How can film festival submissions help you build your brand as a filmmaker?

1 Why branding matters

Branding is the process of creating a distinctive identity and image for yourself or your product, based on your values, vision, and style. Branding helps you stand out from the crowd, communicate your message, and attract your target audience. As a filmmaker, branding is essential to establish your reputation, credibility, and recognition in the competitive film industry. It also helps you connect with potential collaborators, funders, distributors, and fans.

2 How to define your brand

Before you submit your film to any festival, it's important to have a clear idea of your brand and how you want to present it. To define your brand, consider questions such as what your unique voice and perspective as a filmmaker is, what your goals and values are, what themes, genres, and styles you explore in your films, who your ideal audience is and what they expect from you, and how you want to be perceived and remembered by the film community. Once you have answered these questions, you can create a consistent and compelling brand identity that reflects your personality, vision, and values.

3 How to choose the right festivals

The next step is to research and select the festivals that best suit your brand and your film. There are thousands of film festivals around the world, each with its own focus, criteria, and audience. You need to find the ones that align with your brand identity, genre, theme, and style. You also need to consider the reputation, exposure, and networking opportunities that each festival offers. Some festivals may be more prestigious, influential, or competitive than others, while some may be more niche, supportive, or experimental. You need to weigh the pros and cons of each festival and decide which ones are worth your time, money, and effort.

4 How to prepare your submission

Once you have chosen the festivals that you want to apply to, you need to prepare your submission materials carefully and professionally. This includes your film, of course, but also your press kit, synopsis, bio, trailer, poster, and social media presence. All these elements should reflect your brand identity and highlight your strengths as a filmmaker. You need to make sure that your submission is clear, concise, and complete, and that it follows the guidelines and deadlines of each festival. You also need to write a compelling cover letter that explains why your film is a good fit for the festival and what you hope to achieve by participating.

5 How to promote your film

After you have submitted your film, you need to promote it and generate some buzz around it. This means creating and maintaining a strong online presence, using platforms such as your website, blog, social media, newsletters, podcasts, and videos. You need to share your film's story, behind-the-scenes, reviews, awards, and screenings, and engage with your audience, peers, and industry professionals. You also need to network and build relationships with other filmmakers, festival organizers, programmers, jurors, critics, and media outlets. You need to be proactive, courteous, and confident, and showcase your brand personality and values.

6 How to measure your success

Finally, you need to evaluate and measure your success and learn from your experience. To do this, you should track and analyze the results and feedback from your film festival submissions. Examples include how many festivals accepted or rejected your film, the reaction of viewers, the exposure and recognition you gained, contacts, opportunities, and collaborations generated, and whether your goals were achieved. This information can then be used to improve your brand strategy, identify strengths and weaknesses, and plan your next steps.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?