Category Archives: Festivals and Awards

Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative announces 2021 participants

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The Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative has just announced this year’s participants.

The Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative is a training and development program for emerging and mid-career creatives and producers of commercial television and/or digital media content. The program aims to provide industry access and an international market platform for participants to sell their projects at the Banff World Media Festival, June 14-July 16, 2021.

I recently interviewed Mia Golden and Arnold Lim, both participants this year, separately by email:

Michael Korican: Congratulations! How does it feel?

Mia Golden: “It feels wonderful. I had applied last year but didn’t get in so it was really exciting to get the news.”

Arnold Lim: “I am really grateful for the opportunity! The Banff Media Festival and the Netflix Diversity of Voices Initiative are making a real-world difference. As an indie director and producer, I have never had the opportunity to go before, so this is a tangible opportunity that I don’t take for granted.”

M.K.: How long have you been living in Victoria and have you noticed attitudes and behaviour towards diverse people change over that time?

M.G.: “I moved to Victoria in ’94 and have seen many changes. When I first moved here there really wasn’t much diversity. And while it still wouldn’t be considered a melting pot with respect to cultural diversity, I at least don’t feel like I stand out anymore. Aside from Jamaica where I was born and Toronto, where my mother and I moved when she returned to Canada (with her 2 year old Jamaican souvenir) I had always lived in communities that were primarily White. And like many children I was on the receiving end of teasing and name calling, and because I stood out visually, the name calling was racially based.”

A.L.: “I was born in Vancouver and moved to Victoria as a teenager. Things have changed for the better, but I do think there is still room to grow. Flagrant incidences of racism are becoming less frequent, but the more subtle instances are still there. Having said that I am proud to be Canadian and know that there are places that have it much worse.”

M.K.: Can you share some “then” and “now” examples?

M.G.: “I have always found Victoria more open compared to my teenage home town in Northern BC where my last visit there a few years ago a man leaned out his truck window and yelled, “Hey, it’s Chaka Khan.” Now having said all that, I feel that most biases are based on unconscious beliefs, fears or misunderstandings and I really don’t take things too personally. I am very happy there is more awareness on the topic and that representation is finally increasing in mainstream media. I’d love for people to know that a BIPOC parent can have a child of any colour within the spectrum of their DNA, for example. Like I am the shade that I am but I have friends and acquaintances with the same type of mixture who are very dark and some who have no pigment at all. That’s genetics! I’d love for that awareness to trickle down when it comes to casting families. I am seeing more mixed families in commercials and I’d love to see continued awareness of that in our film community here on the Island. If you watch most films from even a couple of years ago, it’s primarily white actors. Now some of that is due to the pool to choose from. Like I said before we aren’t a BIPOC rich community, but it is getting better and I feel we as filmmakers need to be proactive in seeking out diversity in what we write and how we cast. Now to be clear, I feel that casting should be based on talent and ability to give the director the performance needed for the role, but opportunities should be wide open. And I do think that in the last couple of years especially, there is an increase in awareness.”

A.L.: “I remember when I first moved to Victoria I got on the bus and was sitting down behind a woman who turned around just then and yelled at me to “Go back to where you came from!” before moving to a different seat to get away from me.”

M.K.: Of all the projects you’ll be taking to Banff, which one excites you most, and why?

M.G.: “I am very lucky that the team I work with and I have a few projects including a few features, a factual series and a couple of series. I am, however, most excited about one of the features we shot in November that I wrote, co-produced and acted in. We will be announcing more about that in the near future!”

A.L.: “I have both a feature called “The Bryce Lee Story” and a continuing series called “Holdouts” that I am developing with various writers that I am very excited about because they tell unique stories of the Asian-Canadian experience in Canada. Of all the films I have directed or produced, none of them had any diversity in the leads until I started casting them in. I am excited to continue that journey in front of and behind the camera.”

My take: I think this is wonderful! Just like I think we need more women in politics, we need more diversity in media. And business and education too. Few people know that Sir James Douglas, one of colonial Victoria’s first governors, was born in Demerara to a Scottish father and a Barbadian Creole mother and had an Anglo-Métis wife. Victoria’s nineteenth century history is populated by a mix of First Nations, Chinese, Scots, English, Americans and even Hawaiians.

