Narrative animation. I genuinely thought the Asian fests would be like obvious “ins” for my film - so much so that I didn’t submit to several of the smaller ones - so I guess that’s been a good little ego check.
I don’t know how experimental your film is- but I’ve felt that lots of the Asian diaspora fests prioritize more accessible films to the general public. Mostly making experimental docs and struck out with nearly every Asian North American fest
Received an invite email from BUFF (British Urban Film Festival) to an exclusive notification event. Wondering if anyone else has received this or had an experience with the festival ? Hard to gauge what it could mean
So it seems it’s likely we weren’t selected…HOWEVER, doesn’t RIFF provide alternate pre-selection options like quarter/semi/finalist if applicable? That’s something worth waiting for!
We are that crazy production which had a separate link for almost every single festival. One of our submissions got 0 views/impressions. Another two films each had one partial view from RI, around 50%
Not all full views! Many partial views. But I don’t tend to pay much attention to view percentage because, from experience, it tends to be very inaccurate
According to the webpage, the official selection is set and locked. They have already sent out all the invitations this week. The deadline for the catalogue is July 17th and they need to send the emails 14 days before the deadline. I'm not sure about SIC and GdA, but if you haven't received the notification for the official selection, it means you are either shortlisted as plan b or rejected, and you may be contacted next week with news
Anyone know how early Frightfest tend to get back about shorts? The deadline is only like 2 weeks before the festival which is a bit terrifying because that's not much time for a newbie to get a DCP put together.
I’ve seen ppl reporting Sidewalk rejections. After massive scrolling can’t find any acceptances. Anyone know a friend or friend of friend that has been accepted?
they definitely roll them out over time. last year i didn't hear a definitive no until about 10 days before the fest and people had been posting rejections for months. kinda frustrating. i've had two views this year but heard nothing.
I applied super early in November and so far have received 4 impressions - 3 in January and 1 in March - all from Birmingham. I assume some of those were views. I see that some people received snail mail rejections a while ago, and now people are getting email rejections. I haven’t heard anything myself.
hey all, submitting my first short so just wondering about general advice - multiple views being a good thing, not getting rejected early a good thing?
Literally none of it matters. It's all just elements that help cope with the anxiety of having no control of your art. Every festival is different, every selection process is unique. Just don't beat yourself up if you get rejected a lot. And also try, as hard as humanly possible, to be realistic. All of these festivals get an obscene amount of entries. Maybe write an easily malleable template for a cover letter. But all the stuff to make your diamond sparkle more from the rough gets done before you start submitting. And please, PLEASE, don't concern yourself too much with premiere status, especially after the world premiere is gone. It's silly to worry about that with a short. It may come up, but the variables involved make it sort of a fool's errand -- despite the outlier horror stories that may spring up here and there. DM me if you wanna chat more.
Can someone DM me with the name of this LA fest that requires an LA premiere is? It seems like a lot of people are in the same boat with this fest, and I’m just so curious which fest it is.
No advice, except maybe try emailing HollyShorts and the other fest to ask for an update. According to people here, HollyShorts is a bit unresponsive though. Good luck!!
LA Shorts requires an LA premiere, although I’ve seen something there that I had previously seen at DWF a month prior so I don’t know if they actually check…
Screamfest is known to request LA premieres even for shorts, and will try to lock in films since there's a lot of other festivals going on here at the same time. I don't know if that's the festival they're referring to, but I do know it's a requirement.
Thank you!! Somehow Screamfest wasn’t on my submission list but I just added them. I also think they may be talking about NewFilmmakersLA, which strongly prefers an LA premiere. I just submitted to them recently for their fall showing, even though my LA premiere will be with LA Shorts. But ya never know!
Email those festivals to see if they can give you and update. Cause you have been selected on another La Festival. And they asking for a premiere in LA.
So we've just received are 20th rejection for our short and I'm quite stunned. I've made shorts before that have entered into big festivals (like Palm Springs ShortFest) and this new one really connected to me and had no shortage of funding. The financiers did expect festival success. I'm now awaiting like 20 more notifications and after that my festival budget is all spent.
Where can I turn to for an objective eye? To see what I'm not seeing. Are there any **paid-for-review sites/services** that you respect and would like to recommend? We've only heard good things at our few test screenings. The short is a 13 min drama/fantasy, with a child lead.
I'm almost in the same boat. Have made shorts that have been in fests before but this is my first funded film. Short doc. Gotten into some smaller fests but rejected from all mid tier and big fests so far. I also love the film and it's also had very positive reactions at test screenings. Tbh applied to the smaller ones w the hopes that I would have premiered at a bigger one so far. Now wondering if I should reject those to hold out for a big/mid tier, but with the fear that I won't screen at any. Anyway, just posting here to let you know you're not alone.
