Distribution : Best Film Festivals to join? by Kirk W. Murray

Yes that is the reality.

In North America -- SXSW and Austin are very well-known and well-scouted. LAFF, simply because it's in LA and easy for Hollywood execs to get to. TIFF is huge for international and prestige releases. I will never forget that box office hit OPEN WATER screened at the Hamptons International FF before it screened at Sundance and was eventually picked up by Lionsgate. Telluride is a small (by design), highly prestigious fest that occurs on the eve of TIFF.

Kirk, It may be an idea to hire a festival strategist like Lauren Avinoam who can use her network to get you in places. https://twitter.com/LA_Publicity You can get in with just submissions, it can be political. Many people get into those festivals by having rep that can influence decisions. Met Geoffrey Gilmore exSundance head and he said that when Sharon Stone called his office and asked to show her film he said yes. So if you have access to a star that can call on your behalf go ahead. You can pay a submission fee but might have to finagle a bit to work some angles.

Kirk; what you say is true but we’re workin’ on it. One of the festivals I review for annually brings in a major network TV Producer, a well renowned Agent and a film Distributor. Additionally, I produce an independent filmmaker’s showcase for a modest cable network that features top tier films from some festivals in the NW. If you’re fishing with Oscar bait, you pretty much need to win at Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW and the other Oscar qualifying festivals – that’s just a fact of life. But I see films picked up all the time. I go out of my way to introduce up-n-coming talented filmmakers to some of the West Coast movers and shakers I know. We’re trying. But it takes a real hard networking effort on your part.

I think that for the important festivals you definitely need someone to get you in, it is so unfair but it is the way it works.

Why you say that, Rafael? It just ain’t so. If you produce a Dynamite film and pay your entry fees – the film reviewers will give you a thumbs up and your film is in. Pure & simple. How you work the festival then is up to you. Some festivals are better than others for sure but remember that the reviewers are blind as to who you are (and don’t care.)

I'm talking about top festivals Dough, Cannes, SUNDANCE, Berlin to mention some... I have gotten into festivals just by submitting my film and I even won awards, but the top festivals are different

Rafael; No they’re not. But keep in mind that small festivals may attract only f few entries but the major festivals like Cannes, SXSW and Sundance receive many more. A small venue festival may incorporate 30 films in a 10 – 12 hour weekend out of its 70 – 80 submissions. The major festivals receive hundreds of submissions but their exhibition time is not that much greater. Your film is more likely to be included In the smaller festivals but in the major festivals – your film may only one out of a thousand (or more.) It takes a top quality film to be selected there. It’s the quality of your film, not who you know.

Sorry Dough, I respect your opinion, but I don't agree with you.

What is a top quality film? Is it story wise? Picture wise? Sound wise? Acting wise?

Hi Rafael, I've attended Sundance 8 times to scout talent since 2003, and I have met several filmmakers during the festival or after the festival who were not represented and who did not know "someone to get them in" to the festival. Are you saying that every single filmmaker selected to Sundance, Cannes, and Berlin was selected only because they knew someone connected to festival programming? Please take a survey and ask some of the filmmakers, especially those who had no agents before Sundance, if they were selected due to a personal connection to the programmers. Ask the random Australian short filmmaker with no agent if he got in due to a connection. Ask the Polish guy who he knew at Sundance who got him into the International Narrative section. Ask the Russian guy who doesn't speak English how his buddy pulled strings and got him in. Ask the African documentary filmmaker who her dad knew to get her in. Ask the American kid who was selected to the NEXT section with a cheap HD action movie. Et cetera. I believe in the integrity of the programmers. They don't need me to fight for them, but I speak on behalf of their integrity.

I'm sure you're a great man, Rafael, and I'm honestly saddened to see that something in your life has made you into a cynic of Sundance, which is a NONPROFIT that runs not only the best North American film festival, but also an institute that runs the best educational lab programs in perhaps the world. Plus staged readings to help screenwriters move their scripts forward, online festivals so that people around the world who can't travel to Utah can see great indie movies, local outreach, minority fellowships, etc.

