Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival

If you are a filmmaker looking to move forward in your career Lift-Off is exactly where you should start. From one to one marketing consulting, to exposure to sales agents, talent agents and press we are the launch pad for unsung raw filmmaking talent.

Manchester Lift-Off is not like any other film festival in Manchester or the North of England by any stretch of the imagination. We are a professional showcase, where the priority is our filmmakers making the next step in their careers. From representation at Cannes, EFM in Berlin, The American Film Market and beyond, Manchester Lift-Off is not a self-serving festival aiming to be some star prioritising, red carpet affair.

Global interest in indie cinema from the North of England has always been high - from mainland Europe to the coasts of America - sales agents, distributors and talent managers are on the hunt for new voices. Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival is the arena where we pitch professional and student film from the North of England against an international programme from around the world. With the prizes of global screenings and representation at the major film markets, submitting to Manchester Lift-Off is an easy choice.

Manchester's character is defined as much by its people, its history and achievements. The city is one of the most multicultural in the UK, with nearly 200 languages spoken. Over the centuries many people have chosen Manchester as their home. Greater Manchester’s Jewish community, for example, is the largest outside of London. A huge Chinatown, centred around the impressive imperial arch, is the second largest in the UK. Ever popular for its countless restaurants, Asian supermarkets and events, Chinatown fills the area with vibrant colour and flavours.

With so many cultures rubbing shoulders with one another, it’s no surprise that Manchester has an excellent reputation for entertainment, food and drink. It is a city on the rise and we want you to become a part of it!

Lift-Off is in Manchester to capitalise on the opportunities within the filmmaking and media capital of the North of England. The second city of the United Kingdom and an absolute powerhouse in the generation of culture and artistic risk-taking.

Lift-Off is a thriving global community of artists and your association can be as big as you want it to be. From global screenings, distribution, PR support and production work - just from submitting to us alone you are opening yourself up to some genuine opportunities that lie ahead.

Submission to any of our festivals in 2018 entitles you to free entry to all of our 2018 festivals around the world! Your submission confirmation email will include a 100% discount code which you can use upon purchase of your festival attendance tickets. 

❀ Manchester Lift-Off is one of the ten Lift-Off Film Festivals spread throughout the year and all over the globe.

❀ The Lift-Off Film Festival Global Network has a unique model which is nothing like any film festival you have ever heard of before.

We give genuine-opportunity to filmmakers right from the submission level. Introductions to regional and international sales agents, distributors and talent managers.

To understand more head here...
www.lift-off-festivals.com/lift-off-helps-filmmakers

❀ The Lift-Off Film Festival Network also offers to all of our Officially Selected Filmmakers in the shorts categories, the opportunity to gain fair VOD distribution agreements across multiple platforms.

Lift-Off Film Festival Collection | Best of 2010-15
ondemand.lift-off-festivals.com

❀ Want to see our season awards in action? Here is a video featuring some of the highlights of our 2015 Season Awards held at the world famous Pinewood Studios - including interviews with our filmmakers and the Lift-Off Film Festival Network Co-Founders. https://vimeo.com/151050496

Manchester Lift-Off is a film festival that forms part of a wider network of connected film festivals around the world. A unique channel consisting of ten global cities and an on-demand platform. By submitting to any Lift-Off Film Festival you are giving your work the unique possibility of joining the only real alternative to global distribution and an institution determined to create a fairer industry.

Lift-Off's aim is to help you launch your professional life within film.

Showcasing your work around the world, building press coverage, exposing you to sales agents, distributors, global production companies, talent agencies, and worldwide producers.

The festival will welcome work from all over the North of England and the rest of the world. We expect to receive films with courage, personable endeavour and unique voices.

✈ Feedback Options. Lift-Off Extended Feedback.

When you screen with any Lift-Off City we will be asking the attending audience for their feedback, and we will be sending that feedback to you. Audience responses are vital in understanding how your work sits on it's own merit, and we don't shy away from sending you the best of the best and the worst of the worst.

When your film screens around the world you might be surprised what you can learn.

We can also offer simple feedback sent in from our judges at no charge, however, sometimes this can be as simple as a single sentence and not very productive for you. So, with the help of our team, we have come up with a solid/full-rounded feedback procedure called 'Lift-Off Extended Feedback'.

We offer this to our filmmakers who are willing to pay for the valued time of the people assessing their work, we offer Extended and Extensive Feedback.

The qualified reviewer gives a full breakdown covering every aspect of your work. This includes analysis of the film language, the acting, the technical aspects and the artistic intention. Included with this are next step recommendations and a retrospective review all in a concise and easy to decipher PDF - - as shown in the image here...

http://i1.wp.com/www.lift-off-festivals.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/feedback.png

The feedback submission option is a simple flat fee which covers the submission to this festival and the reviewers time. This option is displayed at the side of this listing titled 'Lift-Off Extended Feedback' - this covers films or scripts of all types, lengths, media and genres.

The reviewers are made up of our festival founders James Bradley and Ben Pohlman, along with a fully qualified member of our selection committee.

The aim of Lift-Off Extended Feedback is to give the filmmaker and/or production team, a valued insight into the judging process and detail of a festival selection, but also the emotional response to the technical and philosophical intent behind the work - from a professionals stand-point. The overall goal is to build an understanding of the challenges, and to give invaluable insight into the next steps with professional and solid creative guidance - all delivered on a clear and easy to read, multi-page, fully personalised document.

Depending on demand, feedback can take up to three months to be delivered after the festivals commencement.

❀ Judge Transparency Feedback ❀

An excellent opportunity for filmmakers looking to acquire a clearer insight into how festival judges perceive their film, and how they can prosper in the indie film industry. Scores and notes for your submission, written by our qualified in-house judging team, will be collated and sent directly to you. Including the submission, you will also receive an exclusive eBook which details the criteria for getting selected into a film festival.

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Find our other festivals on FilmFreeway!

If you wish to spread your risk, all of our other Lift-Off Film Festivals are listed on FIlmFreeway. Simply head to the search section and type "Lift-Off" - you will then see a list of all of our brilliant festivals.

Each and every one of them sit at different stages of deadlines, so prices will vary, please take your pick.

Current active Lift-Off Cities...

✈ Berlin ✈ Manchester ✈ Tokyo ✈ New York ✈ Toronto ✈ Los Angeles ✈ Amsterdam ✈ Paris ✈ Sydney ✈ London.

Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/BerlinLiftOffFilmFestival

Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/ManchesterLiftOffFilmFestival

Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/TokyoLiftOffFilmFestival

New York Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/NewYorkLiftOffFilmFestival

Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/TorontoLiftOffFilmFestival

Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/LosAngelesLiftOffFilmFestival

Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/AmsterdamLiftOffFilmFestiva

Paris Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/ParisLiftOffFilmFestival

Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/SydneyLiftOffFilmFestival

London Lift-Off Film Festival:
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/LondonLiftOffFilmFestival