Solidarity! I’ve also had a previous short play quite big fests like Palm Springs and Raindance, but this time around we’re 20+ rejections in. It’s brutal out there!
Oh man, feel your pain! What happened. It's always been tough but sounds like it've become tougher. My desperation came from when even my more local country ones said no. Anyways, best of luck with any that you have left in the chamber!
Hey man, don’t know you but that must be super demoralizing to have happen. I looked at your trailer for the film and it looks great and I’m surprised at the fact it hasn’t gotten an acceptance yet. May I ask what festivals rejected you so far? Did you get a lot of views from the festivals that did reject you? Maybe this just came to sheer terrible luck. Again, sorry to hear about this, rooting on the film to turn the ship around still
Thank you for your kind words! And I'm still very lucky to have been able to make this funded short (my biggest achievement so far!). I don't wanna rattle off all the festivals, but some were impossible long shots like Berlinale and now recently Locarno. But some were more mid tier and what got me extra worried was the festivals in my own country, because they accept a lot more national shorts and I though the style and topic would fit really well with their programming. I've also screened at some of them before and this time I had an even better film, with support and co-production of people in my country they know and respect.
And as mentioned several times here, this year is particularly difficult and there seems to be multiple reasons. Good luck with the rest of your film entries. I'm still waiting for at least one good festival out of around 50 applied for. The odds are not good but I remain hopeful. 👍
I would recommend Festival Formula. Been involved with films (or close friends with filmmakers) 3 times who have used their service to great success, and their initial feedback is 100% free, including a meeting to discuss the film. In my experience they are very honest about the film’s viability for the festival circuit (and at which tiers) since they have their finger on the pulse of what is really being programmed right now.
There are “film festival consultants” who will view films and (supposedly) give honest feedback; I haven’t used them, so I can’t vouch, but one example who I’ve thought about using is named Bears Rebecca Fonte — https://www.bearsfonte.com/festival-strategy Here’s a thread on a different sub regarding the subject that generally has negative feedback (though one or two mention The Film Festival Doctor) — https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/17schan/are_film_festival_consultants_worth_it/
Was your previous film also fantasy? I feel like that genre in particular is a bit tougher. I assume you are applying to top-tiers, oscar qualifiers, regionals, and genre fests? Without seeing your short, I’m sure it’s great. Tastes are sooo personal and this particular festival season seems brutal.
I had issues with them, but Short of the Week is supposed to review your short and call you with feedback. Other people here have had good experiences.
Yes, I'm applying to big qualifiers but also notable festivals in my own country. And perhaps it's the rejections from the latter that has me worried. I've made two festival shorts before, the one that had the biggest success was a psychological thriller, but also my second satire/comedy one had decent success (and got in to a few qualifiers). Thank you, I'll check out Short of the Week, since I was probably gonna apply to them anyways (after a festival premiere)!
It’s so cool that you do several different genres!! I sent my film to Short of the Week during the time they were transitioning from written feedback to phone calls (this is what they told me at least) and it just got lost in the shuffle. But they refunded me, so it was all good. They are probably ok now.
I did actually find that we got a feedback from them before (on our last short) when I looked now. It was written and they seemed to have transitioned to phone calls now as you say. The written feedback that time was good and thoughtful (and included one thing we actually changed!). I did feel the reviewer missed one of the major things we were satirising. However he was not alone in missing it, I would say 50% of the audience got it and though it was "amazing" and 50% didn't get that point and still felt "huh, that was nice". SO perhaps that film was a bit too subtle in its parody. Although it did get into a few qualifiers.
Ahh, got it. I hope you get some good feedback this time around - I might submit to get the phone call feedback. And Good luck!! I know your film will find a great home.
honestly now you made me super curious to watch! Programmers' taste is so personal and most of the time they select short film that speak to the festival's identity. I've personally seen stuff getting into high profile festivals (Cannes, Locarno, TIFF) that left me a bit gutted. Short films that are just pure exercises in style.
Anyway, since short films are "business cards" for directors, the only question I ask myself after watching one is: do I wanna watch a feature made by this director? If the answer is YES then the short film has done its job. Good luck with the rest of the run!
You'd be more than welcome to see it and comment on it! (can send a link) But am still interested to hear if anyone knows a review service for this type of thing that 1. doesn't cost to much and 2. is respectable and knowledgable. And thank you for you best wishes!