CineSpark 2021 Winner Revealed

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After a night of exciting and excellent Top 5 pitches, the winner of the 2021 CineSpark competition was revealed on Thursday, May 20th, to be Sarah Nicole Faucher for her project “Going Home.”

CineSpark is CineVic‘s major annual production grant and features a lucrative prize:

•  $13,500 in-kind equipment rentals from CineVic
• $2,500 in-kind equipment rentals from William F. White
•  $1,500 cash grant
•  $100 Modo driving credits toward production van rental
•  Production Insurance: 10 consecutive days of coverage ($195 value)
•  One-year complimentary CineVic Production Membership ($220 value)
• Your film will premiere at the 2022 Short Circuit Film Festival

I recently interviewed the winner via email.

Q: Congratulations, Sarah Nicole! How does it feel to win?

A: “Most disabled people tend to experience the “imposter syndrome” which is the psychological phenomenon of feeling they don’t deserve their accomplishments. Some so badly want to get somewhere or to win for all their efforts and hard work, and then when it happens, it’s, “What? No, I couldn’t have. No way did I accomplish this.” That is what I’m feeling and I am trying to deal with right now. My husband Stephen and a couple of friends are helping me through it. It has been this way for the majority of the nominations and awards for two short films and six scripts for the past year or so — it’s been difficult to keep track of them all. I don’t announce all of the nominations or all the awards on Facebook because of this.”

Q: How many times have you entered the script portion of CineSpark?

A: “Last year, I entered one short script “Vignettes from a Cold War Child” into CineSpark 2020 and it never even made it into the Top 5, even though it was nominated and won a few awards in other events. This year, again, I entered just one script — this time “Going Home.””

Q: “Going Home” is a very personal and tragic film. Why did you feel now is the time to tell the story?

A: “”Going Home” was one of ten short scripts that I wrote during the lockdown in 2020 which forced me into a very intense, deeply reflective time of my life. The writing experience proved extremely cathartic.  It was entered into four to five other film festivals prior to CineSpark. Because of those previous nominations and wins, I decided to enter our local film festival and pitch event because I realized I would prefer to see it being made here in Victoria. As an activist for persons with disabilities, I write to various politicians to push for change, on the rare occasion enter local art shows like the one held through the Victoria Disability Resource Centre, and assisted a retired nurse-friend help a homeless person off the street — a woman suffering from severe, debilitating PTSD find shelter and healing through sewing crafts. This particular woman now has an IMDb credit as a Costume Assistant in the short film production of “The Door Between Worlds” that has been nominated for numerous awards.  It’s a short fantasy that has won Best Short Script in one film festival and an Award of Merit in another — I came so close to winning an award for Best Director for this one. My husband Stephen danced around and cheered so loudly when he discovered that I was being considered for this. I kept saying, “Really? You think I’m that good?”  He’s my best fan.The short fantasy “The Door Between Worlds” won’t complete it’s film festival circuit until some time next year. It, too, deals with disability and acceptance within the community.”

Q: Please tell us about your Producer.

A: “Krista Loughton is an actress, director, producer and writer who does work from the heart. Her film “Us & Them” tells the stories of four different unhoused people, houseless not because they wanted to be, but because they’d fallen through the cracks of society in one way or another — like my friend did in Ottawa in the 1980s in the script “Going Home”.  This is why when I moved back to my home province of BC many years ago, I began buying a sandwich or a muffin and a beverage for an unhoused person on Fort Street or Government Street if I were downtown on some errand about once a month whether I was working or not.

Krista recognizes that one’s life can so easily be turned upside down suddenly and at times without warning. I had found a director first before thinking outside my usual group of people for a producer. Krista is a documentary filmmaker with obvious great sensitivity. I was unsure about whether she would consider doing a short narrative. I emailed her anyway and received a positive response; she explained that she was working on a documentary about an unhoused deaf person right now! She felt my narrative short would make a good crossover or transition away from documentary filmmaking. We shared thoughts over a video call, discussing certain details about her film that I could relate to, including the government cover-up of a past residential school for the deaf in Vancouver and its abusive horrors that she didn’t know about until she met this unhoused deaf woman. I already knew about this same residential school for the deaf decades ago, because as a child my parents came so close to sending me to it. In the end, they decided not to, and my mother continued to teach me how to speak properly and to lip-read every evening at home while I went to public school. I recall reading about the terrible abuse briefly later in the news, however I won’t go into this story further because this is something for Krista and this unhoused deaf woman to share. Krista even asked me to be her consultant and I agreed.”

