My Film Festival Results might Anger you just the Right Amount

Download your free blueprint to making a movie or film: wolfcrow.com/how-to-make-a-mo...

[@wolfcrow]

Watch the film: wolfcrow.com/my-film-festival-results-might-anger-you-just-the-right-amount/ 🔥 Watch this next: *20 Iconic Musical Motifs in Film* kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHOUZod-Z9VmfJY

[@iamakkkshay3032]

It's so silly nowadays that even a random 15sec tik tok video gets 10-20 million eyeballs. Just loving the filmmaking process & keeping care for my loved ones is the only motivation I have to make films right now.

[@lukethekuya]

True to that!

[@lowerlevelproductions9597]

Same here! Best of luck!

[@miatatude5362]

Yes but nothing comes of it, 20million eyeballs have forgotten what they watched just 10sec ago when they are scrolling through Tik Tok. A good film however should stay in your head for years

[@fotouhi]

"You might even get laid but you won't get paid" is an interesting sentence to get a closure on a topic.

[@Chaiseroulanteenfeu]

Thanks wolfcrow! Honest take on festivals. I was lucky enough to get into Sundance and Clermont-Ferrand in 2019. It helped a great deal spreading the word around about my short film and saved me a lot of $ on future submissions. Still, my distributor and I put more than 2500 CAD$ in fees. It was mostly money won through awards... So in the end we reinvested in distribution much of the money we won. Long story short, it is somehow life changing to get your film on that kind of rollercoaster and I understand why people would try it. I will do it again with my next film for sure. But you never know... Competition is so fierce and most festivals program what the top big fest (Cannes, Locarno, Clermont, Sundance, Berlin, Venise, TIFF...) program in the end. It's a shame that there is not more risk taken by curators when you see the amount of good content that is produce every year. Wishing you the best in your future cinematic endeavor and thank you so much for all the great stuff you release. No cinema school for me, but a lot of wolfcrow session ;)

[@GingerGamingandStuff]

What was the short that got into Sundance, is it available?

[@PresidentialFilm]

Totally agree! I recently submitted my film on Filmfreeway and as of now out of the 64 festivals I submitted to it was accepted in 5. I'm still waiting to hear back from over half of them though. It's so sad to pay in the end for so much money in submission costs for as far as I know-many screeners didn't even bother watching my submission! You're right, being a gold member saved a lot of money, and I had some screeners personally reach out to me (not just a generic email) inviting my film when buying the "Feature Projects" option, and a solid cover letter that's personalized to each festival is good too. I'm glad when I edited the trailer I tried to tell as much of the story and show as much of the action that I could squeeze into it-in the event that the screener wouldn't even bother watching the film. Your results really confirms my assumptions about the whole film festival route. A lot has changed since my first film in festivals in 2009.

[@DialloMoore503]

Accepted into five is still pretty good.

[@Agstenfilm]

Good to hear :D @@DialloMoore503

[@snowy5420]

This is amazing, thank you so much for putting your experience into data and numbers! Submitting festivals are often frustrated and lost. A lot of trap there too. My some best experiences are in film festivals in France, you can really see how passionate the whole town/city attend a film festival. That's the only moment when I feel submitting a film festival totally worth it:)

[@rainiermandell6191]

Thank you for making this!

[@ten_sleso]

little insight from other side: in EU usually festival preselection for competitions and mostly noncompetition projections are by film students. Only the prominent ones are watched by program directors. I attend in jury for preselection on few festivals across the eu so thats why for example if you submit to italian short film festival you have views from slovakia because i watched them in my town without vpn. And I highly recomend try this festival intership, so you will know what kind of hell is watching 200 low budget full leghnt films in few weeks. I have learned a lot

[@PinebrookPictures]

There were a few things left out of this that I think are important. 1. Festivals are fun. We work so hard to make a movie, and most of us will never get to experience the glitz and glam of Hollywood. Festivals are a way for us to go have fun and celebrate the accomplishment of making a film. 2. Festivals are a great way to see parts of the country(countries) you've never seen before. I've been so lucky to go to festivals in towns I'd never in a million years visit and end up falling in love with the place and the people. And now I find any reason possible to go there. 3. Festivals help theaters! Movie theaters are having a harder and harder time getting people in the seats, and a film festival is a once a year event they can bank on to bring money to them and the local economy. Festivals and their volunteers are usually (some exceptions) great people who just want to see a new crop of movies otherwise unavailable to them. And they are experiences worth going to.