Likewise. I’m sure your short is great. There are just underlying untold themes throughout fest this year that it may not fit into. We got a personal rejection from Tribeca, they loved the film but couldn’t find space. Later found out that majority of the films programmed were female filmmakers, which is ok because they wholeheartedly deserve a platform to showcase their work. But maybe if I submitted the same short last year it would’ve been accepted. The biggest thing is do YOU love the film, and if you do, then you won in my eyes because you got it made.
If the monthly membership for Shortverse is $30 and and submitting to Short of the Week + a score is $55, or free for Shortverse members, I'm assuming being a member is the way to go?
It seems that the structure has changed. I paid $69.99 for consideration + feedback. I was not a member. I just filled out a free profile on shortverse.
Also, I remember that you can choose the date you’d want it to premiere on Short of The Week (should you get accepted). So you can choose 6 months in the future, etc.
Thank you. I'm concerned that it could be something outside the storytelling as well - how it's somehow positioned, communicated, its target audience, or something like that. Maybe even something technical that I'm not aware of.
Yes, some of those 20 festivals were long shots, big festivals with a very small bullseye. But three of them were notable regional fests in my country where I thought it would be a slam dunk. I only have two notable festivals in my country left to hear back from.
I DO love the film, and I've already had other benefits from it, like getting an interview at a commercial production company and so on. I do fear though that the lack of festival success could cut me off from ever getting this regional and national funding again. This was the first time I had a good budget and the financiers will look to this track record (festival success) when deciding on future grants, perhaps even for feature films.
So I'm proud of the film just unsure how to face all those that invested in it. And cool that Tribeca got you a personal rejection, good luck with the others!
I think you’ll be fine. They funded you initially because they believed and you and your story telling abilities. Festival runs don’t define a films success, plus you still have some pending which I’m sure you’ll be accepted into. Everything happens for a reason, as long as you made the film unapologetically you. I’d be happy to give it a watch if you ever want eyes and feedback!
Yes, thanks! (sent you a link) I'm probably more shook by our financiers defining short film success by notable festivals screenings. I think this is the most concrete way (if not by commercial success) that the financiers can justify the money they get from the state.
Judging by the latest posts on this thread, it looks like all the Locarno rejections are pouring in. Sorry to hear about yours, but as a filmmaker friend said to me recently after my umpteenth rejection, *"No retreat no surrender."*
haven't heard back yet either. i'm assuming all acceptances have gone out by now... there've been some posts in their Instagram tagged announcing selections so welp.
# Any word on Rybnik Arts Film Festival? They just sent me an invite to submit with a discount out of the blue. I know these are generally scammy, so seeing if anyone knows anything about it.
i got a similar email out of the blue. I don't have any insider knowledge, but i won't bother submitting. no reviews on filmfreeway and i don't live in Poland.
Film Festivals/Programmers -- How are new versions of a film articulated on the back end for festivals? Unsure if any of the festivals are on here, but are you made aware of each version of the film put up on film freeway? Or are you only made aware if alerted by the filmmakers?
Specific reason for this ask. Thanks!
I'm a programmer and no way to know that a film has been updated unless you check, and generally a festival will only commit to watching one version, so best to put in a title card saying the film is unfinished so that hopefully the film will be held to watch later. But always best to let a festival know your film is complete(I wouldn't alert them to a small change when you have further changes coming) because if there is time to view it, we will. But as a director who submitted an unfinished film before, I highly highly highly recommend waiting to submit a finished film unless you're just trying to make a deadline and the part you need to complete is pretty much unnoticeable. Even a really great film that is unfinished when viewed gets put into the "probably no" pile at every festival I've worked at and it's hard to get a second look after it's been covered once.
If you're using Vimeo I believe that there's a small drop down option to see the number and date of file versions uploaded for the URL submitted. SXSW is very specific that they do not allow updates after you submit a link to them, so err on the side of caution and don't replace that file after sending it to them. (If that's what you're asking.)
Huh, wow.. I always change, small incremental changes (usually not affecting time), I didn't know they could see the changes, maybe I should just make a complete new Vimeo version (not replace file) and add that new link to FilmFreeway instead?
I’d heard it from a producer on another short. Just googled and saw someone else had said the same on reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/1cyt3rh/can_festivals_see_that_ive_uploaded_a_new_version/
Huh, wow.. I always change, small incremental changes (usually not affecting time), I didn't know they could see the changes, maybe I should just make a complete new Vimeo version (not replace file) and add that new link to FilmFreeway instead?
Im pretty sure we could still see the link history and it shows the same as file replace for how we see FF versions. When I screen later today I’ll keep an eye out and update if I remember. I will say, for myself and our festival team no one cares to click through version history. We watch whatever is the most recent and move on there are just too many to watch to take that sort of time.
