film independent festival seminar

last week i attended film independent's seminar on film festivals. the featured speaker was katherine mcinnis, a veteran of the festival scene. kathleen was funny, self-effacing and bluntly honest. her two-hour talk was refreshing and fun. i can see why she's such a loved and respected member of the festival industry.

although kathleen also spoke about documentary and feature festival information, i was most interested in what she had to say about short films so that's all i'll recap here.

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- the top short film festival/markets are:

• clermont-ferrand (france - considered the best in the world)
• toronto worldwide
• palm springs international

other notables are:

• aspen shortfest
• tampere (finland)
  
• sao paulo international (brazil)
  
• locarno (switzerland)
• santiago (chile)
• rotterdam (the netherlands)
  

some to avoid:

• cannes short film corner: it's probably best avoided for now. the quality of content has declined since the dissolution of their partnership with clermont-ferrand. they've since partnered with withoutabox, but it may be awhile before they're able to rebuild their reputation.
• lashortsfest: do NOT submit to this festival. (this is a comment i've heard reiterated on the withoutabox boards and from other programmers). they do not treat filmmakers well, even to the point of losing your film and not showing it in the festival!
• chicago: way too expensive to enter (feature: $100 - regular/$200 - late; short $50/$70!). film festivals shouldn't be trying to make money off the filmmakers who apply.
  

- submitting tips:

withoutabox is a good tool, but she also noted that if you're using them to submit your materials you should also submit yourself. festivals have been known not to receive filmmaker materials from withoutabox. always double-check and follow up.

when you do follow up, be sure to find out if there's a designated contact for submissions. you do not want to bother the programmers, they're very busy. and of course, always treat these people with dignity and respect; they're often volunteers and it won't help your film's chances.

remember that your materials (dvd, presskit, etc.) and paperwork probably won't stay together once they hit the festival office. make sure to include contact information on your media.

- short film run times:

• 5 and under
• 5-7
• 12-15
• 15-22
• 25
• 30
• 40
• 50

kathleen gave this breakdown of the running times:

• 30, 40, 50 mins - don't make a "short" film this long. it's way too long and she has no idea why you would do this. if you can't tell your story in less than this you need to really take a hard look at your film. her advice: "you should hate your editor and love your film". you'll be hard-pressed to find a festival that will program short films of these lengths.
  
• 25 mins: at this length she's wondering why you're making a film this long, but it has been known to work -- if it's brilliant. this is a difficult film to program because of it's length. if it was a even quality choice between one 25 minute film and five 5 minute films, the five would get the nod. it allows more diversity and makes more filmmakers available, which is better for the festival.
  
• 15-22 mins: this tends to be a length promoted by film schools. often festivals will have a special prize or student award slotted for these.
• 12-15 mins: here is where you usually find the short version of a feature film. this seems to be the minimum length filmmakers feel comfortable squeezing enough of their feature into.
• 5-7, 5 and under: these are the best lengths for a short film. they are the easiest to program. they can be paired with features, bunched in a short program (of which she said 80 mins seems to be the optimal long length - any more than that and audience fatigue sets in), or set to run in kiosks, pre-show areas, etc.

you'll notice missing run times, most notably in the 8-11 minute range. kathleen explained this as a no-mans land for short film. simply no one makes an 8 minute film. if you do find films in this length, it's usually something like a 6 minute film with 2 minutes of credits. for some reason these film lengths are rare.

- other notes:

as a programmer for palm springs international short film festival, she'll watch about 1200(!) short films.

if you have a brilliant short - it will rise to the top no matter what. if you're putting it out there eventually it will get noticed - if it's brilliant. (of course one audacious fellow insisted he was the exception to that rule. i foolishly forgot to find out about his film. i'd like to have decided for myself).

it's been said before but can't be said enough: pay attention to sound. bad sound will kill a film faster than anything.

your one year on the festival circuit starts from the date of your first festival showing.

you need to design your festival strategy around your goals. first figure out your goals (awards, press (local and/or trade), industry, etc.), then find the festivals that best support those goals.

kathleen recommended the festival book: I Wake up Screening: What to Do Once You've Made That Movie

i highly recommend film independent. they're a non-profit membership organization that also organizes the los angeles film festival.

they have programs and seminars for members, and in partnership with shortfuzed host the monthly cinema lounge short film screenings at temple bar in santa monica.