The Book
What is it about?
Whether you’ve produced one or several films, the aim is to promote and market your film. There is no better way to achieve this than via film festivals. The trouble is it is a challenging and expensive path to tread. This book aims to provide insight and a strategy to improve your film’s chances of acceptance when Submitting To Film Festivals.
You And Your Film
Making a film takes a great deal of investment in both time and money. Once your movie is complete, you still have further costs. These are for distribution, and you have no choice if you want to get your film seen. So you have to factor in these costs at the outset. Gaining acceptance into film festivals makes some of an independent filmmaker’s dreams come true. It represents the best way to gain acclaim and recognition for your work. You will find valuable information about preparing your film, how festivals work and their requirements. You will also learn how to package your movie.
Where Do You Place Your Film?
With so many platforms to choose from, The largest and most used is FilmFreeway It is considered the number one platform and used by millions of filmmakers and festival curators. I will guide you on how to get your film uploaded to the platform and submit it to some of the best festivals in the world. At the beginning of 2023 the book was updated to the present and most up-to-date version. It looks at the cause and effect of COVID-19 and the rise and fall of various platforms and festivals.
* * * BEFORE YOU START SUBMITTING * * *
Be aware there are many SCAM FILM FESTIVALS out there. I have a special page dedicated to the subject. I suggests actions you can take and what you should do to prepare yourself. Make sure you don’t fall for their unscrupulous tactics and tricks. Research means knowledge, knowledge will be good for your bank account.
Where Do You Place Your Film?
Our world has changed since the advent of COVID, but creativity and desire have not. Festivals and filmmakers want to and have to evolve. World economics are changing. How we live is changing. This we now take into consideration. As a filmmaker and film festival director, I now understand how and why I made so many mistakes. Regardless of your experience, this book will help you improve your success rate.
I have created a selection of Free Templates and Cheat Sheets Resources that are mentioned in the book. Please feel free to download and use any of them. Click here or got to the RESOURCE PAGE.
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Quotes From The Book
“If you understand the key areas that film festivals operate under, you will see they are (in the main) your friends and not the enemy.”
“The question of what you’re planning to do with your film comes at the start of the process and not at the end. Building awareness is not easy and getting it distributed successfully is difficult.”
“A great deal of work is carried out to reach the submission stage. You can’t afford to treat festivals as an afterthought.”
Dr. Isabella Hermann talks about Anthony Straeger
As an independent filmmaker, you submit your films to festivals. Sometimes you get accepted and you’re happy and even win an award. Sometimes your film is rejected and you are disappointed or even frustrated.This guide by Anthony Straeger details how you can be more often happy – And less often disappointed., and above all, more professional.Three Important Points In The Book
- It shows you how to keep away from unsuitable or poorly organized festivals and find those that fit your work. This is good for everyone. For a transparent and well-organized film festival, rejecting a badly submitted film can be frustrating.
- The book instructs about what is important when submitting your film. This includes everything from the format, and subtitles to credits. It has a special focus on the top platform FilmFreeway.
- It advises you on marketing opportunities and how to act at the festival once selected. There’s a chapter on the important basics to look out for when making a film in the first place. Because that’s what it’s all about – making good films and showing them to people!
To Conclude
Anthony Straeger has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of the film business, so he knows both perspectives, what filmmakers want, and what film festivals need. I myself have learned how festivals work from his book (and him personally) since I was not involved in the film business until three years ago. As a political scientist, I do academic research on science-fiction, so I became engaged with the Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest, co-founded and co-lead by Anthony, where I also act as Co-Director now. I can say that Anthony is passionate about films, very motivating and refreshingly direct – that’s the supportive style of how this conclusive guide is written.Dr. Isabella Hermann – Popular Political Science