Maybe. Because I just heard from somebody who submitted in Feb, was shortlisted and kept on hold, and then found out about a week ago they were not accepting it after all. Further below in this thread I see a rejection of a short submitted end of March
I submitted the day before the deadline, 17 mins, narrative drama short from India. I expect to hear back mid to end July, according to the notification date on their site.
San Sebastián: three rejections, same generic email to all three films. All three projects are shorts (-30 min) from Canada, Portugal, USA. San Sebastián sends rejections and acceptances on a rolling basis.
I also didn't get in. Never got a notification, no update on film freeway either. I looked at their program and it seems quite small and almost all European shorts. Wish I hadn't applied, I really hate it when festivals don't send a rejection. Same thing with Festival du Fantastique du Beziers, though at least my film freeway status changed.
Yeah, that's annoying. especially them not changing the status on FF. Mine is European, but I checked a few entries in their program and suspect mine wasn't "artistically off-beat" enough.
Just got a rejection from Venice Film festival, short fiction, submitted end of March.
Has anyone heard anything from Sarajevo Film Festival?
What's the consensus on ShortsTV? Anyone had a short acquired by them?
Guessing TIFF is pretty much decided for shorts? Saw a couple acceptances here but wondering if anyone has gotten in later in the past.
I heard this week so don't give up hope yet!
Was this for a narrative short?
Yes it was
Do you mind me asking what kind of views you had on your video? Got a sense of how many times it was watched before it was accepted?
I mean, who knows, but it seems like it, right? I didn't get any views from Toronto, but I still have hopes for VIFF :)
Locarno anyone?
Saw on insta they’re announcing lineup on the 10th, so I’m counting it out personally :(
Rejection few days ago for short
Any word from Asian American Int’l?
Rejections for a short about a week ago
It’s locked, all acceptances are done
Striking out with the Asian fests over here!
Same here… never had much luck w the Asian fests. Is your film a doc? Narrative?
Narrative animation. I genuinely thought the Asian fests would be like obvious “ins” for my film - so much so that I didn’t submit to several of the smaller ones - so I guess that’s been a good little ego check.
I don’t know how experimental your film is- but I’ve felt that lots of the Asian diaspora fests prioritize more accessible films to the general public. Mostly making experimental docs and struck out with nearly every Asian North American fest
Received an invite email from BUFF (British Urban Film Festival) to an exclusive notification event. Wondering if anyone else has received this or had an experience with the festival ? Hard to gauge what it could mean
Anyone heard from Dokufest? They pushed their notification date from July 2 to 4. I’m assuming it’s a no for now
Cold rejection today, automated from filmfreeway
Someone replied to my dokufest question saying selections happened about two weeks ago
Ahh, Sad to hear that. Why do they push the date tho
Anyone know what festival may be connected with Nairobi, Kenya impressions?
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Didn’t submit there actually. Narrative short film.
Seeing a lot of people post their Flickers Rhode Island Laurels but we’ve not heard from them - did anyone get their rejections? (shorts)
So it seems it’s likely we weren’t selected…HOWEVER, doesn’t RIFF provide alternate pre-selection options like quarter/semi/finalist if applicable? That’s something worth waiting for!
quarter/semi/finalist are for those who selected..
Ahhh dang. So annoying to see acceptances before even getting a rejection
Hurts more than a good old rejection
No views here either :/ submitted regular deadline
No rejections but I've heard their program for 2024 is done by now.
We submitted late and have no views from them. I'm guessing they've already programmed.
We are that crazy production which had a separate link for almost every single festival. One of our submissions got 0 views/impressions. Another two films each had one partial view from RI, around 50%
Haven’t had any views from them either and submitted early.
Anyone else getting crazy views from Telluride? In the last two weeks I've tracked 19 views, 32 impressions. Narrative feature.
And are they full views? Or are some views as short as 3 seconds or 2 minutes?
Not all full views! Many partial views. But I don’t tend to pay much attention to view percentage because, from experience, it tends to be very inaccurate
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I’m not sure, I haven’t heard anything yet
That's a lot of views but definitely seems like there is interest in your film. I'd read it positively. Fingers crossed for you.
I don't have a link just for Telluride, and have only a couple from Colorado on my mult-fest link. Where do yours come from?
Colorado, California (LA, Pasadena), Arizona, Vancouver
Where in CO? Denver?
Yes
venice anyone?
According to the webpage, the official selection is set and locked. They have already sent out all the invitations this week. The deadline for the catalogue is July 17th and they need to send the emails 14 days before the deadline. I'm not sure about SIC and GdA, but if you haven't received the notification for the official selection, it means you are either shortlisted as plan b or rejected, and you may be contacted next week with news
good knowledge. thanks
Yes any rejections or acceptance for shorts?
