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The Film Fest Waiting Game

Film Festivals are a great source of exposure for filmmakers.  It could lead to an embarrassment of riches in so far as exposure goes. But in my opinion, based on my own experiences, I would say, do not make it your end all be all route. If you want people to see your work sooner rather than later then push the envelope.  If you have a set plan that doesn't involve deviating of any kind then try the festival submissions process, and try it some more if you want. But understand that when it isn’t working, you have to go to plan B; that may involve some improvisation.

There are several factors that can hinder your ability to get your film seen once you have dedicated yourself to jumping on the festival process bandwagon.  How long you are willing to wait, how many viable options you believe will satisfy your chances of being selected are challenges you have to weigh. And you may likely have to weigh this against immediate gratification with platforms like Youtube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and others.

The most obvious sticking point for how long you want to gamble with time and money - that’s right, handing over cash - is completely up to you.  Waiting comes at a price.  Also, consider that when you wait, your livelihood waits, your actors and crew wait.  In the end, you will definitely ask yourself, was it worth it, should your film get selected?  Was it worth the price of admission if the glut of submissions yields you the same experience as free platforms?  Again, your wallet is much lighter. If you are fortunate enough to get through the door then it is euphoric, of course.  You’ve won!  But if you didn’t win your place in the competition then it is likely time to re-access after a great deal of time and money.  

Life is too short to continue waiting, especially if you believe your content is relevant at the moment.  Months can go by and festivals come and go, and before you know it, years of your life have expired.  You can't get those back.  I know of one documentary that got picked up after seven years of collecting dust.  The filmmaker was shocked that festivals sought him out!  That seems to be an anomaly.  So, after considering all your actions, what do you do when you can wait no longer?   It’s a hard individual choice that is yours to make.  

For my money and my time, I gambled mightily. I broke my proverbial brain trying to educate myself on my festival path.  I took life’s face punch and eventually came to the conclusion that even if it was a necessary process to go through, waiting was a huge mistake with few upsides and some downsides. There is one upside that haunts me in every decision I make now.  How are you going to know the good route from the bad one if you don’t travel either one of them?  The downside? Waiting affects everyone involved in the film project.  People want to see the seeds bare fruit!  Everyone is supposed to get something out of the time and energy they dedicated to the film.  They are looking to you for answers on the set, off the set, and post wrap.  So, yes waiting was consequential but not all was lost.  My biggest mistake was believing that festivals would be the only course of action, the most legitimate course of action I “should” take to get my work seen.  It was not!  It was a time-consuming mistake but fortunately not a catastrophic one.  

Here’s the thing in a nutshell. If you can no longer wait for an acceptance letter from that prestigious festival, look elsewhere.  It doesn’t matter if you've waited for one month or three years.  Patience aside, if one week is too long to wait then don’t wait.  I had loads of patience.  Some have less patience than I do, some have more.  Playing the waiting game is, of course, subjective but if getting your work seen is the goal then do something more, do something bold.

I got it now.  There are various platforms to show my content - Youtube, Vimeo, Amazon, etc. Some are free, others are cost effective.  At the end of the day, it’s about supporting my vision, reaching an audience yearning to see their own ideas about society (in my work) on screens, big and small.  Whatever I can do to make that happen, I’m doing it.  If my work is good, universal forces will not be able to stop my content from reaching as large an audience as possible.  As a matter of fact, universal forces will likely conspire to get my content viewed because I believe in the vision I have for myself.  If you believe in your vision then I believe that that’s the key ingredient to your success.

Raymond