ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

11 years, 11 months ago - Alistair Parkhurst

I can't see any video on there, but I'm guessing it's "Looking For an Audience" which documents two American filmmakers' misadventures at the infamous Swansea Bay Film Festival. Well worth watching - it's on Youtube.

I hope this doesn't break any rules on plugging, but at the moment myself and some fellow filmmakers are organising the Cardiff Independent Film Festival and given that we've had experiences similar to the ones Chris describes above, we started from the point of knowing what NOT to do.

The first thing we felt was important was to be absolutely transparent about our dealings with filmmakers - our selection panel is on our website, selections done by secret ballot, the judging panel is composed of respectable industry professionals and totally independent of the festival. There are no hidden costs for filmmakers attending the festival (indeed we are giving free entry to our networking event for anyone who enters, selected or not) and we will not accept sponsorship from anyone entering a film. We're also a non-profit group so any money we make after screen hire etc goes back into next year's festival. Our submission fees are also, I believe, very reasonable.

I'm well aware of the damage that Swansea Bay and others have done to the reputations of film festivals, and particularly to this region and I can well understand the caution some have expressed about submitting to the smaller festivals. Tyrone Murphy has done a good job in exposing some of the less scrupulous festivals out there and the UFFO Code of Conduct for festivals is something we were quick to sign up to.

But I couldn't let it pass without saying that there are some of out there who are trying to do the right thing, and I hope that when we open for submissions next month, filmmakers will consider sending us their work. www.cardifffilmfest.org.uk

11 years, 11 months ago - Daniel Cormack

Tyrone also exposed the Newport Film Festival in Wales run by the Film Festival Guild which seems to have been set up so that the organisers could award their film prizes and then use it in their investment marketing materials. Vanity bordering on fraud is bad enough, but they also charged people to enter their 'festivals'.

Another one for the New York Independent Film & Video Festival. Their scam works like this: there's no proper entry film. You fill in your contact details. A few weeks later you get personal phone call from them saying they saw your film and would love for you to submit it. At this point you might be expecting them to offer a fee-waiver, but no. When the follow up email comes with the details they are asking for a $300 submission fee. Yes Three. Hundred. Dollars. For a short film. If you think that Sundance gets 6,000 shorts, it wouldn't be surprising if they get in the region of 1,000 or so, netting them 300k in fees alone!

The were also some very dubious reports about their screenings (filmmakers barred from "sold out" screenings for an audience award, but which only actually have a few people in the auditorium when they sneak in).

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Elliott, I for one would love to hear some of your stories - and it might make an entertaining 'how not to...' guide for festi entrants :-)

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Gah - sorry, your name was autocorrected on my phone, I meant Elliot!

11 years, 11 months ago - Alistair Parkhurst

That's something we are very keen to do - when we first started organising CIFF, I remember one of my colleagues, who has had some bad experiences at festivals, saying that we need to 'make the filmmakers feel like stars'. There's no excuse really for small festivals not to meet the filmmakers and make a fuss over them, it's not like there are going to be hundreds and hundreds of screenings.

11 years, 9 months ago - Pierre Stefanos

They are liars. For a while, they had the nerve to claim to be an Oscar-qualifying festival for shorts, until The Academy intervened. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!

11 years, 11 months ago - David Hewitt

Hi, May I steer the thread into sharing some positives about my experiences at UK & Ireland Film Festivals?
I have submitted three shorts to festivals (plus an additional shorter film) Some I applied through withoutabox, some directly to the festival and in none of them did I know the organisers. Those that I never heard back from, I can't speak for their legitimacy, but I did hear back from quite a few and even won a few awards. So I would like to spread the love on these less-known festivals listed below. I believe in supporting them for their legitimacy. And with all, I entered my film without them knowing me, so no nepotism here. I hope this helps filmmakers if they are scared off by bad festival stories!! (ironically my worst experience was when a short film of mine won at Raindance (east) - I spent months chasing my prize but they never returned my phonecalls - they still owe me from 8 years ago now!)

Rob Knox Film Festival
I have won two awards here and it's a great kent based festival celebrating films in honour of Rob Knox who was a victim of knife crime in the area. When I attended this festival, the cinema was packed and they had many trophies to give away for various categories.

Limelight Awards
Many categories, a big big awards night - and my film got a trophy. And they're community considerate as well.

