Fest to Impress

Playing to your strengths can pay off in the festival game

by Michelle Devereaux | Published January 24, 2005

Celebrating the short film at Aspen Shortsfest in Colorado

In a given year, an independent moviemaker can spend hundreds—sometimes thousands—of dollars in film festival fees. With new festivals popping up every day, and all of them pushing their own particular bennies, it can become a confusing chore to weed through the dross and decide where to invest your precious, non-refundable cash. Our advice: Choose festivals that not only have proven reputations, but also meet your individual goals. Play to your strengths and you might even have some cash left over for that emergency film stock fund on your next shoot. Here’s a highlight reel of some hidden festival gems, along with the demographics to which they tend to cater.

Screenwriters

Nantucket Film Festival
www.nantucketfilmfestival.org

This is where Charlie Kaufman is the equivalent of a rock star. Nantucket’s major sponsors are Showtime and NBC Universal, so that should give you a sense of the high-stakes game happening in  the state of Massachusetts. Nantucket’s yearly celebration of courier font includes the Moby Dick Awards for best screenwriting in both feature and short formats and "best storytelling in a documentary." But the centerpiece of the fest is the Tony Cox Award for Screenwriting—a plum prize that includes a first-look option with Showtime.

Genre/Cult Moviemakers

Philadelphia International Film Festival
www.phillyfests.com

One of the bigger regional festivals, Philadelphia slots its 300-plus screenings into several different programs. Similar in lineup to Toronto’s "Midnight Madness" series, "Danger After Dark" features the best in genre and cult moviemaking from around the world. It’s heavily populated with Asian gore and gangster films, but the lineup does feature North American releases, too. "Danger after Dark" screenings are eligible for an exclusive award and industry sponsors have included Showtime, Bravo, IFC and HBO . Be prepared for rowdies, though. According to festival’s managing director Thom Cardwell, Philly audiences "don’t pull any punches."

Yankee Moviemakers

Woods Hole Film Festival
www.woodsholefilmfestival.com

All you East Coast blue-staters just starting out take note: The 14-year old Woods Hole Film Festival is a pretty safe bet. "Woods Hole does give first-time New England filmmakers a hard look," says director J.C. Bouvier, "particularly if they are submitting features." Each year, the festival offers a New England Emerging Filmmaker Award and they accept up to 80 films from a pool of 200 to 300 entries. Woods Hole Tech Day gives moviemakers access to industry veterans, like The Godfather cinematographer Gordon Willis (a local resident), and its close proximity to New York draws the likes of venerable character actors like Chris Cooper.

Actors

MethodFest
www.methodfest.com

Unleash your inner Brando at this annual southern California fest. Named for Constantin Stanislavki’s groundbreaking acting style, MethodFest is the only festival in the U.S. to "celebrate breakout acting in story-driven independent films." Of the 800-odd entries received, director Don Franken estimates about 70 will be selected for screening this April in Calabasas, California. Over 50 films screened at MethodFest in the past seven years have been released theatrically or have received cable TV and home video distribution deals. While you certainly don’t have to have Peter Falk or Giovanni Ribisi in your movie to get noticed here, it couldn’t hurt.

Animators

ION International Animation, Games and Short Film Festival
www.ionfilmfest.com

It may seem a little crass, but in a time when video games are increasingly being marketed like big-budget movies and animated movies look more like video games, ION’s confluence of the two makes sense. The LA-area festival, which offers seven separately juried competitions, even hosts an annual conference dedicated to the subject of film, animation and game convergence. You’ll come to grips with any artistic grumblings of "selling out" when you hear that last year Pixar requested a copy of Short Circuit, ION’s annual DVD collection of festival winners. As did Sony, Disney, The Cartoon Network and DreamWorks. See? We knew you’d get over it.

Horror Moviemakers

Screamfest L.A.
www.screamfestla.com

Celebrating its fifth year, Screamfest is refreshingly free of all that "it’s not a horror film, it’s a thriller" snobbery you might find at more mainstream festivals. Here, the horror film is king. Winners have a first-look option with Stan Winston Productions (Winston, a producer/director/special effects artist who counts A.I. and The Thing among his credits, is also on the jury) and the winning screenplay receives a $1,000 cash prize. In addition to the F/X guru, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean Cunningham, Tobe Hooper and John Landis are members of the advisory board. How’s that for a dinner party of the damned?