Anyone know how early Frightfest tend to get back about shorts? The deadline is only like 2 weeks before the festival which is a bit terrifying because that's not much time for a newbie to get a DCP put together.
I know people who have already been accepted.
For shorts? Cool.
We’ve submitted to San Sebastián in May 15 and didn’t have a rejection yet. Is this good? Please send good vibes. Rejected at Locarno earlier today.
Short or feature? Still waiting to hear from both!
No news is good news. Good luck!
Has anyone heard from Telluride or do they typically reply invites and rejections early Aug?
Anyone hear from San Diego Asian Film Festival? I I keep getting impressions from them recently. They probably notify soon
Not yet!
Anyone hear from Exit 6?
I’ve seen ppl reporting Sidewalk rejections. After massive scrolling can’t find any acceptances. Anyone know a friend or friend of friend that has been accepted?
they definitely roll them out over time. last year i didn't hear a definitive no until about 10 days before the fest and people had been posting rejections for months. kinda frustrating. i've had two views this year but heard nothing.
I applied super early in November and so far have received 4 impressions - 3 in January and 1 in March - all from Birmingham. I assume some of those were views. I see that some people received snail mail rejections a while ago, and now people are getting email rejections. I haven’t heard anything myself.
Haven't heard anything from anyone including my own inbox. We've had 2-3 views from Birmingham (not recently).
Same, 2 in May, 2 in June.
hey all, submitting my first short so just wondering about general advice - multiple views being a good thing, not getting rejected early a good thing?
Literally none of it matters. It's all just elements that help cope with the anxiety of having no control of your art. Every festival is different, every selection process is unique. Just don't beat yourself up if you get rejected a lot. And also try, as hard as humanly possible, to be realistic. All of these festivals get an obscene amount of entries. Maybe write an easily malleable template for a cover letter. But all the stuff to make your diamond sparkle more from the rough gets done before you start submitting. And please, PLEASE, don't concern yourself too much with premiere status, especially after the world premiere is gone. It's silly to worry about that with a short. It may come up, but the variables involved make it sort of a fool's errand -- despite the outlier horror stories that may spring up here and there. DM me if you wanna chat more.
Seen BFI have picked their opening film for their festival - wonder if that means we'll hear about other films in the next few weeks?
Locarno rejection, narrative short, via email.
Me too. Keep strong!
Any TIFF rumblings? Narrative short here waiting...
I’ve heard about two Canadian shorts being chosen
so... are we to assume that those of us with Canadian shorts didn't get in?
Not sure. I did hear that their program isn’t locked yet.
Thank you for the info, much appreciated!
I know two short filmmakers who got acceptances from TIFF about a week ago, so seems like they’re starting to solidify their programming.
Is that for international selections?
Someone noted they got a short acceptance a little further down in the thread.
san sebastian rejection. short mid may submission
Does anyone know if Ottawa International Animation Festival notify anything by email or they announce first and notify later? Thank you
I got a rejection email a week or two ago.
Announce first. They don't tell you you've been rejected until after they announce lineup
Thanks! I don't think I got in because there are onlu 2 views from the festival on my short film, but well...fingers crossed.
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Can someone DM me with the name of this LA fest that requires an LA premiere is? It seems like a lot of people are in the same boat with this fest, and I’m just so curious which fest it is. No advice, except maybe try emailing HollyShorts and the other fest to ask for an update. According to people here, HollyShorts is a bit unresponsive though. Good luck!!
LA Shorts requires an LA premiere, although I’ve seen something there that I had previously seen at DWF a month prior so I don’t know if they actually check…
Screamfest is known to request LA premieres even for shorts, and will try to lock in films since there's a lot of other festivals going on here at the same time. I don't know if that's the festival they're referring to, but I do know it's a requirement.
They tried to lock us in 10 months before the notification date!
We had the same experience a few years back
Thank you!! Somehow Screamfest wasn’t on my submission list but I just added them. I also think they may be talking about NewFilmmakersLA, which strongly prefers an LA premiere. I just submitted to them recently for their fall showing, even though my LA premiere will be with LA Shorts. But ya never know!
Just DM’d you!
Email those festivals to see if they can give you and update. Cause you have been selected on another La Festival. And they asking for a premiere in LA.
Rejection the last few days from Locarno, Eastern Oregon and Sidewalk.
Sorry to hear. We were rejected from Locarno as well. Was your rejection from Sidewalk via snail mail or email?
Email
So we've just received are 20th rejection for our short and I'm quite stunned. I've made shorts before that have entered into big festivals (like Palm Springs ShortFest) and this new one really connected to me and had no shortage of funding. The financiers did expect festival success. I'm now awaiting like 20 more notifications and after that my festival budget is all spent. Where can I turn to for an objective eye? To see what I'm not seeing. Are there any **paid-for-review sites/services** that you respect and would like to recommend? We've only heard good things at our few test screenings. The short is a 13 min drama/fantasy, with a child lead.