Q: Please tell us about your Director.

A: “I met Trent Peek and his wife Andrea through CineVic’s seminars and workshops a few years back, one of which was about pitching one’s own scripts. At that time, my old hearing aids were on the blink and I had to face buying new hearing aids — $5,000 to $6,000 each. My enunciation of words was down. My self-confidence and sense of self-worth were at their lowest. Trent took the time to patiently sit down with me to go over the notes of his pitching seminar. This is how I first got to know him. He has developed a good reputation for producing and directing short films locally and through Brent Lanyon‘s ’29 Takes Productions.’  When I approached Trent and asked if he would like to direct “Going Home,” he agreed because he was actively searching for a drama to direct.”

Q: This film will call needed attention to the situation of the deaf and hard of hearing community. Can you tell us more about that, what’s being done, and what you and the community would like to see?

A: “Not just the deaf and hard of hearing community. I feel strongly that it will call needed attention to the situation of many disabled people in Canada as a whole. What needs to change are attitudes, but it needs to start at the top with our governments for the trickle down effect to work.

In March 1990, disabled persons in the USA dramatically got out of their wheelchairs to climb — or crawl — up the steps of the Capitol.  In Canada, what is little known is that the disabled have been squashed from day one in any form of dramatic activism like in the USA. This is because there was a restriction clause on advocacy by charities in both tax and common law for so many years.

My short film script “Going Home” invites the audience into a deeper understanding of the conflicts within a country with one of the lowest Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ratings in the world. Canada rates lower than the USA, Ireland, the UK, France, Belgium, Iceland, Sweden and many other countries in the world in assistance for it own disabled persons in employment and housing.

The many disabled communities around the world have struggled to assist Canada’s disabled community to get the government to change so many weak clauses into stronger ones before the passing of the Canada Accessibility Act in 2019. The government seemingly refused to listen because it has been passed with a major flaw — accessibility won’t be enforced until 2040! This is so unlike what my husband and I experienced in Scotland and in Northern Ireland in 2016 — they were enforcing accessibility in the community and the media as a whole. They had professional disabled stuntmen and veterans act in “Game of Thrones.” They had profoundly deaf background actors going to work at Titanic Studios in Belfast. In Glasgow, there were loop systems in all of the shops, pharmacies, you name it — so I could switch my hearing aids to the ‘T’ switch (telecoil) and I could clearly hear everything the service person was telling me. There is nothing like this in Canada. The UN has consistently condemned Canada for breaking human rights regulations for accessibility for buildings, education, employment, medical treatment, etc. We shouldn’t have to rely on going to the Human Rights Tribunal with cases taking up to two years.  Sad to say, I believe Canada sunk to its lowest in 2021 with its passing of MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) that the UN considers a human rights disaster — it is far easier for a disabled person to obtain MAiD than it is to obtain accessibility to shelter, to education, to employment and to medical treatment.

For a country recognized for its public healthcare it has done dismally for its own disabled citizens. My story “Going Home” is only a mere drop in a large bucket of hundreds of sad stories experienced by disabled Canadians that need to be told.”

Q: When do you think “Going Home” will be ready to film?

A: “I don’t know for sure yet, though I suspect it won’t get off the ground until the late summer or early fall.”

Q: Thanks, Sarah Nicole!

A: “You’re welcome, Michael. Peace and stay safe.”

My take: one of the challenges a film about hard-of-hearing people faces is how to bring viewers into their world without compromising the audio, because sound is at least 50% of the film-going experience. I’ve thought about this and my solution would be to do the visual equivalent of dropping out all the mid-tones and only leaving bass and treble: don’t use any medium shots. If I was shooting this film, I would only shoot extreme long shots on a tripod intercut with handheld extreme close ups of the eyes and mouths of the two protagonists. Even though we would still hear the words clearly, this treatment would give viewers an insight into the lip-reading life of the hard-of-hearing.