Documentarians

Hot Docs
www.hotdocs.ca

You won’t find a screenplay award at this revered Toronto fest—just 100 or so of the world’s best nonfiction movies and moviemakers. Sure, the Toronto IFF gets way more press, but "Hollywood North" is actually home to the largest documentary film festival in North America, too. Founded in 1993, Hot Docs routinely draws legions of buyers, distributors and programmers over its 10-day annual run. It also offers over $20,000 in prizes. More than anything, the festival is an independent producer’s dream: Over half the projects pitched during its Toronto Documentary Forum secure additional financing.

Don Franken, Karen Black and Dennis Hopper celebrate the actor’s craft at MethodFest

Short Moviemakers

Aspen Shortsfest
www.aspenfilm.org

Ready to pack up your skis and head to the mountains? The Aspen Shortsfest, which celebrates its fourteenth annual competition in April, awards over $20,000 in cash and Kodak film stock in categories like animation, comedy, documentary, drama and student film. Winners are eligible for Oscar consideration, and last year the panel program MasterWorks drew industry professionals Christopher Hampton and Paul Mazursky. Bonus: Minimal potential of heatstroke.

Social Issue Mavens

Kansas International Film Festival
www.kansasfilm.com

Want to be the next Barbara Kopple? Although they only screened about 20 fiction and nonfiction films this year, KIFF director Ben Meade emphasizes that his fest is "particularly interested in socially-conscious docs." So if you’re sitting on the next great, scathing exposé, you’ve got a good chance of getting it accepted here. In the past, the fest has drawn reps from the Sundance Channel and IFC Films. Also, according to Meade, they screen in the "coolest theaters on the planet." So, um, bring a sweater.

Composers

Film Fest New Haven
www.filmfest.org

Cleanse your palette of the bad taste that is festival schmooze and get some intellectual stimulation at this Yale-area event. "We have a reputation for being academic," admits executive director Robin Andreoli. "Our post-screening discussions can sometimes last for hours."

In addition to its bookish leanings, New Haven is one of the few festivals to offer recognition for achievement in sound and/or music. Many entries—including several Oscar-nominated shorts and 2003’s opening night film, Robot Stories—have gone on to garner serious critical acclaim. Greg Pak, the director of Robot Stories, was so impressed with the festival he came back to host a workshop on theatrical self-distribution and discuss the success of his movie. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next moviemaker with the opportunity to gloat.

Southern Moviemakers

Indie Memphis Soul of Southern Film Festival
www.indiememphis.com

The South rises again in October, when Indie Memphis launches its eighth annual fest. Of the approximately 250 entries each year, about 70 to 80 are selected, so your chances of getting in are exceptionally good. The catch? You have to be from the South, your film has to be shot in the South or your story has to be relevant to the Southern experience.

Launched in 1998 with nothing but a sheet on the wall of a local bar, Indie Memphis has grown into a week-long event that Albert Maysles proclaimed "more fun than Sundance." But even if your drawl is as refined as Tennessee whiskey, don’t get too cocky. "We are not afraid to reject local films," warns spokesman Les Edwards.

Science Buffs

Seed Science Film Festival
www.seedsciencefilmfestival.com

Citing sleek, science-inspired movies like Gattaca and Primer as their model, and geared more toward hipster MIT profs (if there is such a thing) than "Babylon 5" junkies, this three-day New York City festival attempts to de-geek science in the movies by adding a dose of legitimate cachet. Sponsored by the group that produces Seed Magazine, this fest has no track record (2005 is its inaugural year). But the grand-prize winner gets $5,000 cash and is also guaranteed "major" coverage in the publication. Just take off your Spock ears before attending.

Attention Hogs

Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival
www.vifvf.com

We’re going to go out on a limb and say that the Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival is the only one in North America that offers featured moviemakers a meal in the festival director’s home. "We’re home of the boutique schmooze," says the woman herself, Kathy Kay. "Filmmakers get incredibly easy access to these people."

Judging by last year, "these people" are reps from HBO, IFC and Bravo. Victoria showcases worldwide talent, but the big cash prize of $2,000 is reserved for Best First Canadian Feature. The entry fee is a cheap $10 though, and we hear Kay makes a great honey-baked ham.

