Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide

Mitch Allen of Writer/Director has a review of Chris Gore's Ultimate Fim Festival Survival Guide:

If you've abandoned film for video, you'll find lists like the Best Digital Film Festivals handy. Though many more festivals are accepting entries in digital format these days (just be sure that when it comes time to show the actual footage at the festival, they aren't expecting celluloid!).

Section 3 - Forming a Festival Strategy is my favorite part. It contains several interviews with people who have and haven't made it. The list includes Morgan Spurlock who explains how he promoted Super Size Me and sold it at Sundance for $1 Million dollars.

There are also interviews with people who haven't quite had the same success, offering advice so that you can hopefully avoid making the same mistakes.

You may find the topic of marketing your film a bit overwhelming. As the book explains, it takes more then just sending in your tape with a check to get your film seen. It takes effort and it takes money. The book gives you a good sense of what to expect.

One thing that I got from the book is the sense that I really should focus on doing a few shorts first before I go for a feature. Having a short that makes the rounds gives you several advantages. If you create a memorable short, it will probably boost your chances of being able to get in with a feature later. Plus, if you are accepted, it gives you a more low key way to get to know a festival and for the festival to get to know you.

I usually recommend the opposite in terms of shorts. Shorts often suck up time and money that could be put into features. A full-length film, even a really bad one, can usually find some kind of distribution beyond festivals. Shorts usually can't. If you're going to make a short, do so to hone your filmmaking skills for a first feature -- as with the Six Obstructions Challenge.

Read more about Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide...Allen continues:

The best advice the books gives: don't rush your film to meet a festival deadline. Put that completely out of your mind.

--Writer / Director: Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide

Another word on shorts. They can be perfectly acceptable as a piece of a feature film. Napoleon Dynamite and Bottle Rocket did this: filmed a first act to raise money to make the whole thing. Most film schools try to send out a percentage of their graduates with shorts under their belts (haha, belts go over shorts!). The grads end up getting work in commercials, music videos and other short forms. Why? Because a short doesn't prove you can make a feature. If you want to make music videos, make music videos. If you want to make feature films, make feature films.