[@LordJagd]

The traveling thing is a big plus, but tbh these sound like a lot of consolations instead of the major benefit of film festivals, which is aquiring the means to continue making (bigger and better) films.

[@PinebrookPictures]

@@LordJagd I think the days of festivals (with the exception of the top 5-10) being a means of getting funding for a bigger project is pretty much gone. And I think anyone who thinks they're going to get to the next level that way is a bit of a pipe dream. The first film I got privately funded had almost nothing to do with my previous festival runs. Yeah eventually you may get into Cannes, Sundance, etc... but 99% of film festivals aren't going to get you there. You might as well enjoy the time you're having making movies with your friends. Do I think most festivals could do things to change this? Yes, but it's a big ask. Keep making movies because you have to. Hopefully the rest will work out.

[@smepable]

Thanks for the Insights!

[@neon1sky]

this is incredible insight. Thanks

[@SurvivalRox]

Always a good info jolt

[@iviujtaba]

Very useful information, much appreciated. Made my first film for a local film festival; alot of my friends saw it and were happy. Felt good about it but i wondered if that was it? Spending so much time and money on something for some comments and views? Then i came to that film site you were talking about, it almost felt like one of those lottery tickets, you buy a ticket and have a chance to win but mostly you just end up spending more money so that more people could appreciate you instead of earning from your work. I think film makers should focus on making their best film and find a way to make money along with it till your skill becomes so good people demand for it.

[@monsieur_]

Really interesting insights on films festival results thank you!

[@mitchgourley3082]

Your IMDB page is wild. I don't know who gets to edit that but it is quite the adventure.

[@paulbeckmann]

Great info and video as always!

[@lukethekuya]

Thanks for this!

[@wyominginternationalfilmfe6678]

Hello, film festival here! We just wanted to share a couple of thoughts. At 2:30 you talk about tracking views of your submissions, and while it is true some festivals don’t even bother to watch submissions, the information doesn’t always tell a full story. At WyoIFF every submission is watched by at least 2 programmers and sometimes more. However, our programmers aren’t just located in Wyoming. We have programmers living in places like LA, NYC, Atlanta, and we even have international programmers based in India, Ecuador, Canada, and England (and yes, all of our programmers are film professionals and have been vetted by the festival. We don’t just hire random people to watch your movies) So just because your film doesn’t have any views in Wyoming doesn’t mean we haven’t watched your submission! Additionally, sometimes programmers get together to watch submissions in a group. So you can have 2, 3 or even 4 people watching your film, but it only has 1 view. Around 6:30 you start breaking down the numbers and land on about 18% acceptance rate, and about 7 views per dollar. While this may be true for your film, it may not be true for all films. Some films get rejected at a much higher rate, while other may see a much higher rate of acceptance. It’s impossible to pain with a broad brush all the reasons why, especially since every festival has different needs and wants regarding their programming slate. Overall we feel it is important that filmmakers set goals and expectations for their projects way back in the development stage. At 8:00 you discuss networking. We still feel this is one of the best opportunities festivals provide. We have seen dozens of film projects born out of relationships that started at our (and others) festival(s). Networking goes beyond the scope of one’s hometown - and just because an opportunity doesn’t present itself immediately doesn’t means there won’t be one further down the line. Don’t give up hope! Films get made through connections more often than by being “seen” by the right people. But you are absolutely right, you don’t have to make a film to network at a festival. As for awards - eh, we put our money where our mouth it. Literally. We offer more than $2,000 in prizes! Not bad for a regional festival. Obviously we disagree with your conclusion that festivals aren’t worth it, but we respect your position. Ultimately not every project has the same goals nor will they benefit from festivals equally. We have seen some of our young filmmakers make connections and get jobs because of our festival. We have see filmmakers learn more technical and creative skills because of their exposure to films at our festival. And while this doesn’t impact filmmakers per se, we feel the festival is an important community building event for the people of Wyoming. After all, if festivals won’t support the arts, who will?

