What should I know about film festivals?

First, create a profile for your short film on FilmFreeway.com. Every worthwhile festival will have a page listed there. You can browse festivals by region or genre, and make lists to track their deadlines. Some festivals like Cannes or SXSW have their own submission websites.

You may upload your film directly to FilmFreeway or link to a private screener on YouTube or Vimeo. Most festivals prefer that your film is unlisted or password protected, and completed within the last calendar year or two. Some festivals don’t mind if your short is available to watch publicly online as long as they are your premiere in that particular state, but others don’t even require that. Major festivals like Sundance or Tribeca want your World or U.S. premiere, and will likely disqualify your submission if the film is available to watch publicly. Every festival is different, but on average, shorts with a runtime less than 10 minutes are easier to program, though up to 20 minutes are often considered.

When you are ready to submit your film, you can either catch a festival in its early bird submission window (which can generally cost anywhere between $5 and $20) or their late deadlines (which can be closer to $50 or $100). It is always best to submit to festivals as early as possible to save your budget, but be prepared to spend anywhere between $200 and $500 if you want your short to get into a handful of notable festivals. If your short film is solid, realistically expect between a 5-10% acceptance rate. If you submit to 50 festivals, you are likely to get accepted into at least 5 festivals, so try to cast as wide a net as possible.

However, when browsing FilmFreeway, beware of potential predatory festivals with red flags like first year events, high submission fees, similar names to major festivals, or reviews that seem generated by bots. Submitting to free or cheap festivals is tempting but should be avoided because while being selected for a tiny festival in the middle of nowhere might earn another laurel on your film poster, it’s meaningless if the event is amateurish or bad for networking.

It’s best to submit to festivals with the following pros:

  • Located in film-friendly cities or states (like Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles) or somewhere you just want an excuse to travel

  • Provide notable awards and prize money

  • Local or regional so you can meet other nearby filmmakers and network for potential collaboration on a future project

Good luck! If you have additional questions, contact us and we’ll try to update this page with more information.

Written by Ted Kendrick, producer and film festival strategist with Artificial Ink Creative