The truth about film festivals

Sometimes I think the fastest way to get rich these days is to start a film festival.

Film festivals in the United States charge money for you to send them your film for review.  If they don't accept your film for their festival, you are still out of pocket.  And they charge anywhere from $30 to $105 per film you send them.

This is big time money.

There are, of course, the longer-standing festivals, and the festivals with such prestige that if you get into one, you're almost certain to get a distribution contract.

Because distribution contracts is what festivals are all about:  having a nice audience at the festival and something prestigious to put in the credits and on the DVD cover is fine, but mainly, you submit to a festival because you want to get a good distribution deal.

Because if you're an independent filmmaker, you made that film because you wanted people to see it, and you hoped somehow to recoup your investment.  Distribution deals is supposed to be the painless way of getting exactly that.

Since with technological advances, making movies has dropped from something that costs millions of dollars to something you can do on a shoestring, everyone and his/her second cousin is doing it.  This means there is room for more and more festivals, including festivals that accept work that, perhaps, really doesn't "deserve" to be seen, meaning that is poorly made, or has nothing to communicate, or something on that order,.

Hence, the charges that festivals know you'll pay.

And just an FYI:  most festivals in Europe do not charge money for you to submit your film for consideration.  Apparently the money thing is an "American" invention.