{"id":1597,"date":"2025-07-01T21:23:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?p=1597"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:23:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:23:27","slug":"film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Film Festival Submissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yes, the idea of submitting your work to festivals is thrilling\u2014but it can also take a lot of paperwork. Not only do filmmakers need to perfect their project\u2019s synopsis and logline, but they also need to craft a biography and director\u2019s statement to go in a digital press kit with visual assets and promotional materials. And then, there is the cover letter for each specific entry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skipping that last step is like \u201csending in a job application without a cover letter,\u201d says Jon Kieran, a programming director at the Atlanta Film Festival. \u201cThat would be crazy to me. It\u2019s a very important tool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what exactly should go in this document? How concise should it be? What do programmers want from a cover letter? Read on for everything you need to know.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is a film festival cover letter important?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA cover letter can show that I was in good hands with the filmmaker, that they knew where they were taking me, and what their intent was,\u201d says Drea Clark, the artistic director for Arkansas\u2019 Bentonville Film Festival. While anyone who makes an independent film is obviously enthusiastic about the craft, Clark says that \u201ctaking the time to add a cover letter\u201d proves to her that the director \u201chas even more follow-through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebekah Louisa Smith, a strategist who works as the Film Festival Doctor<\/mark><\/a>, says the cover letter is a chance to show how \u201cconfident and passionate\u201d you are about your project. She notes that projecting self-assuredness can help you<\/em>, as well, as there are usually \u201ca lot of nerves and anxiety when submitting to festivals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to include in a film festival cover letter<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Cover letters should only be two or three short paragraphs\u2014somewhere around 300 words. \u201cProgrammers don\u2019t want to read long letters,\u201d says Smith. \u201cIt should be direct, succinct, and to the point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before writing, read through the festival\u2019s FilmFreeway profile to find the programmer\u2019s name, so you can address the cover letter directly to that person instead of to a general reader, like \u201cTo whom it may concern.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take emotion out of the process, and don\u2019t waste time going into extreme detail on your ultra-low budget or long preproduction history. \u201cWhat you really need to tell them is why the film is a really good fit for their festival,\u201d says Smith. For example, make sure to highlight any connections to the fest\u2019s location, whether you shot there or a member of the cast or crew has ties to the city. \u201cThese are the key angles,\u201d she adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it\u2019s unlikely that a film will have a geographic connection to every<\/em> festival you submit to. In that case, explain why it\u2019s the right fit for the event\u2019s themes. Maybe you\u2019re bringing a practical effects\u2013filled sci-fi short to a genre festival like Fantastic Fest<\/mark><\/a>, or a coming-of-age queer drama to the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival<\/mark><\/a>.<\/mark> \u201cA director\u2019s statement is about their artistic inspiration,\u201d says Clark. \u201cThe cover letter is what connects it to a specific festival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also the space to explain what makes your work authentic. Maybe you\u2019ve hired an all-female cast and crew, or have a specific expertise that ties into the story.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kieran loves to see submitters getting creative. \u201cMost people who have sent us films have written their own scripts. I really appreciate seeing some style and point of view in a cover letter,\u201d he says, adding that it\u2019s extra effective if you can match the tone to your genre. \u201cIf you\u2019re submitting a comedy, make it funny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Film festival cover letter example\u00a0<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Smith has a cover letter template that she provides to filmmakers. Take a look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear <\/em>[insert the name of the festival director or shorts programmer or features programmer here; do not put \u201cSir\/Madam\u201d],<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Briefly introduce yourself and your project. For example:] My name is Joe Bloggs, and I am a Cleveland, Ohio\u2013born-and-raised filmmaker who has recently completed and submitted to your festival my debut short film, shot in Cleveland and Columbus. The tracking number is <\/em>[XXX].\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Mention if the film stars anyone famous or recognizable.]\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Explain why it\u2019s unique; fits the festival\u2019s programming themes, mission statement, and vision; and why it will appeal to their audience\u2019s taste and interests. For example:] [\u201cName of film\u201d] is a fast-paced horror short that tells the story from the monster\u2019s point of view to give a fresh approach to the horror genre, allowing us to sympathize and understand the \u201cwhy\u201d behind their violent actions. I chose to tell this story to fill a gap in the genre market, and it\u2019s executed in a way that will resonate with your loyal genre audience and serve as the perfect fit for your late-night shorts programming block.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Explain briefly why you are a fan of this festival\u2014specifically what you like about its curation, energy, and vibe\u2014and if you and\/or a representative from your team can attend if selected.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":1599,"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-1597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Write a Film Festival Cover Letter (With Example)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter for your project that will set you apart.\" \/>\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\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Write a Film Festival Cover Letter (With Example)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter for your project that will set you apart.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmFreeway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T21:23:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T21:23:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1268\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jalen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gregory Wakeman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jalen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1\"},\"headline\":\"How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Film Festival Submissions\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-01T21:23:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T21:23:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":861,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Write a Film Festival Cover Letter (With Example)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-01T21:23:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T21:23:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1\"},\"description\":\"Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter for your project that will set you apart.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg\",\"width\":1900,\"height\":1268,\"caption\":\"TippaPatt\\\/Shutterstock\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Film Festival Submissions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"FilmFreeway\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1\",\"name\":\"jalen\",\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Write a Film Festival Cover Letter (With Example)","description":"Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter for your project that will set you apart.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Write a Film Festival Cover Letter (With Example)","og_description":"Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter for your project that will set you apart.","og_url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/","og_site_name":"FilmFreeway","article_published_time":"2025-07-01T21:23:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-01T21:23:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1900,"height":1268,"url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jalen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gregory Wakeman","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/"},"author":{"name":"jalen","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1"},"headline":"How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Film Festival Submissions","datePublished":"2025-07-01T21:23:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T21:23:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/"},"wordCount":861,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg","articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/","url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/","name":"How to Write a Film Festival Cover Letter (With Example)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-01T21:23:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T21:23:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1"},"description":"Here\u2019s what the film festival experts have to say about crafting a killer cover letter for your project that will set you apart.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2455678823.jpg","width":1900,"height":1268,"caption":"TippaPatt\/Shutterstock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/film-festival-cover-letter-example-advice\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Film Festival Submissions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/","name":"FilmFreeway","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1","name":"jalen","url":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1597"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1624,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions\/1624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}