[@wolfcrow]

Thank you for your thoughts. They are welcome. Just a suggestion. One can't support the arts by fleecing the artists. Festivals should be free to submit to, and a 4K Vimeo or KZbin video is good enough for most screening rooms. When you have a great venue, the festival should pay for DCP charges. Bottom line, get that money from your own wallet, sponsors, grants or Kickstarter.

[@wyominginternationalfilmfe6678]

@@wolfcrow Sorry you feel cheated by festivals. Can’t speak for others, but without submission fees we literally wouldn’t be able to put on a festival. It’s easy to assume grants and sponsors will pay for everything, but the reality is not all festivals (our included) aren’t as fortunate. Likewise - we don’t make any money. No one on our staff is paid. Not a penny. It’s all volunteer based. We, like you, are indie filmmakers who love the craft and want to build the film community in our state. (also, we don't even accept DCP, so no worries there either)

[@HollyHargreaves]

As a fellow filmmaker, I hear you.

[@ononearts]

Thanks for this, Sareesh. As usual: measured insights with logical, practical methods and conclusions. Much appreciated!

[@BombshellCelluloid]

I have been saying this for the last 10 years. I stopped submitting to festivals around 2013. They're just not worth it and they have created this romanticized mystique around them makes people pay no attention to the reality of it. A lot like what Hollywood does with the 'get discovered' stuff.

[@ChristianThueringer]

agree

[@joshh5353]

I'm going through the process right now with a documentary I made and have some similar feelings. Thank you for your insight.

[@1plus2minus3]

My first comment disappeared cos I added a link to it for my own film, I think. Anyway just to say again, great video and I saw your film too Wolfcrow and loved its bravado and dare. Also liked your crossing of the line in the hospital scene. On the festival front I agree, my own film ‘UNSKIN’, an experimental urban fantasy from a few years ago was submitted to around 100 festivals and only managed a paltry 15 selections. Would love to share it with you.

[@CreativeClones]

Good vid. Getting into high quality film fests - e.g. Academy or BAFTA accredited, can also increase your chances for funding applications. We've been submitting out current short to local fests in Australia. I guess we're more excited to see our film on the big screen and see how people react, then hopefully chat about it afterward. 16 fests submitted, and 3 rejections so far!

[@mertozsoyleriki6345]

Man... as a new film maker wanna be; you always answer questions that I was looking for. Not only that, you answer those questions that I didn't know I had. Cheers

[@thesailingmovie]

Awesome information. I like you already as a person. And, you're a very smart human. Thank you for your effort.

[@jrmazario]

Very good video. I'm strating to distribute my short film and I'm very happy, my team and I have started very good. So far, 3 official selections and only 1 rejection. But I have in mind that is good start, and probably we will not keep the good rithm. This video helps a lot, seeing other filmmakers experience and the data that I shoud expect from this experience. Thanks!

[@jesseyules]

Most festivals have a list of "waivers" (ie. free submission invitations they send out to their favourite filmmakers they want to build their program around). There are a small number of programing slots in a given to unsolicited submissions. Best bet for festival submissions is to make something very unique and very short.

[@pushREC]

What a great breakdown and so glad you mentioned paid advertising at the end as it's the best way to get eyeballs these days if that's your goal.

[@cowintheflowerfield]

thanks

[@reckerproduction9468]

This is pure truth

[@merriammerkabah408]

Wow... What an amazing video. I'm sharing this with a few people I know that need to see this.

[@deepakraina6859]

Hey Sureesh, hope you are doing well man. What happened to that video where you made an list about order of importance where you ranked screenplay at the bottom. I can't find it on your channel. Keep hustlin man hope to see you go places 🙏

[@abhijeetsinghyadav527]

Great insights! Could you please tell me how can I watch the 'Memories of Murder' video you made? It has disappeared.

[@SmithBlack-One-shot-studio]

17% is a good result for selection in the short film genre. Usually the average result is 10%. However, my experience with my first short film, which by the way had a selection rate more than 50% and even won 6 prizes and several honorable mentions at different festivals (by the way, the logos of some festivals were in this video) suggests that it was the most uselessly spent money) It was better invest them in a new film. Festivals are more of a lottery. You can play it if you have the resources for it.

