independent films | how to make a movie | film production | independent film | film festivals | independent filmmakers
affiliates | make an independent film | independent films | contact us | film festivals | home
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ENTERING FILM FESTIVALS?
Film festivals are a great place for unknown talent to showcase their films. Although it can be quite difficult to get a very low budget independent film accepted into the major film festivals like Cannes, Toronto or the Sundance Film Festival due to the fact that the Hollywood scene has its grip on them now, it is still possible. These festivals still operate with the idea in mind that all films are welcome to be submitted regardless of their budget size.
If your small film is incredibly unique and your talent outshines your lack of film production value, then you just may be invited to one of the big dances with the big films. If this happens, you and everyone involved with your independent film will get a lot of free publicity, which is the fuel that powers a filmmaker's career. It should help you secure a decent distribution deal for your independent film in the very least.
While it is a bit tough to get a very low budget independent film accepted into the larger film festivals, there are plenty of smaller ones that give you a much better chance.
Whether you are looking to make the transition to the mainstream film industry for employment, looking for a distribution deal or you just want some people to see your independent film, film festivals are a great place to showcase your film production talent.
BIG FILM FESTIVALS-
The following festivals are the largest and most publicized film festivals in the world.
Sundance Film Festival-
Location: Park, City, Utah.
Time of year: January
Contact: Sundance Institute, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Website: http://www.sundance.org
The Cannes Film Festival-
Location: Cannes, France
Time of year: May
Contact: Cannes Film Festival, 71 Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, 75008 Paris, France
Website: http://www.festival-cannes.fr
Toronto International Film Festival-
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Time of year: beginning of September.
Contact: Festival of Festivals, 69 Yorkville, Suite 205, Toronto, ON. M5R 1B8, Canada
Website: http://www.bell.ca/filmfest/98/default.htm
Seattle Film Festival-
Location: Seattle, Washington
Time of year: May-June
Contact: Seattle Film Festival, 801 E. Pine Street, Seattle, Washington 98122
Website: http://www.seattlefilm.com/index.aspx
Santa Barbara Film Festival-
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Time of year: January 23rd- February 4th
Contact: Santa Barbara Film Festival, 1528 Chapala Street, #203, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 963-0023
Website: http://www.sbfilmfestival.org
Telluride Film Festival-
Location: Telluride, Colorado
Time of year: beginning of September
Contact: The National Film Preserve. Ltd., 379 State Street, #3, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801 (603) 433-9202
Email: Tellufilm@aol.com
Website: http://www.telluridefilmfestival.com
San Francisco Film Festival-
Location: San Francisco, California
Time of year: April
Contact: San Francisco Film Festival, 1650 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Website: http://sfiff.org
New York Film Festival-
Location: New York, New York
Time of year: middle of September
Contact: Film Society of Lincoln Center, 140 W. 65th Street, New York, NY
Website: http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.html
Los Angeles Film Festival-
Location: Los Angeles, California
Time of year: April
Contact: Los Angeles Film Festival, Film Independent, 9911 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90035 (866) 345-6337 (310) 432-1240
Email: LAFilmFest@FilmIndependent.org
Website: http://www.lafilmfest.com
Chicago Film Festival-
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Time of year: October
Contact: Chicago Film Festival, 415 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60610
Website: http://www.chicagofilmfestival.org
Berlin International Film Festival-
Location: Berlin, Germany
Time of year: February
Contact: Berlin International Film Festival, Potsdamer Straße 5, D-10785, Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 · 30 · 259 20 · 0
Fax: +49 · 30 · 259 20 · 299
Email: info@berlinale.de
Website: http://www.berlinale.de/en/HomePage.html
Sydney Film Festival-
Location: Sydney, Australia
Time of year: middle of June
Contact: Sydney Film Festival, P.O. Box 25, Glebe, New South Wales 2037, Australia
Website: http://www.sydneyfilmfestival.org
Tokyo International Film Festival-
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time of year: September
Contact: Tokyo Film Festival, No.3, Asano Daisan Building, 2-4-19 Ginza Chou-ku, Tokyo 104, Japan
Website: http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/
FILM FESTIVALS FOR SMALL FILMS-
There are literally hundreds of smaller film festivals that take place around the world every year. Here are a few that welcome unknown film production talent and non-mainstream independent films.
Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival
Location: Houston, Texas
Time of year: April
Contact: Team Worldfest-Houston, 9898 Bissonnet, Suite# 650, Houston, Texas (713) 965-9955
Email: mail@worldfest.org
Website: http://www.worldfest.org
Slamdance Film Festival-
Location: Park City, Utah
Time of year: middle of January Contact: Slamdance, Inc., 5634 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038 (323) 466-1786
Email: mail@slamdance.com
Website: http://slamdance.com
Austin Film Festival-
Location: Austin, Texas
Time of year: middle of October
Contact: Austin Film Festival, 1145 W 5th Street, Suite 210, Austin, TX 78703 (512) 478-6205 (800) 310-3378
Email: barb@austinfilfestival.com
Website: http://www.austinfilmfestival.com
If you do a Google search with the keyword phrase "film festivals" you will get a lot of information about many, many film festivals all around the world. Just ad the name of a city or state to that phrase if you want to find a film festival close to where you live.
The following websites offer the latest news and information about film festivals:
http://www.filmfestivaltoday.com http://www.filmfestivals.com http://www.insidefilm.com http://www.filmfestivalworld.com
The following website offers a service that allows you to submit films to multiple film festivals at the same time: http://www.withoutabox.com
affiliates | make an independent film | independent films | contact us | film festivals | home
Copyright 2012. independent film production and film festivals