As the co-founder and artistic director of the Salute Your Shorts Film Festival — and a filmmaker myself — I’ve spent the past nine years learning exactly what gets a film noticed by programmers, and applying it to my own work.
That paid off when Chasers, a 31-minute “oner” that SYSFF executive director Elle Shaw produced and I directed, made history this year by being the first narrative project accepted into both Sundance and Slamdance.
While breaking the rules can lead to success, I’ve also picked up a few insights in the process of whittling down thousands of films that apply to Salute Your Shorts to our final lineup of 50 shorts.
Film Festival Trends to Avoid
Each year, strange trends emerge in the Zeitgeist — like a wave of squirrel films a few years ago. (We programmed one, and it won our audience award). It’s tough for filmmakers to predict when their “original” idea might compete against something similar, but it’s good to be aware of trends so you can understand the competition.
Also Read: 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee 2025 — Including Salute Your Shorts
My friend and fellow film festival programmer Jesse Knight (Palm Springs International Shortest, Seattle International Film Festival) has joked with me about circulating a “bingo card” to festival curators, gamifying our experience of encountering tropes. At the top of his list? Alzheimer’s, an actor auditioning, evil A.I., interpretive dance, karaoke, call centers, a “fishperson.” (We programmed two fishperson movies at SYSFF last year). Sometimes it’s less the topic and more the execution — a character staring down the camera in a final shot, or casting Eric Roberts. (Look at his IMDb credits).
But if you cast Eric as “Guppy” in your fourth-wall-breaking take on A.I.’s dangers, don’t be scared: Rules are meant to be broken. I only know about Jesse’s list because it includes “single-shot-take,” and he teased me about it when I told him about our single-shot Chasers.
You can breathe new life into any trope, but filmmakers need to watch plenty of shorts to put a fresh spin on old ideas.
Every Film Festival Has a Different Audience
At SYSFF, our mantra is “films with aftertaste.” Our audience is primarily filmmakers, so we program films that push forward the conversation around filmmaking. While we may be younger and not as widely known as Sundance or SXSW, we share a deep commitment to championing innovative, boundary-pushing films.
Occasionally, a solid film doesn’t fit our festival, but I’ll pass it along to a colleague who programs for an Oscar-qualifying festival in a retiree town known for great filmmaker hospitality. Chasers, as successful as it has been, may not appeal to as many regional community festivals as my previous film, “[subtext],” which won numerous audience awards and played at over 50 festivals, many on MovieMaker’s lists.
Filmmakers should read up on a festival’s mission and understand its programming. Take time to learn what types of films the festival champions — including prioritizing specific demographics or themes.
At Salute, I program films that linger, challenge, and engage — films that invite conversation rather than simply deliver an answer.
More of This, Please
Personally, I want to see more films that embrace complexity and nuance rather than push a predetermined message. I’m less interested in films that feel like PSAs, didactic agendas, or simply retelling a “sad thing that happened.” I look for films with a distinct point of view, where the filmmaker is wrestling with something personal, presenting tensions and dilemmas rather than easy conclusions.
If a film covers bullying, I’m less interested in a “bullying is bad” narrative — something everyone already agrees on. I’d rather see a film that explores the social dynamics behind bullying, the complicity of bystanders, or even the perspective of the bully in a way that doesn’t excuse, but interrogates. The best films challenge us, not by telling us what to think, but by making us feel the weight of a situation in all its complexity.
I’m less interested in political films unless they add something to the conversation—rehashing an opinion I already agree with isn’t engaging. I’m more interested in films that deepen, expand, or thoughtfully challenge perspectives. Films that acknowledge nuance, avoid straw-man arguments, and explore opposing viewpoints in good faith are far more compelling.
I’m also more interested in form than content. Just because the topic is “important” doesn’t mean I want to program it. I once heard Thunder Road and The Beta Test filmmaker Jim Cummings answer the question, “How do you make the audience care about your characters?” He replied, “Assume they don’t. Make them care with craft.” A good filmmaker can heighten the stakes of any situation. A trope recounted in a straightforward way is a cliche. A trope explored through curiosity and good craft is “revisionist,” an “homage,” or “offers a twist.”
I value craft, but I recognize that resources vary, and sometimes a lack of polish can be exciting if it reveals an emerging voice. Festivals love discovering filmmakers early, like finding a band before they break big. We want a mix of established indie filmmakers and fresh talent, and we pay attention not just to the film itself, but also to the filmmaker’s overall trajectory.
Short Films Should Be Short
It might seem hypocritical for me, the filmmaker with the 31-minute project, to wax lyrical about runtime, but I need to. My project was programmed as an episodic series at Sundance — a strategic decision I made to increase its chances of inclusion.
Thirty-one minutes is, generally speaking, a stupid runtime for a short. I don’t generally recommend it. A film should earn every minute of its length. Many films feel too long simply because filmmakers aren’t ruthless enough in the edit. Cutting a project down, even slightly, almost always improves its chances. Theaters are expensive to rent, and there’s a reality of programming space. To a programmer, time is currency.
Your Credits Are Killing You
Your credits count towards your runtime. My rule is three seconds per minute for comedies and five seconds per minute for dramas. Chasers (drama) has 68 seconds of credits.
I’ve seen a six-minute film add three minutes of credits in our submissions — and I just about cried, because the film was awesome except for those dang credits! It is exponentially easier to find six minutes of programming time for a film than it is to find nine. Rounding off, we think of it as 5 minutes vs. 10.
Correspondence Matters
Poor correspondence can hurt your chances. One rejected filmmaker repeatedly emailed me, listing every Oscar-qualifying screening they’d secured. Another sent me a picture of a bird sitting on their lap — but the photo was designed to look… let’s just say “not like a bird.”
These approaches didn’t endear me to the thought of selecting their future films. Real people are on the other side of your submission. We care about our festival the way you care about your film. Please keep that in mind when you reach out.
The Salute Your Shorts Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2025, will be held August 15-17 in Los Angeles.