filmmakers on here, and where I live, are able to send their shorts to festivals only a couple of months after making them, rather than having to wait next year, to send them to all simultaneously. It just feels like a slow process. Do you filmmakers just try your best to get it all done in a hurry, before the submission dates start?
 
harmonica44 said:
I see. I wonder how some filmmakers on here, and where I live, are able to send their shorts to festivals only a couple of months after making them, rather than having to wait next year, to send them to all simultaneously. It just feels like a slow process. Do you filmmakers just try your best to get it all done in a hurry, before the submission dates start?
Click to expand...

The deadlines tend to fall in bunches.
I usually make a film in the early spring and complete it it the summer. That allows you to hit the late summer early fall deadlines for most of the big festivals that fall in winter early spring of the next year as well as the huge bunch of genre sci fi/horror festivals that take place in the fall of that current year.

I completed 109 in August of 2011. It's probably been seen by less than 300 people. I get a big rush of notifications from most of the festivals I care about in the next 60 days. After that is over I'll release it on the net probably about a year after it was completed.

This is why my next project is a web series. I'm trying an alternate route the the VERY long feedback loop you have with the festival circuit.
 
If a festival deadline is, say, Sept 2012 and you start shooting
in July you will need to rush to make that deadline. But if you
start shooting in July 2012 you will have pleanty of time to make
the Sept 2013 deadline. No need to rush at all.

If your goal as a filmmaker is to enter festivals and you need it
to feel like a fast process you need to research festivals you want
to enter before you start shooting - not after. Deside on the
festivals you want to enter first and set your shooting schedule
accordingly.

harmonica44 said:
I wonder how some filmmakers on here, and where I live, are able to send their shorts to festivals only a couple of months after making them,
Click to expand...
I can shoot a short film in two days. Edit a five/six minute short
in one week, another week to compose and record the score and I
can be completely finished in three weeks. If it’s ten minutes add
a week and I can still finish a short film in one month - that’s
how I can send my short to festivals only a couple of months after
making them.
 
My timeline is stretched by entering early to get the lowest fee.

The "Early Bird" entry fee for a festival might be $25, four months (or more) before the festival announces selections. The fee a month before selections are announced might be $75. If you are entering 15 or 20 or 40 festivals, that adds up quick. I entered festivals with 109 in September 2011 I won't even hear from until May 2012. Theoretically I can't release it on the web until I hear from the last festival because that may cause them to reject my entry.
 
Excellent points, Gonzo.

Entering festivals is a slow process - well to be more accurate; hearing
the results is a slow process. Deciding on which ones to enter in the
correct order can be mind numbing. The different requirements and
deadlines must be taken into consideration. Rushing post production
to meet a deadline is foolish - after all that deadline will repeat in a year.

And then there are the fests that require a premiere. Nothing like
holding off entering a local festival in oder to be rejected by a fest that
requires a premiere. One really nice "problem" is to get accepted by two
fests that require a premiere and having to choose.
 
Well I could enter a film in the same year for every festival, but I would have to be ready to hit them all at the same time. Not that I would necessarily of course, I was just curious, since others were doing it.
 
Yeah, most festivals want "premiere" status for accepted entries.

I made it a point for my festival to always open our Call for Entries on New Years day and allow four months before our first deadline to afford filmmakers time to complete their projects. It's pretty easy to remember to have your film ready by January 1st.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top