Northern Nights
Organised by CAN, they didn't know me and my film won a DSLR for first prize.

Van d'Or Independent Film Awards
Ok, so they might be more well known now, but at the time of my film entering, i hadn't heard of them. They put on a great night with nominations and trophies. My film won a category therefore it screened on the night as well.

Wimbledon Film Festival
Packed out cinema of enthusiastic film lovers.

Sefton Short Film Festival
A packed cinema with enthusiastic crowd.

Waterford Film Festival
Good crowd.

Stamford Film festival
Good crowd, including genuine audience voting.

Cork International film Festival
This one's on the BAFTA list so its legitimate - but just to add that Cork has a wonderful audience.

Rough Cut Film Festival
Small but good.

Other good ones but better known are: Brief Encounters, Leicester, Seagate Foyle, Leeds, Kino, Britspotting, and Aesthetica

My films got into more than this, but I can't speak for the ones that I didn't attend. But I attended the above festivals and they are all OK in my experience!

11 years, 9 months ago - Pierre Stefanos

Avoid the Long Island Film Festival. They have some kind of bizarre feud with the much-more filmmaker-friendly Long Island Int'l Film Expo, and because LIFF takes place 6 weeks after LIIFE, LIFF gets people to suss out if they've accepted the same films. LIFF accepted my film BRIGHTON in March, 5 months before it would have screened, but once they saw my film was to play LIIFE as well (it was accepted in May), they sent me an unceremonious "Your film has been dropped for playing an inferior festival first" email. It's happened for years to many filmmakers besides me, and LIFF does not refund your submission fee if they change their mind. LIIFE is a much better fest anyway - it's run by the folks who run the Nassau Film Commission, and they have an amazing awards ceremony, meanwhile LIFF screens films at a hotel. Avoid LIFF if you want avoid a major headache.

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

I spoke candidly with the organiser of a nationally relatively well known film festival who advised the surest way to win a prize was to sponsor a category/something/the bar. Festivals cost money to run, and almost all exist to be commercial moneyspinners. Holding that in mind makes it a small hop from helping with costs to helping with profits!

11 years, 11 months ago - Maria Ann Hylton MSc, MA.

My experience of film festivals has been mainly through our shorts being screened in Ireland and abroad (I have lived in Ireland for the past 12 years and returning to London this Winter. And will shoot my first short in East London too called 'Hustle')
Festivals in Ireland no matter how prestigious have been both warm and welcoming. Also a decent size audience turn up to watch shorts which is what a filmmaker wants to see, how else are they going to know if their film is working or not?

My favorites in Ireland are:
Cork Film Festival, Fastnet Film Festival, Underground Short Film Festival and Galway Fleadh. Good atmosphere and you feel you are part of a community too.

In London - Portobello Film Festival (the only London film festival we have been successful at?)
The Short Film Corner in Cannes - that's more about securing a buyer and giving you short a life after the festival circuit.

There are a few dud festivals who take your money and not even offer an acknowledgement and that also sometimes even include using Withoutbox, you still don't hear anything! Which is poor.

Our latest short 'Waiting' has finished its festival run here is the link https://vimeo.com/49512630

Our next short 'Life' is in pre production and we are trying to raise fund on Fund it and Irish crowdfunding site so check it out too.
http://www.fundit.ie/project/life-by-maria-ann-hylton

11 years, 11 months ago - Dan Selakovich

Nicholas, that reminds me so much of a festival I submitted a blank disc to years ago. In fact, very much the same experience... except being a blank disc, I knew they were lying. I can't remember the festival, but they are no longer around. It's amazing that festivals are still pulling the same shit. Andrew, I don't know about Marbella, but I think it healthy to have the heebee-jeebees about any but the very top festivals. For shorts there are about 10, that if you win, you are automatically in the running for an Academy Award. Frankly, I suggest people stick with those, and be wary of any others. Not that there are not legit smaller festivals. It's just hard to suss them out.

