{"id":1568,"date":"2025-06-13T15:56:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T15:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?p=1568"},"modified":"2025-06-13T15:56:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T15:56:36","slug":"what-festivals-look-for-in-a-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/what-festivals-look-for-in-a-film\/","title":{"rendered":"What Festivals Actually Look for in a Film"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Filmmakers can feel helpless when figuring out where to submit their film. Of course, they want their stories to be seen and appreciated, but they also want to ensure that they\u2019re targeting the right festivals, the ones where they have a good chance of being accepted and reaching the right audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what are festivals actually looking for in a film submission? How do programmers decide which films make the cut? And what can filmmakers do to boost their odds? We\u2019ve got some answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do festivals judge submissions?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When Ben Thompson, vice president of shorts programming at the Tribeca Film Festival<\/mark><\/a>, watches a film for consideration, he says he first looks for how well it \u201cengages the audience with its character.\u201d That\u2019s especially important in shorts, because filmmakers have such a \u201climited amount of time with the audience. You want to connect them to your protagonist really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson shares that Tribeca programmers rate a short film on a numerical scale, scoring its direction, originality, structure, story, execution, and quality individually before tallying up its score. For feature-length projects, programmers often specialize by genre, keeping an eye on filmmakers they already know while also watching new submissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt really comes down to whether we have a sense of what the film is trying to do. Programming is a job where people will watch something they love and then immediately look to share it,\u201d explains Thompson. \u201cBut if the story doesn\u2019t work, [or] it feels derivative, like something we\u2019ve seen hundreds of times before, that won\u2019t fit the festival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At South by Southwest, senior film and TV festival programmer Peter Hall prefers to watch a film with as little information as possible. He says, \u201cProgrammers will watch movies and leave feedback. Over months, we assemble a large pile of maybes. Then, towards the end, we whittle it down, start ranking films and weighing them against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hall says SXSW is especially interested in films with a \u201csense of discovery\u201d\u2014which could mean a \u201cfirst-time filmmaker, or a filmmaker that\u2019s made a bunch of films but is working in a genre they haven\u2019t explored before.\u201d He adds, \u201cA film needs to catch us off-guard for one reason or another. But there\u2019s no checklist or silver bullet for what that reason is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to make sure your film is ready\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Short films need to be as concise as possible, insists Thompson. A leaner runtime means a higher chance of the project being accepted, because programmers are often balancing tight schedules and limited slots. \u201cMinutes can be crucial when we\u2019re organizing the short film schedule,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes we\u2019ll pick a film that\u2019s 12 or 16 minutes long over a 19-minute-long short because of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s tempting for filmmakers to submit their work to the \u201cbig five\u201d film festivals<\/mark><\/a> (Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Toronto), Thompson emphasizes that filmmakers need to recognize if their film is a \u201csuitable\u201d match for those festivals. \u201cThe best thing they can do is research,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hall agrees, suggesting filmmakers \u201clook up the last several years of programming at each festival\u201d and see if they can find a \u201chandful of films that compare.\u201d If so, he says, \u201cYou\u2019re probably on the right track.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson reminds filmmakers not to overlook the smaller festivals, too. He points to the Seattle International Film Festival<\/mark><\/a>\u2019s 50-year longevity and its thoughtful programming, engaged audiences, and great atmosphere for visiting filmmakers. Likewise, the Cleveland International Film Festival<\/mark><\/a> consistently has an incredible lineup. \u201cPeople on the street might not have heard of these film festivals, but people in the industry know about their reputations,\u201d says Thompson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to timing, Thompson believes it doesn\u2019t hurt to enter your film as early as possible\u2014obviously, after double-, triple-, and quadruple-checking that it\u2019s ready<\/mark><\/a>. \u201cWith features, don\u2019t mess around. We\u2019ve had films that have been submitted right at the start of our submission window that everyone agrees are amazing and we can\u2019t wait to invite them,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also important to save your premiere status for the most prominent festivals. If programmers are deciding between screening two films and one has already made its debut at another event, then \u201cthe world premiere is going to have an advantage,\u201d admits Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other essentials\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While programmers ultimately judge a film on its quality, there are small but beneficial steps that filmmakers can take<\/mark><\/a> to leave a good impression. \u201cA working [screener] link is a good start,\u201d says Thompson. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of amazing how many filmmakers submit to the festival and don\u2019t have that, or the password is incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Festivals will consider incomplete films, but the submitted version needs to reflect what the finished product will be. \u201cIt\u2019s a rookie mistake to ask a film festival to watch a film several times,\u201d Hall explains. \u201cThe biggest mistake is to send in a rough cut, just so it\u2019s submitted before the deadline, then two months later ask a programmer to watch a new cut.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filmmakers should also be mindful of how often they reach out to programmers for updates. \u201cI understand that people are very enthusiastic, and it\u2019s hard when [you] don\u2019t have any control in the process,\u201d says Thompson. \u201cBut you need to know where the boundaries lie and be respectful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong written materials can also make a difference. Hall always tells filmmakers to make sure they have a compelling synopsis and logline, as the projects that do usually go straight to the top of his watch list. He also recommends having a photographer on set to capture behind-the-scenes images and stills, as these prove crucial for promotional materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, don\u2019t underestimate the importance of showing up. Filmmakers should attend as many festivals as possible\u2014not only because they can see how audiences react to their films, but they also get to meet like-minded individuals and potential collaborators. \u201cAudiences seeing their film is why filmmakers make their films in the first place,\u201d says Thompson. \u201cIf you\u2019re not there to see that, you\u2019re missing out on one of the best parts of the festival experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tribeca and SXSW festival programmers share practical advice on how to make your film submission stand out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":1570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Festivals Actually Look for in a Film<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tribeca and SXSW festival programmers share practical advice on how to make your film submission stand out.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/what-festivals-look-for-in-a-film\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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