Watch CineSpark 2021 tonight!

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Since 2017, CineVic, Victoria BC’s largest artist-run media centre, has been running the CineSpark competition. Watch the Top Five pitch live on Youtube tonight at 7 p.m. PDT.

The production prize awarded to the winner is substantial:

  • $13,500 in-kind equipment rentals from CineVic
  • $2,500 in-kind equipment rentals from William F. White
  • $1,500 cash grant
  • $100 Modo driving credits toward production van rental
  • Production Insurance: 10 consecutive days of coverage ($195 value)
  • One-year complimentary CineVic Production Membership ($220 value)
  • Your film will premiere at the next Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival!

There are two stages to the competition.

It all starts with a script. Submissions are judged blind and the Top Five are then invited to wrangle together a production team and pitch their project live to a jury of visiting filmmakers during CineVic’s Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival. (Unfortunately, the pandemic has meant virtual pitches this year and last.)

First proposed by him as one way CineVic could step up the production value of at least one film by its members, Arnold Lim says:

“Island filmmakers may not have the same name recognition as those from service towns like Vancouver or Toronto, but I believe they are every bit as talented and deserve the opportunities that are more abundant in more established film hubs in Canada. That’s why talent-development programs like CineSpark are so critical. I am proud of CineVic and CineSpark for the opportunities they have provided to talented local Vancouver Island and Gulf Island filmmakers and their cast and crew who all deserve the chance to level up and show off their artistic vision.”

Producer member of a past winning team, Darlene Tait echoes this sentiment:

“Winning a CineSpark Pitch Competition is like a rallying cry to the local film community who love to work with or help out CineSpark winners. Having the winning pitch speaks to the possibilities that exist with the team and the script and it immediately levels up your game. It can be a serious launchpad if you do it right.”

One of tonight’s Top Five Pitchers, emerging filmmaker Suzanne Moreau comments on the experience so far:

“Thrilling. Then nerve wracking. Then encouraging. A little bit frustrating. Then confusing. Lastly inspiring. This cyclone of emotions resembles the grief cycle! But it’s actually been fun and a great way to discover and connect with many more local filmmakers than I would have otherwise. So I’m already benefitting and the win would be icing on the proverbial cake. It’s been a rush!”

Best of luck to all involved and, “Roll sound. Roll camera. Action!”

My take: even though only one team wins tonight, I can practically guarantee that more than one film will end up being created out of this year’s competition. I guess investing this much time and effort into pitching a project can’t help but solidify the desire to make the movie — and I know of at least two projects that resulted in better films than the official winner that year.

The secret to financing your second feature revealed

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Margeaux Sippell reveals on MovieMaker the 17-Year Secret to Indie Success, From Coatwolf’s Evan Glodell.

Jess Jacklin, Charles Beale and Jake Bowen of the excellent vlog/podcast Demystified recently interviewed Evan Glodell whose first feature Bellflower debuted at Sundance in 2011 and went on to earn two Indie Sprit Award nominations.

He relayed his seven-year story chasing funding for his second film:

“I’m having meetings with literally A-list actors who were like, ‘I want to work with you’ and every big studio in town, and I was like, ‘We’ve made it.’ Nothing had ever worked in my life until one day I said, I’m gonna do this thing and take what was available to me, like in my real-world resources I actually had, which is what we used to make Bellflower. And instead of being like, ‘Hey, that was a big life lesson, that worked!’ we were like, okay, now let’s go back to holding our hands out… What the hell was I doing?”

And he revealed his epithany:

“If I care at all about telling stories in these movies that I say I care so much about that I’m willing to endlessly work and go to meetings for seven years with no outcome, I should just go back in with the resources I have now. The second that I made that decision, all of a sudden everything turned around, and it was like the stars aligned.“

His micro-budget mantra: Just start with what you have.

“You literally have like zero in your way. It’s only you. You can tell your story, but you’re scared of having your story be there bare naked on the screen without the polish of millions of Hollywood dollars and skill, you know? Like 99% of people who reach out to me to say the same thing. I’m like, dude, you just need to get over your fear and just go. Do you have a rich family? Do you have rich friends? No? Okay, you’re in with most of the rest of us. Just go. Nothing’s gonna happen if you don’t go.”

