Why Should You Submit Your Short Film to Festivals?
Many often wonder if the submission fees for film festivals are really worth our hard-earned money. After putting all your savings into your short film, what are you actually going to get out of paying more to submit to film festivals?
The answer is – exposure and credibility.
This is exactly how Writer, Director, Actor and Producer Jim Cummings rose to light in the indie circles. His short film, ‘Thunder Road’ (100% worth a watch for those Springsteen fans out there) won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival.
Thunder Road Film Poster, Directed by Jim Cummings
Taking full advantage of this momentum, this gave him inspiration to crowd fund for a full-length feature of the same name. The feature won the Grand Jury Prize at 2018 SXSW Film Festival, and despite attracting lots of distributor interest, he actually turned them all down to do it himself.
He’s already made all the money back and more.
Thunder Road is a character led film which follows Jim Arnaud, a police officer with anger issues, dealing with a divorce and the death of his mother. Trying to do the right thing by his daughter Crystal but not having the emotional tools to deal with this chapter of his life, Jim has to handle his personal meltdown in his own way.
Jim Cummings with the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2018. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer
American–Iranian writer, producer, and actor Ana Lily Amirpour rose to indie critical acclaim with her debut feature, ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ (2014).
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Poster, Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is an Iranian Vampire Western shot in black and white. A love story about two tortured souls in a desolate Iranian Ghost-town where a lonely vampire is stalking the towns most depraved denizens.
Ana’s film debuted at Sundance Film Festival after her short of the same title won the Best Short Film award at Noor Iranian Film Festival in 2012. Ana made the same smart move as Cummings and decided to finance her feature through crowd funding using the exposure and press from the Noor Iranian Film Festival.
Ana has since gone on to do her second feature, ‘The Bad Batch’ (2016), starring Suki Waterhouse, Keanu Reeves, and Jason Momoa which won the Special Jury Price at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival.
Ana Lily Amirpour winning the Special Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival 2016
Both these directors rose to international acclaim by choosing to try their luck and submit their shorts to film festivals. They were pro-active and used the credibility and exposure that the opportunity gave them to generate support, crowd-fund their features, and catapult their filmmaking careers.
Which film festivals are worth the money? Find the latest ranked film festivals worth the entry fee listed here:
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/top-film-festivals/
Cummings’ short film Thunder Road available to watch on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/174957219
Written by Lu French, Edited by Arabella Burfitt-Dons