Boost your film festival submission strategy

I get to see a lot of production submissions as part of my role as Director of the British Urban Film Festival and Women Of The Lens Film Festival and this stands me in good stead to know what contributes to making entries more successful.

I have a few highlights below (in no particular order). And yeah, this list is not exhaustive!

Get planning in pre-production: any strategy must start from the beginning and your marketing team should get an inkling about festival submission in pre-production as marketing tactics begin to take shape. The marketing plan should include a festival strategy.

Allocate a budget:

Look at the early-bird entry: many festivals will provide you with a discount the earlier you enter the festival. Be prepared to enter earlier as this could add money to your budget - and that's always a good thing.

What are your submissions goals?:

In your marketing plan, your festival strategy should include submission goals. So, are you seeking to pitch your short film for a prospective feature? Are you looking for a distribution deal? Are you wanting to raise your profile? Answers to these and other goal directions will help you to better select the festivals you enter.

Read the values and ethos of the festival: Ah...the amount of times I've seen productions being entered that have none of the values, niches, or themes of a festival. What a waste of submission fees! Any worthwhile festival will spell out what 'they're about'. Many of them have this in the title of the festival, so that's a dead giveaway. Make sure you understand what these are prior to your entry as you most likely won't get your submission fees returned if your production doesn't fit the bill.

Check the location: as well as film screenings, festivals want to pack a memorable programme and director, crew or actor presence at their festival should your film be part of their programme is a plus. Find out if there'll be opportunity to take part in the programme beyond your film being screened. Attend on time and be ready to market yourself and your production.

Research the festival: like...I'm sad to say, there are some scammers out there. Do your due diligence from the get-go in pre-production. Check for a website, if there isn't one, that's a red flag. Have a look at the social media, is it kosher? Are there any testimonies? Does it have a dubious title? Has it had any press? These are all things to be careful of and to make note of in your strategy.

Some you win, some you loose: look, you're not gonna get into every festival you submit to. Should your entry be declined, it would be good to get an indication as to why that's the case and many festivals will provide you with an answer. Even if they don't, accept that you were not successful at that occasion and keep it moving without any hard feelings.

Fully populate your Filmfreeway entry: entering by Filmfreeway? Make sure that you fill in your profile, production, entry in full! Pictures, posters, director statement, an-all!

Get your socials in order: one good thing about social media now is that you don't have to be on multiple channels. What's most important is engagement and consistency. Choose a channel and make sure you feed it regularly using a social media strategy. It's also good practice to engage with the festival's social media too - like, share and comment on posts that feature your film and its programme and of course share any ticket information. Edit Update: get ready and be sure to submit all your social media handles to the festival. In any case these should already be in your media kit and/or entered on your Filmfreeway profile. When the marketing begins, the festival will be able to easily tag or mention you in their own online tactics. It's not up to the festival to 'find you' on social media! I repeat, the onus is not on the festival to look you up to find your social media handles. Listen...there's just not enough time.

Consistent Communication: make sure that you list an email that you use regularly. Once you've been selected, most good festivals will ramp up the communication with you about all manner of things including technical info about how to submit your film i.e. DCP or bluray etc. You shouldn't be in a position to miss emails - and check your spam/junk if it's the first time you're communicating with anyone as part of the festival.

Media Kit: this links into your Filmfreeway entry and should be part of your marketing strategy in any case. Your EPK or media kit should contain your film posters (social media friendly), trailers, crew, talent biog entries, long/short synopsis and head-shots as a minimum.

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I think that the festival circuit is gaining more importance as a result in part, of the upheaval of changes happening in Hollywood right now. Those changes includes a rethink about what was once popular and this includes how we watch films at the cinema and the increased role of festivals, particularly for independent productions. Use festivals wisely as you begin your career in the industry.

• Does any of this resonate with you?
• Did I miss anything?
• What strategies have worked for you?
• Let us know!

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???? Hey, I’m Jennifer. I work in the film industry and I deliver social media strategy for organisations to include the film industry, NGOs, charities, education and personal brands.

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