TIPS for How to Enter a Short Film into Festivals

With more and more festivals worldwide, it can be daunting to know which one is right for you to submit your film. Some festivals have online submission systems and others require DVD’s or films to be dropped off at the festival office.

As we do our own research into festivals for our clients, I have collated a list of the top tips I use to help our clients decide which festival to submit their film to.

Film festivals are great places for filmmakers to see their work and get feedback on their short film.

Having seen the best films from around the world, it’s clear that there are many amazing and talented filmmakers from across the globe.

So, with this in mind, here are some awesome tips for how to enter your short film into a festival…

Put Your Film Into The RIGHT Festivals

This is the most important thing to do. You should pick a film festival that appeals to your strengths as a filmmaker.

There are tons of popular festivals that tend to be more forgiving and promote smaller, genre-specific stories. For starting out, we would recommend going for these ones.

Submit Before Deadline

This seems obvious, but this means you really need to plan for the year starting RIGHT NOW.

Which festivals are in your niche and when are their submission deadlines?

If you submit your film to a festival before the deadline it may be more difficult to get accepted, even though there are usually some exceptions.

So, submit your film early and you may find that the reviewers may be more open to your film.

Put together your film's pitch

You will need to have a good idea of the film, what it's about, who is in the film, what awards the film has won, what your call for entries are, how much of the story is told, etc.

Also, if your film has been accepted to a film festival, you may want to send the film to people who will help you promote the film.

Explain your short film in a simple, short way

When sending out your film you need to make sure that you have a description of the film.

That description shouldn't be too short or unclear, however a long, vague, and meandering description of the film isn't helpful either.

Aim for a short description that really nails what the short film communicates. Don't reveal too much, but then again you're trying to sell it, so don't be too vague.

Start pitching

At first, you may think you need to send the same email each time.

However, most film festivals are now sending you a list of submissions they have received and they'll be quick to tell you which ones are interesting.

The ones you send to get accepted tend to be much more focused on what the film is and where they are looking for shorts.

Some may even take a longer process before they can screen your film, or even decide whether to accept your film.

Be proud of your film!

It is very important that you are proud of your film. If you think your film is amazing and want to show everyone how great your film is, then don’t send it in until you are 100% positive it’s ready.

For many shorts, it’s very likely that you will be asked to reshoot sequences. It may be a simple thing to do, but you need to send the film off with the knowledge that you made it better.

Do not send in multiple files

I know this is seems obvious, but you may have a lot of different versions of your film.

So remember to send in right one and don’t send in another version.

Have a video courtesy of your kickstarter

If you have a campaign on Kickstarter, make sure you have a video that has been created using that campaign as the basis. It should feature your film and have great shots of you, your crew, and your actors.

It should also feature yourself and the cast in front of a green screen.

Most importantly, make sure it looks as good as you can make it and includes as much information about you and your project.

It is best to have this video made before you submit your film to festivals.

Make the film an easy watch

When people attend a screening for your short film, they'll be thinking about the film. This is why short films tend to be easy to watch, especially short movies.

Keep in mind that audience members aren't expecting a full feature, so if you have a quirky, unpretentious short film, they're likely to enjoy it.

Don't make the film too long

When short films are called short, they should be short. Don't go over 20 minutes. A short film that is too long is exacerbating to watch.

A lot of people also feel that they could make the film longer and make it "better" if they had more time to do so. That's not a good strategy, because most people don't have the time to add that much.