[@starkingbiker]

Can someone tell me which festivals are not worth it as in they‘re shady? Would love some insight thanks.

[@hammadwasti2891]

Hi, can you please guide me about the sound recording and mixing when it to Requirement of festivals?

[@wolfcrow]

Same as cinema. It depends on the venue.

[@mdturnerinoz]

Though I am not going to submit any of my output to a festival, this is really good for those who do; bravo for this, you may just be feeding the efforts of the next Speilberg. Love your honest near the end of the video: "you might even get..."! :0))) BTW I tried to find a link to your film; did I miss it? I cannot seem to find it but then I just might be slow today!

[@yvrp]

maybe because most festivals are looking for 10-15 minute shorts to slot in as many films as possible

[@lowerlevelproductions9597]

Been uploading shorts on KZbin, maybe Vimeo is a better way to go. KZbin doesn't seem to have a large audience for short films.

[@EpithetMusicTV]

it does, you just have to title it differently so you come up in searches. ie putting the camera you use in the title. search bmpcc 4k short film for example, tonnes of videos getting decent views. you just have to give people that aren’t already subscribed a reason to click

[@eraytaspinar]

My project viewed only once out of 32 festival applies. So i hear you my fella.

[@PpSquaredProduction]

I been there for two of my films

[@user-jf7qb4hr2j]

8:18 it's a backstage shot from our video !) Hi everyone)

[@CanadianAIlookbook]

So negative. It all depends on good your film is.

[@vikaskundbi9110]

filmfreeway should make easy to search people and films too. they ore mostly on festivals

[@robertm3951]

I am not sure whether it helps get more views but I see a lot of independent films that trumpet how many awards won from various smaller festivals.

[@macetraveler2847]

May I ask where you can get the filmmaking blueprint for free? The video says its free but when I go the website you have to buy it

[@wolfcrow]

Try this: wolfcrow.com/how-to-make-a-movie-a-complete-blueprint/

[@macetraveler2847]

@@wolfcrow Thank you so much!!

[@PoprostuGrzymkowski]

Yes, it's worth it :P

[@Hanumovies]

11 minutes of serious facts and then you hit us out if nowhere with “you may get laid but you wont get paid” 😂

[@reckerproduction9468]

I was immediately this got uploaded, in less than a minute

[@bovinicide]

"...you might get laid, but you won't get paid." Class.

[@rendroaryo5387]

👍🏻

[@leobekmarmarchevfilms]

This video put me down majorly. I was really hopeful as a young filmaker that I could make it through festivals😪

[@frequency_sequencer]

Don't believe everything that has been said here. There is no blue print of how life will turn out for you. Good luck man just believe in yourself

[@leobekmarmarchevfilms]

@@frequency_sequencer Thanks so much!

[@leeentertainmentchannel247]

I gotta give it to u straight man, I really respect ur vast knowledge of filmmaking but ur movie ironically lacks everything u talk about in ur KZbin videos and articles that u write. Your behind the scenes footage shows that u have a larger than average production but for some reason the value is just not there at all. Watching your movie has made it clear to me that filmmaking is a unique art form that requires a very special kind of talent. It has also helped me finally understand why some of my lecturers at school seem like they are forced to give me high distinctions even though they have a deep set hatred for me and would rather see me fail. What’s really funny is that all this time I had thought that it was simply a racial discrimination issue but now I know with great certainty that the reasoning goes far beyond their colonialist pride and protection of their privilege. Thanks for everything bro, you’ve made me realize a lot of things that I really needed to know and I really appreciate that

[@frequency_sequencer]

I have not studied film making and just did a camera test and won best first time director from florence film awards, honorable mention at a New York movies awards and outstanding achievement award from a festival in my city Kolkata. My second film's trailer is doing really well in festivals. I think contrary to this video Festivals have changed my life completely and pushed me on a path to become a filmmaker in my late 30's. Who wants to earn money with short films ? I am getting recognition and traveling towards feature films.

