I think this festival is a bad apple or even a fake.
We were supposed to run in the festival in April 2021 and there was...
*no hint that the festival really took place
*no information whether the festival was to be hold online or in cinema
*not any advertisement, posting, etc. to inform the public about the event. Nor before, nor during the event, nor after
*not any chance to take part, stay informed etc.
*not a clue who was part of the jury and why
*no reviews of the winning films
*not a clue how many people joined the screening
*no photos of the event or jury meeting or anything. The only photos that are used are stills from the movies or stock
*no website, only a poorly updated twitter and facebook
*almost no press or media covering of the festival
The only thing that they did is uploading the Laurels and constantly communicating about their new deadline. I guess because film submissions bring the money.
So I confronted the festival team and found everything confirmed what I had expected. Here is some of what they replied:
--
"we are an awards-only digital festival, without a public screening."
"We do not screen to the public, nor do we make our screenings available anywhere aside from being viewed by our panel of judges"
"we do not have a list of judges that we continuously keep employed."
"we have not updated Twitter. We had a few issues with a previously employed social media manager that forced us to not update social media this season."
"our response is purely out of generosity. Please do not send us demands, as we are very busy."
--
Just as on filmfreeway there was no name in the e-mail to be hold accountable. How they switch between "festival" and "award" in their announcements seems also like phishing to me, because there is a difference at least in how you perceive the event.
So I guess next year I could also start a movie award in my living room - not telling anybody about it and not telling who actually "judges" the movies but getting some money from that.
I mean there is a tiny chance that this festival is not a fake but the most unprofessional you might have ever seen. But in both cases it's the filmmakers loss.
I have no clue where the 31 positive reviews come from and I am very curious to get to know experiences of other participants.
When I wrote this review the status of their facebook and twitter was still the same. So have a look yourself.
I'm writing all this because we need fairness and solidarity in the business.
Take care and prove me wrong!