Here’s the trailer for the $17,000 Bellflower:

And here’s how they made it.

My take: I love this sentiment! Nike said it best, “Just Do It!” Need instructions? What you need to know, in 10 minutes.

The biggest feature film prize in Canada…

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…is $100,000.00. (Canadian bucks.)

Similar to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Toronto Film Critics Association hold their own film awards ceremony annually, the TFCA Gala. This year’s show has been moved from January to March and is now online and free.

Tune into Youtube on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 8 p.m. ET.

“The TFCA Awards celebrate Canada’s own film community. We are extremely grateful to founding sponsor Rogers Communications for the $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, one of the largest arts prizes in Canada. Under the TFCA’s rules, eligible contenders for the awards include films released in theatres or streaming in Toronto in 2020 as well as films that qualify for the 2020 Academy Awards and have a Toronto release scheduled by the end of March 2021.”

See this year’s three nominees.

See past winners.

My take: my goal is to win the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award with ‘1 Lie.’ All I have to do is make it and get it screened in Toronto. How hard can that be? (Hmm, the screening will be tough.)

From Shorts to Features at Sundance 2021

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Oakley Anderson-Moore writes on No Film School How Shorts Propelled These Filmmakers to Make Their Sundance Features.

She profiles six filmmakers who beat the odds, had shorts at Sundance and came back this year with features. For two of them, the shorts were basically proof of concept calling cards.

Oakley says:

“This year, there were 1,861 narrative features and 1,642 documentary features submitted to the Sundance Film Festival. And due to COVID-19, that number was less than in previous years. Holy hell, that’s a lot of competition! How do you make a feature film that makes it into Sundance? For some filmmakers, a short version of a feature is a great way to prove the concept, not to mention get attention and funding. For others, their short film got them noticed by future collaborators. For others, it merely went to sharpen and hone the voice they would need for their feature debut.”

The filmmakers, their short and their feature are:

My take: I love that two of these features started as shorts. It takes a lot of perseverance to expand a short into a feature but at least folks can see your concept and your filmmaking chops.

Film Festivals move online for now

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Chris Lindahl reports on IndieWire that Numerous Distributors Pulled Films from Online Film Festivals in 2020.

He refers to a new report recently released called The New Era of Indie Film Exhibition by Jon Fitzgerald, Brian Newman and Lela Meadow-Conner.

They surveyed 100 filmmakers, film festivals and distributors.

The insights are somewhat predictable:

  • 70% of filmmakers expect to share in a percentage of online film festival ticket sales.
  • 79% of film festivals had films withdrawn after the decision was made to move online.
  • “70% of distributor said that geoblocking and ticket caps were decided on a case by case basis, but 60% of distributors said they preferred ticket caps on virtual screenings. 30% of distributors said that if a film they wanted to acquire was not geoblocked they would let the filmmaker know that would stop them from making an acquisition.”

Specifically, filmmakers want to see:

  1. “More breakout sessions with filmmakers
  2. More networking and access to industry players
  3. More live Q&A sessions with audiences
  4. More flexibility in viewing times, not just a one time stream
  5. Better stats and data after the festival
  6. Social component, more interaction with audiences
  7. More press and social promotion
  8. Audience data & email lists
  9. More help in creating revenue opportunities for filmmakers
  10. More open dialogue with the filmmakers
  11. More panel discussions & educational offerings”

My take: this report makes fascinating reading and illustrates the vastly different, and opposing, goals of filmmakers, film festivals and distributors when it comes to the festival circuit. I would say filmmakers and film festivals are united in wanting as much “exposure” as possible whereas distributors would prefer festivals to remain as small and exclusive as possible so they can further “exploit” their acquisitions commercially.

How to sell your film ‘Demystified’

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Tim Molloy of MovieMaker alerts us to a new podcast/vlog all about selling your independent film called Demystified.

It’s produced by StudioFest, an annual competition to pair one writer with one director and $50,000 to make a feature film.

The first episode follows founders Jess Jacklin and Charles Beale to the American Film Market (AFM) and their meeting with Glass House Distribution about their first feature Souvenirs.