11 years, 11 months ago - Royston Deitch

Sorry for coming late to this discussion. We finished our short "Elvis Prestwick" in February 2011. There then followed an increasingly dispiriting year where we entered over 20 festivals without success. Of course everyone has to cope with rejection, but what made the process worse was the several festivals which took our money and never even acknowledged our entry. After a year our luck changed and we were accepted in competition at four festivals in quick succession. I'm still grateful to them so I'd like to acknowledge them here : Palm Beach International Film Festival, Indie Spirit Film Festival, Fastnet Short Film Festival and the Rob Knox Film Festival. And the film is available through the magic of Facebook / Distrify : http://goo.gl/uumIkx or see the trailer here :http://goo.gl/JG4Yr . All the best
Royston Deitch
Writer / Producer "Elvis Prestwick"
Twitter @37filmsltd

11 years, 11 months ago - Elliot Grove

OMG - maybe I should recount stories of how filmmakers have messed me around over the past 21 years running Raindance!

It's good to be positive I think. So thanks for the positive comments above, David.

From the Raindance perspective - it is hellishly expensive to run any film festival, but on five screens bang smack in the centre of London - one of the worlds most expensive cities, and without any public funding?

That's why we charge modest submission fees. In return, we are Oscar qualifying (for shorts) and last year 46 of 101 features secured UK distribution, and this year all but 2 of 117 features comes from open submissions.

So my question to a filmmaker always is: How much does a theatrical in London mean to you?

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Oh, another actual personal experience I can share. I knew a producer who was great at truth-stretching. He created a festival with a name very similar to a legit festival, but included the word 'online'. Honestly, I don't know if he even got entrants (he would certainly have tried), but the Jury Prize went to his own film, and then the DVD box (yep, straight to DVD movie) was dripping in laurels. The festival never ran for a second year...

I guess I mention this in case anyone is thinking 'surely nobody is this cynical?'.

11 years, 11 months ago - Nicholas Hughes

My worst experience was with a well known London based festival who kept contacting me, after submitting my film to them, "it's great, can we use clips and stills from it for our publicity materials?" "Sure" I replied. "Your film is one of the best we received, can we screen it at Cannes as part of our festival programme there?" "Absolutely" I replied. "We all like your film at our offices and we've decided to show it at more venues and times. Are you available to attend the awards evening? It's in line for an award." "I'll be there" I replied. Come the awards night, my name wasn't on the guest list and my film wasn't nominated. I don't mind not being nominated, but not after all the messages I'd received which indicated that it would get nominated and that I would be invited to the awards night. I queried why all the positives earlier on but missing out at the end and I got an apologetic reply from the organisers about some kind of mix up but I did feel led on (I was young and it was my first film). In my opinion, I don't think festivals on the whole are very good at working with film makers and making them feel valued: They're happy to take your work, but not happy to meet you at festivals, talk to you (I've spent a lot of time travelling and ending up on my own and not speaking to anyone connected to the festival's organisers), get feedback or make you feel welcome.

11 years, 11 months ago - Chris Jones

Sorry to be clear, the video I was refering to is here...

http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/08/nine-personal-and-shocking-experiences-that-reflect-the-terrible-underbelly-of-some-film-festivals.html

And to offer balance, I also just listedn my top six festivals in the world, based on my personal experience.

http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/08/the-top-six-film-festivals-in-the-world-based-on-my-experience-and-none-of-them-are-a-list-festivals.html

11 years, 11 months ago - Ned Hussain

What video above?!

11 years, 11 months ago - Nicholas Hughes

Theatrical? I had my first film shown at the Curzon Shaftesbury Avenue thanks to one of the very first festivals I ever entered. It was great seeing the film projected on a big screen in front of a...not packed, but half full cinema who laughed in all the right places (it was a comedy). However, apart from a letter saying "you're in" and a brochure of the festival, I had no face-to-face or verbal contact with any of the organisers so it felt very impersonal. So great, on the one hand to get chosen and shown on a big screen but that personal touch was missing and, for a first time director, that opportunity to network and chat a bit wasn't there. I would recommend festival organisers doing more to make their entrants feel welcome; after all, it's they who provide the content.

11 years, 11 months ago - Dan Selakovich

Thanks so much for this, Chris! There are two things I tried to get Shootingpeople to start years ago: Distributors that screwed you and festivals that screwed you. I can't wait to hear what people have contributed to your blog. Please name names! How can we avoid throwing our fees away if you don't?

11 years, 11 months ago - Simon Mullen

Hey guys... you might find this website useful. Its the "no entry fee festivals" blog http://noentryfeefestivals.com/... its an upto date list of no-entry-fee film festivals from around the world. You should join the mailing list.

11 years, 11 months ago - Andrew T. Wright

Anyone got any experience of Marbella Int. FF - all this talk is giving me the heebee-jeebees.