Cult phenom Ken Russell finds a warm reception at the Philadelphia International Film Festival

Esthetes

Sedona International Film Festival
www.sedonafilmfestival.com

Nestled in the bucolic beauty of Arizona’s famed Red Rock country (which USA Weekend named the most beautiful place in America in 2003), the Sedona International Film Festival will help heal your soul while you hawk your latest masterpiece.

Now in its eleventh year, Sedona screens about 100 films over four days each March. An annual workshop named for acting director Frank Warner, the Oscar-winning sound effects editor of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, brings together top industry professionals from a different field each year for hands-on training. (This year’s topic is "directing.")

While the festival’s executive director Pat Schweiss admits they tend to draw more producers and directors than distribution reps, Sedona has been a launching pad for high-profile films like What the (Bleep) Do We Know? and the spelling bee mega-hit, Spellbound.

Maverick Moviemakers

Cinequest Film Festival
www.cinequest.org

Even if you’re a nobody, this 15-year-old San Jose fest will treat you like a star. That is, if you’ve got the boundary-pushing goods to back up their reputation. For the last few years, Cinequest’s Emerging Maverick and Maverick Spirit awards have helped spotlight the best system-bucking indie moviemakers. (They have also feted nonconformist Hollywood types like Alec Baldwin and John Waters.)

This is currently also the only festival in the world where featured entries are available as DVD-quality downloads, via the Cinequest Website. Don’t worry, though, the movies can’t be copied. And moviemakers have the option of removing their work from the site at any time. So when that theatrical distribution deal comes along, you won’t have to give it away for free. That might be a little too maverick.

High Rollers

Cinevegas
www.cinevegas.com

Making movies is hard work. So is trying to get someone to notice your movie after you’ve made it. You must be exhausted! If your tastes lean more toward Wayne Newton than the painted desert, why not blow off some steam and work on getting distribution at the same time?

According to director of operations Jen Jergens, Cinevegas will pay for your flight and put you up in a hotel for the entire fest. It’s not all slots and blackjack, though: Reps from most major indie-friendly houses attend, including Lions Gate, Miramax, Focus Features and Screen Gems. Last year’s jury featured Darren Aronofsky and Sarah Polley, and Dennis Hopper is the chair of the advisory board.

Sun, sand and cinema dominate the agenda at Cape Cod’s Woods Hole Film Festival

Adrenaline Junkies

48 Hour Film Project
www.48hourfilm.com

The good people at the 48 Hour Film Project took a long, hard look at low-budget, independent moviemaking and decided it just wasn’t stressful enough. Their solution? Add a seemingly suicidal two-day time limit. If the "caffeine, creativity and cameras" don’t kill you, they’ll most certainly make you stronger.

Teams from all over the U.S., Europe and Australia compete in two-day touring competitions, completing a short film from scratch. (Canuck moviemakers: Petition the fest to include your city by going to their Website.) Each city’s winning entry is included on a special best-of DVD and screens at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival—and one lucky team shares the coveted 48 Hour Film of the Year Award. To celebrate, we’re guessing they might want to take a nice, long nap.

Student Moviemakers

The Angelus Awards
www.angelus.org

Starving students take note: The Angelus Awards has gobs and gobs of money, and they’re anxious to give it to you. The paltry $25 application fee garners you access to over $30,000 in cold, hard cash. The grand prize alone is $10,000, but there are content stipulations.

Started by the Catholic media group Family Theater Productions in 1996, the fest mandates that all shorts and features must "explore the complexity of the human condition with creativity, compassion and respect." By no means do you have to be Catholic to enter—past winners like Monsoon Wedding screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan and Sundance fave Tony Bui (Three Seasons) reflect a commitment to cultural diversity.

Producers

AFI Film Festival
www.afifest.com

Sick of all those bratty artistes hogging all the glory? Los Angeles’ AFI Fest is for you. Sure, there are plenty of world-class cineastes, movie­making legends and up-an-coming stars. But here, the art of the deal is just as important as the art.

For the last three years, AFI has played host to Kodak Connect, offering the opportunity to network with a wide variety of film reps through intimate tete-a-tetes and power breakfasts. And last year, AFI announced an alliance with the American Film Market, the world’s largest movie marketplace.

Now coinciding with AFI Fest’s November screening dates, the AFM hosts more than 7,000 industry executives from 70 countries each year and generates more than $500 million in production and distribution deals. Get those business cards ready!

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