Let's Talk About... Should You Still Screen at Film Festivals as Part of Your Indie Film Distribution Strategy?
With fewer bites at the apple for indie films to make money, does it still make sense? Plus: Office Hours with Minorities in Film & a great interview for my docuseries client!
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In this week’s paid subscriber post, we’re going to dive into whether or not screening at film festivals is still a worthwhile exercise for your indie film. After all, with fewer bites at the apple and fewer opportunities for indie filmmakers to make money, does it make sense to give up that revenue to a film festival? There’s a lot of pros and cons and today’s subscriber post is going to get into it.
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And now let’s talk about…
Should You Still Screen at Film Festivals as Part of Your Indie Film Distribution Strategy?
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This is a mixed bag really. Because on the one hand, if you’re just starting out as a filmmaker, you really do need the festival experience and it’s something you can only learn from by going through it.
On the other hand however, you could be cannibalizing your own ticket sales. What to do?
Whenever I find myself in this kind of situation, I make a list of the pros and cons to help me make the best decision.
Hopefully these two lists will help you decide whether or not screening on the festival route is ultimately going to be something that benefits you and your film and whether or not to do it.
Reasons to Screen at Film Festivals:
Exposure: there’s a certain cache that comes along with screening at a film festival that you cannot get by simply screening on your own.
Connections: you will meet people at these festivals from all walks of life and in all aspects of the business. Film festivals are wonderful ways to network and connect with other industry people and filmmakers.
Press opportunities: most film festivals inherently come with some sort of built-in press component, meaning that someone is going to cover it. If not a trade publication, then certainly a local outlet. Getting press for indie films is getting harder and harder to do, so screening at a festival is a really great opportunity to get eyeballs on your film.
Career advancement: again, there’s a certain cache that comes when screening at a festival. If you play your cards right, you can use this to further your career by getting repped, finding your next project, or demonstrating to potential partners and financiers that you have what it takes to stand out.
You can build your marketing. I used my festival run as a way to build my audience, get email addresses and solicit brand partnerships. This would have only been possible to do with a festival run.
Demonstrate demand for your film: by selling out the screenings, you can demonstrate a track record for your film and show its appeal to audiences.
They force you to get your shit together: when a festival comes together, it comes together FAST. If you’ve been dawdling on color, sound, a trailer, a poster, etc. nothing will make you spring into action faster than a festival deadline.
Awards potential: although awards don’t mean as much as they used to, being able to score a few awards for your film can be a boon and help with your marketing efforts.
So that was eight reasons to screen at a festival. Here’s eight reasons NOT to screen at film festivals.
Reasons to NOT Screen at Film Festivals:
Film festivals are not what they used to be. Gone are the days of acquisitions even at major festivals like Tribeca and Sundance. So go into the festival with clear eyes: know that you’re not going to be walking out of there with a million dollar deal in your hand.
They are expensive: Not only are film festivals expensive to enter ($100+ on some just to screen your film), but you have to travel there as well if you want to truly maximize the benefits of screening in person at a festival. So be prepared to shoulder those costs.
You do not get a share of ticket sales: yup. All of that work you did? That money goes into the pockets of the festival owners, not you. If you do too many festivals, you have to consider whether or not you’re cannibalizing your potential profit margins because people rarely go back and watch films again.
It could all be for naught: it’s a gamble. You have no way of knowing whether or not your efforts at the festival will yield anything so you must be prepared to invest time and money, but possibly not see the ROI you were looking for.
You might not pack the house: you may play to an empty theater. And that sucks. Be prepared to possibly take a blow to your ego and know that you may not attract the crowd you were hoping for.
Overexposure can hurt you: it’s one thing to play at a few key, select festivals, but to be on the festival circuit for 18+ mos? That’s not going to do you any favors when releasing your film. Things age out pretty quickly and being on the circuit that long is only going to hurt your chances for long-term success.
Over-dependence on the festivals: again, film festivals aren’t what they used to be, and relying on them as the sole vehicle to drive interest and awareness for your film (and for distribution deals) is a recipe for disaster.
If you miss a deadline, you’re stuck in the festival cycle of waiting. I know a lot of you applied to Sundance and therefore didn’t apply to a number of other smaller festivals in the hope that you got in. So waiting for some of these bigger festivals to get back to you can hurt your overall timeline when rolling out your film, because you’re waiting for them to say no before you say yes to anything else.
These are just a few of the pros and cons that go along with screening at film festivals, and a lot of these thoughts are things people don’t put online because they don’t want to rock the boat. But as a filmmaker who has been through this before with my own film and my own hard-earned money, I wanted to give it to you straight so you can make the best decision for you and your film.
If you want to work with me on your film’s marketing + PR or festival strategy, give me a shout!
Marketing & PR for Indie Films is a reader supported publication: if you’d like to upgrade your subscription for $5/mo or $50 a year, or to learn more about marketing and PR for your #IndieFilm and work with me, click here.
Kelli McNeil-Yellen is a twenty year marketing and PR pro who finally made the leap to indie filmmaking with her award-winning Slamdance film DARUMA, now available on platforms. Learn more about DARUMA here. To work with Kelli, click here.