On the average, a short film submission costs around $50. That's the disk, the box, the label, the entry fee, and the shipping, which is sometimes by international courier. Entry fees for a short film range from $zip to around $65. Film has its own version of the vanity press: "everybody gets in" festivals such as the New York Film and Video Festival--which phoned me a few days after I submitted SELL IN HELL and told me they wanted $300.

Even if they were a real festival, that's six submissions elsewhere. Pass.

Rather than write at length about how we decided to prioritize which festivals, I've decided to share our actual working document. Here is our spreadsheet, the result of several meetings between executive producer Mike Faircloth and me. (And not easy meetings, either.)

The codes in the leftmost column break down as follows:

STAR

A Festival of the Gods. Very low chance of acceptance. Very stupid not to try.

A

If we don't submit here, we can't say we've done our job. Good chance of hype and career opportunity.

B

A festival we'd like to get into, but would sacrifice if it conflicted with an "A"

P

Personal reason for wanting to visit that city. (If you're reading this blog and you're in that city, you're probably the personal reason.)

N

Networking opportunity. For example, Mike lives on Long Island and owns a project management consulting firm, so Long Island festivals are professionally useful to him.

The reason "A" isn't the topmost tier is just psychological. I found it easier to rank the rest of the festivals once the Festivals Of The Gods were in their own category. (And please note that our "B" doesn't mean it's a "B-list festival." It means this is a festival we want to be in, but if there's a conflict with an "A," this is the one we'll forego. With finite funding, everything can't be an "A." You have to find ways to make some of them "Bs.")

My reason for posting our actual document is twofold. First, I always believe in sharing the knowledge. Second, we don't know everything; in some cases, we wild-ass-guessed at a ranking. If you know better, or know of a festival we should have included, please let us know.

This was harder than it looks on the surface. Most of my career opportunities have come from weird places--and although Sundance and Berlin are obviously high-potential career-makers, small festivals can be where you make those unexpected, unpredictable connections with just the right person. It's impossible to predict--but you have to take your best guess anyway, and determine a submission strategy that might make sense, because there's just not enough money to submit to all of them. You've got to narrow thousands down into dozens, and you've got to do it without sufficient data.

Use the spreadsheet if you think it's got value for you. Suggest changes you think might be valuable to us. And ask questions if you've got 'em. We can't share the knowledge if we don't know what you're wondering.


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