Festival Submissions! Sooo, how do those things work?

(Originally Posted October 7, 2020)

In a previous post, I mentioned that our big "finishing" goal was to have a film ready by the Sundance deadline. But why that film festival? And what does it mean if you get into a festival - ANY festival?

Well, in a nutshell, film festivals give filmmakers two things: exposure and a chance to meet other folks in the showbiz (aka shmooze). It also can give them prizes and a chance to travel, but those are just neat bonuses. So in figuring out where to submit our film, we looked at these factors.

As you probably know, Sundance is kind of the "granddaddy" of all film fests in the US. Even people who don't work in film have heard of it. It's a big deal and the biggest kind of exposure you can get. That being the case, Sundance also has a rule that they won't play any films that have premiered at other festivals. Therefore, it just makes sense to make them your first stop when it comes to entries. It's a longshot we'll get in, but the odds are better than the lottery (the tickets are just more expensive).

We've also submitted to Slamdance, which is like the troublemaking stepchild of Sundance. It's sort of an alternative to Sundance that takes place just a couple of weeks after it. It partially came about as a place to show films that were a bit "rougher" than typical fest fare. A lot of my favorite filmmakers premiered their films there, so I'd be thrilled at a chance to show Browntown there. (This is also a longshot, but maybe a hair less long?)

I've also entered a bunch of small film festivals that sounded fun and/or could provide decent exposure. Now, will any of these actually take place? That's the million dollar question. Click here to read an article about how Slamdance is dealing with things in light of COVID. Who knows? You may be able to attend some neat film festivals from your home this year! (But I really hope to go in person!)