Rafael; it’s all those things and more. Film is a visual and aural medium. First you need a compelling story that the audience wants to watch; your story must have a flow and rhythm to it. It needs characterization to which the audience is simpatico. Picture wise, your film must be alive – treat every frame as a living canvas – steer clear from the cut-n-paste wallpaper editing that is so common today. Sound wise; you need clear, audible dialog and you need a score that is in harmony with your film. Acting wise; your cast must be living in the story, deliver their dialog like they mean it along with being able to hit their marks. And there is so much more.

No Regina, I am not saying that all the filmmakers accepted in SUNDANCE got in because someone helped them, not all of them... But as it was mentioned before on this thread, it does help to know someone and indeed a lot of not very good films get accepted in top festivals because of this and a lot of very good films get left out because of this.

Hi Rafael, it was good to read that reply. It really made me quite sad to think that people out there are so cynical of Sundance! :-)

Rafael; I’ll try one more time. The best films incorporated into a festival’s slate are selected because they are the best of all submitted. A film rejected from the slate is rejected because it does meet the festival’s minimum standard AND/OR due to the lack of screen time available. There are certain filmmakers whose past winning films have been seen and who have demonstrated excellence - but that matters not to the reviewers. You are only as good as your current offering.

Doug, I mean no disrespect, but what you're saying it's the way that it's supposed to be, unfortunately in this far from perfect world things are not done the way they are supposed to be, the world is run by humans, humans are far from perfect, humans have political interests. Of course that festivals are supposed to choose the best from what they get, but they don't always do it, it's just a common fact... I am saying this because it happened to me, not in one of the top festivals in the world, but in one of the top festivals in Mexico... The Morelia International film festival, I was rejected and then 1 month before the festival started, got a call from one of the programmers and told me that my film was not selected for competition but that they would like me to have the world premiere of my film in the festival, of course I accepted and I screened my film out of competition, but this person that called me did tell me that my film had been left out of competition because they had to accept instead another film from a very well respected Mexican producer with big Mexican stars, so that's my experience, I got left out of competition because I am no one, not because my film was not top quality. Now I'm not saying that my film is top quality, because I think that's pretty subjective, I think it has a good story. The film the celebration has a great story, but the picture quality is awful and it got in top festivals and it won awards, there are a lot of American indie films that have great stories and really bad picture quality and got into SUNDANCE, very well deserved like the film Chuck and Buck, or Tadpole or Secretary.... Anyway this films have great stories, top quality stories, but far from top picture quality.

Robin, I just posted some examples of some films that don't have all of that.

Great and unique stories that deserved the recognition they got.

I’ll second your comment Victor. There is nothing that encourages success like success. My advice to novice filmmakers (my opinion; novice = under five years) is to enter your films locally at first – to festivals you can attend so you see the audience reaction and where you can mix & meet other filmmakers. As you begin to excel locally, look to move on to more prestigious festivals. And remember that it takes a long time, a lot of persistence, practice and learning to become an over-night sensation.

I want to enter Tribeca. But everyone here knows why. Brooklyn native. Manhattan resident. This is a coast too, man. This is a coast too( Tootsie-1983)

Tribeca is one of the top tier festivals and certainly worth trying for. (Even those of us out here on this coast know that.) Because it is such a highly regarded festival, it gets a lot of entries meaning that your film must be extremely good to make it. If it is accepted, that alone is a feather in your cap. If it should win, I think we’d have to pull you down from the ceiling. The other side of the coin is that your film is rejected (most are). That should mean nothing to you. There are jillions of film festivals out there. Take a hard look at your film, research the festivals and find where it best fits. Remember that success breeds success.

Doug as always EXCELLENT advice. I realize this business is 100's of NO's before you get a Yes. But at 63 years of age and over 30 years of being in sales(all in New York) I know and can handle rejection. So being pushy is part of my persona. And it helps to be the third generation of a New York Show Business family. I just started screenwriting late. Actually a few days after I retired and started getting Social Security. Hey, Look at Colonel Sanders, He did not start KFC until he was 65 But he was just selling chickens. We are selling the "Dream Factory" . Much different and Oi Vay a lot harder. Thanks.