Here are the highlights, according to Tim:

  • 7:30: Do you need a sales agent to sell your film?
  • 8:20: How does a sale work? Is it revenue sharing?
  • 8:35: Do you need to finish your film before you approach a distributor?
  • 9:00:  How important is a trailer?
  • 10:00: What genres are most marketable? Can you sell a drama with an unknown cast?
  • 11:36: How much does it cost to hire Nicolas Cage?
  • 11:50: Should you reveal your budget?
  • 13:30: Should you count “in-kind” contributions toward your budget?
  • 16:20: What you can compromise on, and what you can’t.
  • 17:23: What’s the etiquette for meeting a distributor?
  • 18:20: How much money can a lower-budget movie with no stars expect to make?
  • 19:10: Can you just go straight to Netflix?

It’s a very entertaining and enlightening podcast.

You can enter this year’s StudioFest at FilmFreeway.

My take: Of course you need a sales agent. There’s no way you can connect with all the outlets for your film across the world. However, please realize you may never see anything beyond your advance. Expenses will always dilute revenue until there’s nothing left to split. See Hollywood accounting.

How to make a low, low budget sci-fi feature

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Aleem Hossain blogs on No Film School How (and Why) I Made an Indie Sci-Fi Feature Film for $30K.

It’s a fascinating read. His belief is that:

“We should rethink why we are making independent films in the first place, especially indie sci-fi and speculative films. I don’t think we should even be trying to compete with Hollywood. We should be striving to make films that are strikingly different from big-budget films.”

Aleem faced five challenges making After We Leave and solved them creatively. Although he answers them from a sci-fi point of view, they can be extrapolated to indie filmmaking in general.

#1. The Brainstorming Phase: What Are Sci-Fi and Indie Film’s Core Strengths?

“Hollywood is very good at making its kind of movies. Why should we try to compete with them with a lot less money? In my mind, the only reason to make an independent feature film is to create a movie that only you would make. A kind of film that wouldn’t exist if you didn’t exist. I think what independent films can offer are new directions in style, tone, theme, topic, representation, and viewing experiences. They can challenge the mainstream artistically, politically, and narratively.”

#2. World building does not have to be expensive.

Rather than with a VFX-laden long shot, sometimes a world can be built with a carefully composed close up:

“The future version of Los Angeles that I imagine in my film is undergoing severe water shortages. This glass is the only clean water we see in the entire film. Every other time characters drink, they drink dirty water or something other than water. I don’t have a shot of a huge empty reservoir. I don’t have a shot of drones “mining” water from clouds. I have one clear glass of water, provided by the most powerful and richest character in the film… and my main character chugs it down. It cost me nothing. But it’s definitely world building.”

#3. The standard model of film production discourages artistic risk-taking.

Aleem laments, “The system is always telling us to play it safe.”

To counter the “stay on schedule” mantra, he bought their camera gear:

“We could choose to just try one crazy complicated shot, exactly at sunrise, and then we’d all go off to our day jobs. If it didn’t work we could try again the next morning.  There was no downside other than our time… and because we were fitting it in around our existing work and lives. This way of working was, in fact, the thing that convinced collaborators (some long time friends, some new) to work on the film. They all had day jobs that paid way better than I could. The reason they gave up their nights and lunch hours and weekends to work on After We Leave was that I was offering them a chance to try things they normally didn’t get to try. To reach for things in a way they normally didn’t get to.”

This also freed up his actors to ask for extra takes and for his DOP to extend magic hour by shooting at the same time over a number of days.

As to locations:

“I ‘scouted’ for hours on Google Street view looking for rundown and beautifully gritty locations… and then I placed small scenes in each of them. We shot all over Los Angeles. We didn’t get a single permit. We didn’t need to because we didn’t care if we got kicked out of somewhere… it wouldn’t throw off our schedule or make us cut the scene or waste a ton of money. We’d just film it next weekend at a different location. And the truth is, most days we were a crew of three people with a DSLR, a Zoom recorder and a mic, plus one or two actors. We shot in 25 different exterior Los Angeles locations and were approached only once by the police and twice by private security. And in two of three of those times, they weren’t telling us to stop filming… they were making sure we were safe in what they perceived to be a dangerous location.”

