Hello,
This is Noel Lawrence. I have been a film festival programmer and curator for more than 10 years. Currently, I program the Anarchy section at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT. I also know many other programmers and how they tick.
If you are planning to launch your film on the festival circuit, the seminar is for you. I provide an insider’s view of how film festivals select films and how you can increase your chances of getting them to screen your work. I also will explain how to maximize your exposure after you are selected.
You can sign up here: http://filmfestivals101-eac2.eventbrite.com/
Below is a description of my seminar. I wish it had existed when I first started getting those rejection letters in the 90s…
FILM FESTIVALS 101: “MY BUDDY WENT TO CANNES AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT”
So you submit your film to Sundance, it wins the grand jury prize, and you become a famous director. Not! On the other hand, don’t be a playa-hater. You don’t have to be an insider at CAA to showcase your film at a prestige venue.
Even with the advent of YouTube and other distribution platforms, film festivals can raise your directorial profile dramatically, lead to career-making opportunities, or at least provide nice vacations in Europe.
This four-hour seminar covers these topics and more:
• Determining your goals for screening at festivals.
• Assembling a realistic list of target festivals.
• How to build relationships with festival programmers without looking like a stalker.
• How to make your film festival application stand out from other applications.
• How to maximize audience exposure to your film at a festival and how to leverage it.
• PR: Before, during, and after a festival.
• How to network at festivals.
• Budgeting: before and during exhibition on the festival circuit.
• Leveraging exhibition by one festival to get into other festivals.
• Pet peeves of programmers that may result in instant rejection of your film.
• Online vs. DVD submissions: Do they matter?
• The impact of production value and stylization in programming decisions.
• The limitations of the festival circuit. How far can you go?
• Film Festival Etiquette: You and your film will come and go, the festival staff will not.
• Nepotism: myth and reality.
NOTE: I am a programmer at a prestige festival. However, attending this seminar in no way gives you favored access to myself or other programmers. In fact, I probably will recuse myself if I am asked to evaluate your film in an official capacity. This seminar is no way associated with Slamdance or any other festival. I provide the seminar for informational purposes only.