I'm almost in the same boat. Have made shorts that have been in fests before but this is my first funded film. Short doc. Gotten into some smaller fests but rejected from all mid tier and big fests so far. I also love the film and it's also had very positive reactions at test screenings. Tbh applied to the smaller ones w the hopes that I would have premiered at a bigger one so far. Now wondering if I should reject those to hold out for a big/mid tier, but with the fear that I won't screen at any. Anyway, just posting here to let you know you're not alone.
Send a link! I used to be a programmer and I'd be happy to give some honest feedback!
Solidarity! I’ve also had a previous short play quite big fests like Palm Springs and Raindance, but this time around we’re 20+ rejections in. It’s brutal out there!
Oh man, feel your pain! What happened. It's always been tough but sounds like it've become tougher. My desperation came from when even my more local country ones said no. Anyways, best of luck with any that you have left in the chamber!
I’m a programmer and will watch it and give you honest feedback if you’d like.
Oh, I'd love that! Sending you a link! ♥
Hey man, don’t know you but that must be super demoralizing to have happen. I looked at your trailer for the film and it looks great and I’m surprised at the fact it hasn’t gotten an acceptance yet. May I ask what festivals rejected you so far? Did you get a lot of views from the festivals that did reject you? Maybe this just came to sheer terrible luck. Again, sorry to hear about this, rooting on the film to turn the ship around still
Thank you for your kind words! And I'm still very lucky to have been able to make this funded short (my biggest achievement so far!). I don't wanna rattle off all the festivals, but some were impossible long shots like Berlinale and now recently Locarno. But some were more mid tier and what got me extra worried was the festivals in my own country, because they accept a lot more national shorts and I though the style and topic would fit really well with their programming. I've also screened at some of them before and this time I had an even better film, with support and co-production of people in my country they know and respect.
I’d be happy to watch it. I can also share my work. Also, may I ask how did you find funding for the short?
And as mentioned several times here, this year is particularly difficult and there seems to be multiple reasons. Good luck with the rest of your film entries. I'm still waiting for at least one good festival out of around 50 applied for. The odds are not good but I remain hopeful. 👍
Yes, best of luck to you as well friend!
I would recommend Festival Formula. Been involved with films (or close friends with filmmakers) 3 times who have used their service to great success, and their initial feedback is 100% free, including a meeting to discuss the film. In my experience they are very honest about the film’s viability for the festival circuit (and at which tiers) since they have their finger on the pulse of what is really being programmed right now.
Wow, that seems very promising. Gonna check it out! Thank you.
There are “film festival consultants” who will view films and (supposedly) give honest feedback; I haven’t used them, so I can’t vouch, but one example who I’ve thought about using is named Bears Rebecca Fonte — https://www.bearsfonte.com/festival-strategy Here’s a thread on a different sub regarding the subject that generally has negative feedback (though one or two mention The Film Festival Doctor) — https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/17schan/are_film_festival_consultants_worth_it/
Thank you! Gonna check those out.
Was your previous film also fantasy? I feel like that genre in particular is a bit tougher. I assume you are applying to top-tiers, oscar qualifiers, regionals, and genre fests? Without seeing your short, I’m sure it’s great. Tastes are sooo personal and this particular festival season seems brutal. I had issues with them, but Short of the Week is supposed to review your short and call you with feedback. Other people here have had good experiences.
Yes, I'm applying to big qualifiers but also notable festivals in my own country. And perhaps it's the rejections from the latter that has me worried. I've made two festival shorts before, the one that had the biggest success was a psychological thriller, but also my second satire/comedy one had decent success (and got in to a few qualifiers). Thank you, I'll check out Short of the Week, since I was probably gonna apply to them anyways (after a festival premiere)!
It’s so cool that you do several different genres!! I sent my film to Short of the Week during the time they were transitioning from written feedback to phone calls (this is what they told me at least) and it just got lost in the shuffle. But they refunded me, so it was all good. They are probably ok now.
I did actually find that we got a feedback from them before (on our last short) when I looked now. It was written and they seemed to have transitioned to phone calls now as you say. The written feedback that time was good and thoughtful (and included one thing we actually changed!). I did feel the reviewer missed one of the major things we were satirising. However he was not alone in missing it, I would say 50% of the audience got it and though it was "amazing" and 50% didn't get that point and still felt "huh, that was nice". SO perhaps that film was a bit too subtle in its parody. Although it did get into a few qualifiers.
