5 Reasons for Filmmakers to Submit to Film Festivals
“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.“
— Malcolm Forbes
It’s our differences in perspectives and cultural values that fuel creativity, challenge the status quo, and foster progressive ideas. Diversity is what allows us to evolve and be better.
To that end, film festivals play an instrumental role in showcasing the evolving art of filmmaking, helping filmmakers find their audiences, and paving the way for the next generation of filmmakers to share their diverse narratives and viewpoints with the world. Film festivals are, in essence, a much-needed catalyst for enriching the diversity in our world.
You’ve worked hard at getting your film made. It deserves to be seen and appreciated. Here’s what you stand to gain from submitting to a film festival:
1. Get Your Film Seen
Film festivals exist to help shine the spotlight on budding filmmakers and their cinematic interpretations. Not only will you stand a chance of getting your film screened for a live audience, but you will also get marketing exposure from the film festival’s promotional activities.
LAFF, for example, offers the following benefits for participating filmmakers:
Listing on ‘The Studio’ – a dedicated video archive on the LAFF website showcasing all film submissions, nominations, shortlisted and winning films. There’s a spot with your name on it.
Special screenings by industry insiders such as LAFF’s influential jury members, creative partners, and sponsors.
Active social media shout-outs for all submissions. We’ll get the word out on your film and shine the social media spotlight on it.
A new partnership with the Google Arts & Culture platform to create the first online fashion film archive. The platform features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online. LAFF filmmakers will automatically be included in the archive unless they opt-out.
2. Generate Hype
The more exposure and visibility your film gets, the more opportunities you’ll have to generate hype and discussion about it. Having it screened at a film festival would be a wonderful opportunity to invite bloggers and reviewers to view and share their thoughts on it.
You also get to observe the audience’s reactions to the film during the screening and maybe even talk to them about it after.
3. Create a Perception of Prestige
Perception makes a world of difference. A film with a laurel on it automatically comes across as prestigious and noteworthy compared to one without. It tells the viewer that the film has been pre-approved by industry professionals.
Being able to display a laurel on your promotional materials also helps gain more visibility (people are more likely to watch it), which helps grow your audience and generate more discussion about it.
4. Give Your Film a Chance to Win Awards
As the saying goes, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The worst that could happen is that you don’t win any awards, but you very well could! If you do win, not only would you benefit from a confidence boost, you’ll also have a “Winner” laurel to display on your film, giving it even more prestige and exposure.
One laurel will likely lead to more too, as other film festivals will similarly pay more attention to films with laurels than without.
5. Network with Like-minded Peers and Collaborators
Last but not least, film festivals are one of the best places to meet like-minded peers and collaborators, especially festivals with a dedicated theme.
LAFF’s 2020 edition focusing on diversity, for example, will bring you into contact with fellow filmmakers and creative producers with compatible views and values on the subject. Who knows what friendships and collaborations will transpire as a result?
Film festivals can be instrumental in getting your work seen and appreciated, but they do take money and effort to produce.
As a nonprofit initiative, LAFF allows all guests to experience the festival at no charge, which is in line with our inclusive directive. Your submission fee enables us to fulfill our mission by keeping our festival doors open to the public: a rarity these days, especially in the city of LA.
We do however offer a student fee for student filmmakers. More information on our submission rules and fees here. If you’re a filmmaker or production house looking to promote your film, LAFF is currently accepting submissions. Share your story with us.
Your audience is waiting.
Drop us a line for more information. We look forward to having you at the festival.