[@leeentertainmentchannel247]

@@frequency_sequencer wow, that's an amazing achievement for a first time film maker. I am also hoping to get into feature films once I finish school as well

[@propoman445]

"you might get laid but you won't get paid" - Words to live by

[@GingerGamingandStuff]

Why couldn’t this come out last February?? Could’ve saved $300 🙃

[@devankrew]

"You might get laid but you won't get paid." ~Wolfcrow

[@valerio51987]

Well, your personal experience can't be valid as a general rule. Everything depends from many different things. It depends from the movie, from the festivals, from the luck and from many other factors. Are film festivals worth it? Who knows? For someone yes, for someone else not. Are all film festivals the same? No. Some are a shameful scam, some others are honest and professional. That's why the question you make doesn't make sense if its purpose is to find an answer valid for everyone. It may be an answer for you if you want.

[@mlcpictures]

Film festivals are a celebration, they feed your ego and temporarily make you feel good, but they do little to promote your potential. Also judging is generally artistically based, this can be misleading if one is to pursue a career in the commercial world of film making.

[@LycanVisuals]

It just varies on what your goals are and every project is different. Unless you have name talent to guarantee pre-sales, the Top Tier Fests are a lottery. I'll just keep my expectations low, very low in fact and do your best to submit early bird at every festival to lessen the expenses. There is also the politics aspect, every fest has a certain theme for that year and maybe they liked your film but didn't fit.

[@frequency_sequencer]

The worst thing about Film Freeway is one man own 20 festivals

[@CineastaIndie]

Festival é SCAM

[@SimonHorrocks]

This video already more views than the maximum your estimate says you can expect, after paying hundreds of dollars...

[@juvencavazos3370]

I honestly don't see any benefits sending your film to festivals. It's a waist of time and money. Even if you movie is shown in Sundance, the odd are that after everything is said and done, you're at the same place you were before. You should try to make good movies with potential but with very little money. You should try to create a small team of passionate people who want to make movies. Make a company and everyone gets a %. All of you try to raise money. With that money pay for food and transportation, etc. Try to use most of the money to promote your movie locally. (It wouldn't hurt to show a lot of your local businesses as backgrounds in your movie) Let's say you raised $35k. Use $15K-20K to make the movie and everything else to promote the movie LOCALLY. Rent a movie theater and sale tickets. This experience should tell you if you want to pursue your film further or just place it in KZbin and move on to the next one. BTW, don't make shorts.

[@MinorMotionPicture]

Well regardless I’m not getting laid or paid.

[@karole.]

2017 - working in a warehouse, 1st short film finished, rushed the post production to reach the festival season, applied for 17 festivals, sum of festival fees: £355($490), zero invitation Lesson learned

[@starkingbiker]

fuck man

[@DialloMoore503]

Don’t give up! Believe in yourself!

[@karole.]

@@DialloMoore503 That`s really kind, thank you mate! Have a nice weekend there!

[@CorpeningMedia]

You can say you are not affiliated, but I had to stop watching after four minutes of film freeway praise

[@Iwastherebyaccident]

8:00 looks like Montréal

[@rogerrabbit3699]

Is the way the title is written, suppose to enforce what it says even more? Lol

[@SomeDudeFromHeaven]

I got in some of the top festivals with filmfreeway.

[@NERDENSTEIN]

b

[@hugobrand6196]

The look of this film though. 🤢 spot lights on female faces, shooting with the light instead of against it? I don’t get it. Really wouldn’t call this cinematic. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@abdulsameeh_666]

What you mean

[@DialloMoore503]

Festivals need to have jurors and programmers that won’t reject your film just because they were offended by what it had to say. There should be room at festivals for films that have edgy content. Only selecting safe and “trendy” work is nonsense. It’s the disturbing and offensive projects that can spark conversation, which in turn can create change. Stop the bullshit politics.

[@bivobpurkayastha9922]

I did not understand the film and found it boring.

[@googly3615]

Here's my two cents. Filmfreeway is not where you find real festivals.

[@merriammerkabah408]

where does one find "real" film festivals?

[@starkingbiker]

where do i find them?

[@googly3615]

@@merriammerkabah408 Go to the top festivals, and film markets. Meet real people, programmers and curators.