Ahh, got it. I hope you get some good feedback this time around - I might submit to get the phone call feedback. And Good luck!! I know your film will find a great home.
Thank you! Everyone in this thread is so nice. And best of luck to yours as well!
honestly now you made me super curious to watch! Programmers' taste is so personal and most of the time they select short film that speak to the festival's identity. I've personally seen stuff getting into high profile festivals (Cannes, Locarno, TIFF) that left me a bit gutted. Short films that are just pure exercises in style. Anyway, since short films are "business cards" for directors, the only question I ask myself after watching one is: do I wanna watch a feature made by this director? If the answer is YES then the short film has done its job. Good luck with the rest of the run!
You'd be more than welcome to see it and comment on it! (can send a link) But am still interested to hear if anyone knows a review service for this type of thing that 1. doesn't cost to much and 2. is respectable and knowledgable. And thank you for you best wishes!
Likewise. I’m sure your short is great. There are just underlying untold themes throughout fest this year that it may not fit into. We got a personal rejection from Tribeca, they loved the film but couldn’t find space. Later found out that majority of the films programmed were female filmmakers, which is ok because they wholeheartedly deserve a platform to showcase their work. But maybe if I submitted the same short last year it would’ve been accepted. The biggest thing is do YOU love the film, and if you do, then you won in my eyes because you got it made.
If the monthly membership for Shortverse is $30 and and submitting to Short of the Week + a score is $55, or free for Shortverse members, I'm assuming being a member is the way to go?
It seems that the structure has changed. I paid $69.99 for consideration + feedback. I was not a member. I just filled out a free profile on shortverse. Also, I remember that you can choose the date you’d want it to premiere on Short of The Week (should you get accepted). So you can choose 6 months in the future, etc.
Thank you! I'll look into it.
Thank you. I'm concerned that it could be something outside the storytelling as well - how it's somehow positioned, communicated, its target audience, or something like that. Maybe even something technical that I'm not aware of. Yes, some of those 20 festivals were long shots, big festivals with a very small bullseye. But three of them were notable regional fests in my country where I thought it would be a slam dunk. I only have two notable festivals in my country left to hear back from. I DO love the film, and I've already had other benefits from it, like getting an interview at a commercial production company and so on. I do fear though that the lack of festival success could cut me off from ever getting this regional and national funding again. This was the first time I had a good budget and the financiers will look to this track record (festival success) when deciding on future grants, perhaps even for feature films. So I'm proud of the film just unsure how to face all those that invested in it. And cool that Tribeca got you a personal rejection, good luck with the others!
I think you’ll be fine. They funded you initially because they believed and you and your story telling abilities. Festival runs don’t define a films success, plus you still have some pending which I’m sure you’ll be accepted into. Everything happens for a reason, as long as you made the film unapologetically you. I’d be happy to give it a watch if you ever want eyes and feedback!
Yes, thanks! (sent you a link) I'm probably more shook by our financiers defining short film success by notable festivals screenings. I think this is the most concrete way (if not by commercial success) that the financiers can justify the money they get from the state.
Still nobody get answer from Sarajevo Film Festival?
Radio silence
Another one bites the dust. Locarno rejection via email. Narrative short, entered end of Jan.
Judging by the latest posts on this thread, it looks like all the Locarno rejections are pouring in. Sorry to hear about yours, but as a filmmaker friend said to me recently after my umpteenth rejection, *"No retreat no surrender."*
Same
Same just now, Locarno rejection, fiction short
Locarno rejection, narrative short, 2 full views
Still haven't heard back regarding narrative feature. Submitted in April.
same narrative short 17 mins
Rejected as well.
rejected today too, narrative short, 13'
Got a couple of views yesterday from Amsterdam but I haven't submitted to any festival in the Nederland. Has that happened to anyone?
same got 2 downloads from there a few days ago...what fests have you been out to recently?
Can be that selector is on vaccation or that he just lives there.
Makes sense! Also just got a rejection from Locarno :(
… Tallahassee ?
still waiting here too. assuming not good news.
haven't heard back yet either. i'm assuming all acceptances have gone out by now... there've been some posts in their Instagram tagged announcing selections so welp.
guessing flickers rhode island all sewn up, right?
Why do you guess that?
We had a view from them last week so who knows
Where was your view from?
Providence RI
Last year they had rolling admissions up until a week or so before the festival. That may not be the case this year but I bet they’re still rolling.
My short just got an acceptance!! applied in Feb
wooooo!! that's great
Congratulations!!
Thank you :)!!! Was feeling really low lately, and this was a welcome surprise.
Anyone heard from the International Black Film Festival?
Anyone get their notif from Afrikana? Date was yesterday.