#4. VFX don’t have to cost a lot of money, they (just) cost time.

Rotoscoping and motion tracking in Adobe After Effects have improved so much in the last ten years that green screens and locked off cameras are no longer necessary.

See their VFX reel.

#5. There is actually a huge advantage to being micro-budget when you reach the distribution phase.

Aleem realized his advantage was, “I needed to make back less money than other films.”

After being rejected by top film festivals, he found success at niche ones:

“After being rejected by 22 festivals in a row, I got an email from Sci-Fi London raving about my movie. I gave them the world premiere and After We Leave won Best Feature Film there and everything started to change. We went on to Berlin Sci-Fi, Other Worlds, Boston Sci-Fi and won a number of awards and got great reviews.”

Aleem concludes:

“The big lesson I learned is to only do what I felt we could do well and to pick a story that makes use of that. And that’s the irony… by avoiding mimicking the films that try to appeal to huge audiences, I actually created a film that resonated with audiences.”

My take: Lots to take away here. Embrace your limitations. Less money can mean more time. Raise enough to get it in the can. Then raise more to finish it. Use the right festivals to connect with your true audience. Never compromise your vision.

Inside the film festival selection process

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Caleb Hammond, writing in MovieMaker, reveals How to Get Your Film Into Festivals.

Illustration by Angela Huang

The article summarizes responses from “a range of festival directors (many with 10-plus years of experience), programmers, and of course, screeners” to a detailed survey.

Having been a screener and member of programming committees for a number of film festivals, I’ll also chip in.

Do screeners watch every minute?

“44 percent of screeners made clear that they watch every submission to completion. Thirty-seven percent said they occasionally fail to finish viewing a submission and only 19 percent said they frequently stop a film submission early.”

I watch every minute, unless a submission is so terrible or clearly outside a festival’s field of interest.

Should my film be long or short?

The consensus is that shorter is better. Remember, the shorter the films, the more that can be programmed.

I agree. I watch hundreds of films so I’d rather watch two shorter films than one longer one. Put another way, a longer film has to be significantly better than two shorter ones to make it.

Will a film festival bend its rules for me?

Do your research and “really know the profile of every festival you consider submitting to.” This way you can save time and money by avoiding submissions to unsuitable festivals.

Make sure you check off every requirement of the festivals you submit to — no exceptions. Bonus: help me make sure your film qualifies if there’s any question about any of the requirements by explaining everything to me in your personalized cover letter.

Will festivals let my bad sound pass?

No. Bad sound is a tip off, like bad acting and bad visuals, of a bad film. Anything sub-standard makes it much tougher to accept a film. Paradoxically, casting a known actor in your film may actually raise the bar for all the other aspects of your film.

I agree. Bad sound is hard to ignore. I would almost suggest doing one or two takes of every scene close-mic’ed without camera to give yourself plenty of sound options in edit (before resorting to ADR.)

Can diversity help my film?

Yes. If two films are tied, the one with more diversity wins.

I look for diversity in both the cast and the crew.

I missed the deadline. Can I submit after the late deadline?

Maybe, but it’s not recommended. Submit as early as possible for a couple of reasons. Earlier submission costs are cheaper than later ones. Plus the later you wait, the greater the chance that a festival has already started to make decisions. Even if they haven’t, your late film is subconsciously judged agains all that have been seen before it.

I advise that you do not send a work in progress because you are asking the festival to make a couple of gambles on you and your film: will you or won’t you finish the film in time and will it or won’t it be better than other finished films that could have been chosen? Better to not rush it and submit next year when the film is completed.

I love these closing words, quoting an anonymous programmer:

“There’s a festival for every film and a film for every festival. Submit to the ones whose vision you agree with and want to support, whether you’re accepted or not.”

My take: Make the best film you can. Know your ideal audience. Research appropriate festivals on FilmFreeway. Offer your film to those festivals for their programs. If your film is selected, congratulations! If it isn’t, feel good in supporting those festivals. Continue to believe in your film and realize it wasn’t a good fit with their programs. Make better films, and repeat this cycle. Nevertheless, if you go through this loop too many times, consider starting your own film festival!