Film Festival Screening Advice

I was asked to help review the last minute entries to the local film festival. We had 1300 to screen over a few nights which did not include those already screened for the normal submission process. I think there were something over 4000 submissions, total, which gives you some appreciation for the vast number of videos and films that festivals have to review. Since ours is an international festival, we get to see a lot of overseas films as well and are some of those beyond great! (As are some of the home-grown ones, too.)

Naturally, with volunteer help, we had to come up with some system to review these fairly but efficiently and obviously the first screening means that the video has got to catch the eye of the reviewers to pass muster and even get past the "No" box to the "Maybe" or "Accept!". It can be brutal! (The final review was done by the organizers later from the positive boxes.) It is the ultimate "pass/fail" system.

Some suggestions from one who has done this: First, keep the credits short, especially the clever logos and flying titles. Long ones irritate and clearly some producers/directors are very proud of their introductory graphics; perhaps too proud. Turn the reviewers off here and you are dead! Honestly, for festival submissions, you are probably better off putting all your credits at the end rather than the beginning of the work. Or at least weave them into the opening scenes-but even this can be dangerous to reviewers.

Second, especially in a feature, make sure the first few minutes of the film are tight and really, really, really grab the audience's attention. It's like the first few paragraphs of a novel. You blow it there and you don't make it out of the dead box, I promise! There is no mercy when you have 50 videos facing you in an evening. Also, DO NOT use the guy in bed getting up to face the world to start your film-or anywhere else for that matter. It really has been done. Believe me. To prove my point here I would say that one out of six features use that device, somewhere, from the submissions I have seen.

For our festival, the audience pays to see several of the films bundled. And as reviewers we keep that in mind. We know we have an obligation to provide the best grouping of an "evening's" entertainment to our patrons. We have a reputation to maintain.

There are a lot of really clever, well done and talent-laden videos out there. They may not be technically perfect with great lighting or bang-on acting, but they are well put together and inspite of their flaws do catch the attention (and sympathy) of the reviewers. The reviewers are always looking to find that little something and will turn a blind eye to some flaws, but, apparently never trite-ness. And finally, with the availability of high quality video and editing equipment today, there is not much margin for a technically poor video to be submitted to even the smallest festival. The competition is too great. Be your own most severe critic. The sympathy dosen't run that deep.

Do you recommend early submission?

What about submitting a film in rough cut form?

Do you watch the whole movie?

Do you skim it?

Thanks for posting this. I'm about to submit my film to festivals. It's a 100 minute feature film shot in 35mm.

I edited the movie on the Cinemonta flatbed before I had the G5 and FCP5. I did a telecine and finished the movie in FCP. I'm planning to market it as a DVD.

Participation in a festival is important to me because I like to find a distributor.

Your advise is appreciated.

From the experience I've had, early submission means you are more likely to be reviewed and selected because everyone is fresh to the job and looking to fill the time slots available. Late submissions are particularly brutal!

Rough cuts will be bumped out. Almost guaranteed. Always submit your best, finished effort. With thousands coming in, juries are not going to waste time on rough versions. You are competing against incredible talent from here and abroad and most of it very professional looking, even from the amateurs.

We don't watch the whole movie in the intial screening (usually there are three or four of us in a room with a sack of fifty DVDs). Usually a portion of the beginning of the work is viewed and then on to a skip thru occasionally stopping, with the fast forward, to the end. Then to the "yes" or "no" box. A few, very few, go directly into the "Accept!" category. In my experience it's slightly better than the "'Gong Show" approach that's why the first few minutes of your effort must stand out to keep the jury interested. And why I say don't waste your time on involved logos and startup screens and credits. That is all counted against your attention time. Grab their attention right away so they cannot stop the video. Remember it is a small group reviewing so someone has to say, "OK, let's move on" and that takes "courage" if it is really good. We can get involved in a good film and let it run. The longer the run, the better your chances for inclusion.

Remember, this is not a scholastic grading process, it is a commercial evaluation designed to keep our clients happy, the audience. They are paying so we are not really there to evaluate anything other than entertainment value of the work. We have categories for weird and quirky, but the audience is expecting to get what they paid for in terms of quality.



Post Edited (06-15-06 04:33)

Which festivals do you recommend as far as visibility and prestige is concerned. By that I mean which festivals the distributors favor when picking their movies. I know this is just an opinion, but it helps to hear it from someone who's on the inside. Thanks again for the info.

Sorry, that I can't answer.