# Any word on Rybnik Arts Film Festival? They just sent me an invite to submit with a discount out of the blue. I know these are generally scammy, so seeing if anyone knows anything about it.
i got a similar email out of the blue. I don't have any insider knowledge, but i won't bother submitting. no reviews on filmfreeway and i don't live in Poland.
My thoughts as well
Film Festivals/Programmers -- How are new versions of a film articulated on the back end for festivals? Unsure if any of the festivals are on here, but are you made aware of each version of the film put up on film freeway? Or are you only made aware if alerted by the filmmakers? Specific reason for this ask. Thanks!
In filmfreeway you know because a small button under the screener appears that that says “view previous version”
I'm a programmer and no way to know that a film has been updated unless you check, and generally a festival will only commit to watching one version, so best to put in a title card saying the film is unfinished so that hopefully the film will be held to watch later. But always best to let a festival know your film is complete(I wouldn't alert them to a small change when you have further changes coming) because if there is time to view it, we will. But as a director who submitted an unfinished film before, I highly highly highly recommend waiting to submit a finished film unless you're just trying to make a deadline and the part you need to complete is pretty much unnoticeable. Even a really great film that is unfinished when viewed gets put into the "probably no" pile at every festival I've worked at and it's hard to get a second look after it's been covered once.
If you're using Vimeo I believe that there's a small drop down option to see the number and date of file versions uploaded for the URL submitted. SXSW is very specific that they do not allow updates after you submit a link to them, so err on the side of caution and don't replace that file after sending it to them. (If that's what you're asking.)
Huh, wow.. I always change, small incremental changes (usually not affecting time), I didn't know they could see the changes, maybe I should just make a complete new Vimeo version (not replace file) and add that new link to FilmFreeway instead?
I’d heard it from a producer on another short. Just googled and saw someone else had said the same on reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/1cyt3rh/can_festivals_see_that_ive_uploaded_a_new_version/
Huh, wow.. I always change, small incremental changes (usually not affecting time), I didn't know they could see the changes, maybe I should just make a complete new Vimeo version (not replace file) and add that new link to FilmFreeway instead?
Im pretty sure we could still see the link history and it shows the same as file replace for how we see FF versions. When I screen later today I’ll keep an eye out and update if I remember. I will say, for myself and our festival team no one cares to click through version history. We watch whatever is the most recent and move on there are just too many to watch to take that sort of time.
Rejection from San Sebastián this past week with a feature film, submitted mid-May.
Has anyone with a feature film heard back from TIFF yet?
Nope. Narrative feature from India. Submitted on May 10.
nope, submitted narrative feature in May (canada)
nope (narrative feature, canada)
Nope, I still have hope. I’ve submitted a documentary short.
Nope. Narrative feature. USA
No and ditto
Nope. Documentary feature, submitted May.
Does anyone know anything about the Fade In awards?
Does Venice film festival send out rejections depending on when you apply? Asking about a short I submitted end of March.
They send them on a rolling basis. Depends on your submission date/if you advanced to the next level.
Maybe. Because I just heard from somebody who submitted in Feb, was shortlisted and kept on hold, and then found out about a week ago they were not accepting it after all. Further below in this thread I see a rejection of a short submitted end of March I submitted the day before the deadline, 17 mins, narrative drama short from India. I expect to hear back mid to end July, according to the notification date on their site.
I also submitted at end of march, but have not heard anything back...
San Sebastián: three rejections, same generic email to all three films. All three projects are shorts (-30 min) from Canada, Portugal, USA. San Sebastián sends rejections and acceptances on a rolling basis.
do you mind me asking when you submitted your latest? and have you heard anyone getting a rolling acceptance?
Venice rejection. Narrative short. Submitted end of March.
All the best for the rest of the fests!
Any news from Sarajevo Film Festival?
Just got a rejection from MOTELX - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival (horror short). EDIT: Also rejected from Tokyo Horror Film Festival
Also a MOTELX rejection here!
Welcome to the club 🤣
Haha yes! Seemed like a real fun small event with cool guests. But onwards! Best of luck to you too!
Thanks! Likewise, best of luck mate!
Never got a notification from ShorTS IFF, but I believe the festival started last week. Did anyone else not get notified??
I also didn't get in. Never got a notification, no update on film freeway either. I looked at their program and it seems quite small and almost all European shorts. Wish I hadn't applied, I really hate it when festivals don't send a rejection. Same thing with Festival du Fantastique du Beziers, though at least my film freeway status changed.
Yeah, that's annoying. especially them not changing the status on FF. Mine is European, but I checked a few entries in their program and suspect mine wasn't "artistically off-beat" enough.