Leaning on the Festival Circuit is a Lost Cause

Photo by Pavan TrikutamAs difficult as making movies can be, there’s nothing worse than going through the trials and relief of finishing one only to have it sit on the shelf collecting dust because no one is watching it. Even the probability of some viewers disliking it, for whatever reason, still trumps the death of a movie that goes unnoticed.

Last year, I mentioned wanting to ease up on playing the expensive and anxious waiting game that is the film festival submissions process. Between then and now I’ve had constant reminders of how important it is to have several ideas of how the life of a film can flourish – with or without being in a festival lineup.

Of the many things alternative events such as Couch Fest and Secret Cinema has taught me, one is that the industry standard way of showcasing indie films via festival screenings does not have to be the end-all and be-all for anyone’s work. So in the age of evolving technology and the flexible ways people consume their entertainment, I find it interesting how so many of us keep throwing our darts and funding at the same ol’ targets.

While the trajectory of films playing in theaters seem pretty clear – limited or wide release, VOD/Disc rentals (e.g. Netflix, iTunes, Redbox), home video sales, cable television, network television, etc. -- the same cannot be said for the thousands of independently produced shorts and features on the film festival circuit. That’s not even counting the tens of thousands (and counting) of films getting rejection letters from festivals.

L is for LeanLots of indie film producers view festivals as an end-game for our efforts because some of them provide career perks such as opportunities to secure the kind of distribution deals that make it possible for our work to be playing at a theater near you.

Other advantages that could come from getting into festivals include reviews in newspapers and related publicity, representation of some sort, and connections with investors who could fund future work.

Too often, however, this is just a dream since most films don’t play in festivals. Even for those that do, it seems like the life of the film ends there.

It’s bothersome how indie filmmakers often get caught up in the limbo of submitting to festivals, crossing our fingers and hoping for an acceptance letter. We tend to lean on these events too much with the expectation of them bringing us an audience and thus, validating our work. Depending on a third-party to do the work of getting movies seen is not a good idea because it can backfire when we don’t have any other cards in play.

How long do YOU tend to wait for something to pan out before moving onto another opportunity?

Do YOU like to exercise several different options when trying to reach an objective, or go with one that seems the most promising?

Movies Made Me Do It – Becoming a Jack of all Trades

“We cannot change the cards we’re dealt, just how we play the hand.”
- Randy Pausch

In any kind of endeavor that we take on independently, be that making movies, parenting, being novelists, performing music, etc. we must figure out the best plays for the hand we’re dealt, in order to get ours projects off of the ground.

It’s not uncommon to get the feeling that the deck of opportunity and achievement isn’t stacked in your favor, when you’re operating on a small budget. I understand this all too well, having had to play my court cards, essentially becoming a Jack of all Trades between the time it took writing the screenplay for a buddy drama to the day it played in a theater, and then using this movie to benefit the American Red Cross.

Among the multiple hats I wore and several industries I ventured into while bringing the concept of an Army Sergeant’s marriage proposal gone awry, to fruition include:

• Graphic designer, to produce the key art and other promotional materials including the movie poster, World Premiere flyers, raffle tickets, website headers, DVD cover and DVD packaging.

• Web designer, to create the website and online newsletters for “Abyss: The Greatest Proposal Ever.”

• Visual merchandising, to design and create the retail displays during my Red Cross fundraiser.

• Street vending, to sell tangible products during my fundraising initiative in support of the Red Cross.

• Magazine publishing, for the zine I made to introduce military veterans, small businesses and corporations to my work, in request for collaboration on the Red Cross initiative.

J is for JacksWhile this is just a start, it’s all I’ve gathered during the time of writing this blog post. As you can understand, none of these positions have anything to do with what I wanted when the journey for this particular project began, which was basically to write and direct a movie.

Now I look at it as a venture that helped me build on some skills I already had while also allowing me to develop some new ones.

So it was time well spent when I consider that I now have a nice little portfolio that can garner me some gigs if I need some extra work. That’s not too shabby, especially since there’s no telling when any of these “trades” will come in handy sometime in the future.

How often do YOU find yourself in the position of a Jack of all Trades?

If the world ended and communities were rebuilt based on the skills of their inhabitants, what is the one random thing YOU do really well?

15 Insane Misconceptions about Indie Films

Director Mo Ali on the set of his action crime film MONTANAI’d be willing to bet the festival submission fees spent on my film last month that most people have misunderstandings about how the movie industry works. Yet it still never ceases to surprise me when meeting someone whose idea of what constitutes “independent film” goes no further than Sundance or flicks like The Blair Witch Project.

Even hardcore movie fans across the board have the motion picture industry pegged all wrong, according to insiders who set out to debunk a lot of myths floating around in your heads, and into your conversations, like wildfire.

In You're Wrong: 10 Common Movie Blog Reader Misconceptions, Cinemablend’s Josh Tyler and Vanity Fair’s Katey Rich goes on to clear up the ins and outs of how things happen in Hollywood. One of the “straight truths” from these veteran film reviewers is that no matter what movie goers and crabby filmmakers want to believe, box office results do matter; the money made at theaters affects what you’ll be watching in the future.

In Debunking 5 Myths of Independent Cinema, Raindance’s Elliot Grove points out how marketing budgets are huge factors in determining what movies get on your radar as are social media know-how, yet neither of these things indicate whether the film is good or not.

I is for Indie

Are there any aspects of the movie industry that YOU think are absolutely insane?