Festival worthiness?

D

D.Mur

Active member
This summer I came across a script from a brilliant writer that just completely blew me away. I thought it was one of the most (if not the most) original shorts I'd ever read. Everyone who came across the script had a similar thought. In fact I sent it to two unestablished producers, who upon reading the script immediately offered to fund the film. Which they did.

After finishing the film, I felt that for the most part we had accomplished what we set out to do but was still unsure of how it would be received. To my surprise, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Which is somewhat strange in film school, as we usually relish the chance to criticize each others work...

I've heard so many non-positive things said about the film festival route that I hadn't considered it much. But I've heard from quite a few people that this film would do pretty well on the festival circuit.

I'd like your honest opinion, do you think this is festival worthy? And if so what type of festivals should I submit to? I don't have a ton of money to throw at festivals so getting a good idea of which types to target would be helpful.

Thoughts?

Password - robot

The Batting Cage 3.jpg
 
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I'd say it has a pretty good shot at a combination of mid-tier festivals and Sci Fi genre festivals.

The acting is... spotty, but it's shot well, has decent sound.
 
gonzo_entertainment said:
I'd say it has a pretty good shot at a combination of mid-tier festivals and Sci Fi genre festivals.

The acting is... spotty, but it's shot well, has decent sound.
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Thanks Gonzo. I was thinking sci-fi festivals would definitely be a good direction to go in. I see that most of your films have been accepted into some mid-tier and sci-fi festivals. How has that been of benefit to you?
 
So far, eh... I've made some good connections. My newest film was edited by a guy I met at a film festival in Nevada. My films have been seen, in the theater, by hundreds of people who would not have otherwise. I've seen a lot of films and learned from their mistakes in addition to my own.

My next project however is a web series because a festival run with a short locks that movie down for about a year. A year you can't release it freely on the internet (because if it is available they usually won't take you). I'm tired of the length of that feedback loop.
 
that year contract thing is bogus - that doesn't reflect the reality. 6 months is enough time for them to know if they want to do something with the short (compilation or something) without competition. A year will make a film stale! Really it should be three months!

Good work on this short film! I think you'll get into a ton of sci-fi festivals - in fact you'll probably have your pick of the liter! it's also a love story. You rocked it out! You got some good locations which worked to your advantage and boy did you guys get your dolly shots in! you win!

The writer in me thinks this is missing something - nothing seems to be at stake and there is no urgency to anything and no tension. The director in me would have cast differently or at least pushed the performances much differently.
 
Check the audience these festivals cater to. Depending on the same match if yours meet what they're offering. Then take a call.
 
I liked it. Well shot and sound was on point. I'm not to hot on the male lead's acting (or possibly his direction), but I loved the female lead. Awesome voice and eyes (very expressive). Good job on implying a world, but not having an expositioney speech spelling it out for us. Props for the Linux reference...
 
john threat said:
Good work on this short film! I think you'll get into a ton of sci-fi festivals - in fact you'll probably have your pick of the liter! it's also a love story. You rocked it out! You got some good locations which worked to your advantage and boy did you guys get your dolly shots in! you win!

The writer in me thinks this is missing something - nothing seems to be at stake and there is no urgency to anything and no tension. The director in me would have cast differently or at least pushed the performances much differently.
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Thanks, I'm starting to feel good about sending this off. About there being nothing at stake, this was something that was brought up in the writing phase. I would say there is tension, but the tension doesn't come from forces in the enviornment. Rather it comes from the idea of will he or will he not find some type of connection with this robot, even though he's committed to selling her. Not sure how well that was executed, but that was were the tension was supposed to come from. Two strong references for me were films like "Before Sunrise" and "Medicine for Melancholy". These films deal with people who meet, form strong attractions, and wrestle with the fact that their time together is limited by some upcoming event that will separate....unless they choose to change that.

mentatDUKE said:
I thought this was pretty enjoyable. Good job.
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Thanks man!

Fahnon said:
I liked it. Well shot and sound was on point. I'm not to hot on the male lead's acting (or possibly his direction), but I loved the female lead. Awesome voice and eyes (very expressive). Good job on implying a world, but not having an expositioney speech spelling it out for us. Props for the Linux reference...
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Yea, I've felt that was my biggest failure. It's a shame because I think that actor is good. I don't think I gave him enough clarity on some of the circumstances of the film. The biggest thing I struggled with was finding truth in his rejection of her. Don't think I succeeded in that but it was a really good learning experience.
 
Just a little constructive criticism: I find the audio lead-ins jarring. It seems to me that they're way too sudden, for what it's worth.
 
Hey guys just wanted to let you know the feedback I've gotten on here has really inspired me to submit this to some higher end festivals.

There are 8-10 I'm submitting to at this point. The three below are on my dream list.

Dream list
1) Cannes (student film section) - A stretch I know, but hey why not?
2) Comic-Con - Would LOVE to get this film in there. I think it's a great fit, and potentially the best possible audience for the film.
3) Worldwide Short Film Festival (Toronto) - Looks like a good number of shorts here get distribution and it's an Oscar qualifier. Would love to get into here.

I also would be happy to get into any one of these three.

1) Atlanta Underground Film Festival
2) Hollywood Shorts Film Festival
3) Burbank International Film Festival (sci-fi portion)

Fingers crossed, will update you guys!
 
I say good luck but remember film festivals are like girls out of your league. Sometimes you want them so bad but that doesn't mean they're going to give you the time of day. Batting average, my friend.
 
Screenforme said:
I say good luck but remember film festivals are like girls out of your league. Sometimes you want them so bad but that doesn't mean they're going to give you the time of day. Batting average, my friend.
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Exactly, that's why I have a "dream" list, a reasonable list, and then a if you don't accept me to your festival I should just probably stop making films list.
 
I liked your piece, think your onto summit, felt a bit too long if im honest though.
Its very difficult deciding wether to attempt festivals eh, good luck :-)
 
dwyz said:
I liked your piece, think your onto summit, felt a bit too long if im honest though.
Its very difficult deciding whether to attempt festivals eh, good luck :-)
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Thanks, and yea the length of the piece has always been something we wrestled with. The first cut was 21 minutes!

Our shortest cut was about 1.5 minutes shorter then this but then when I screened in class quite a few people said we didn't give it room to breathe. When we screened this cut it got a much better reception both in and out of school. That said, I could see how someone could find the last act to be a little too long. SPOLIER ALERT. Someone suggested to me to leave out the entire last scene and end at the batting cage. I think in some ways that makes sense, but doing that would only give a stronger arc to Gail and make the story more about her. Not a bad idea, just not what I was going for.
 
Wooo hooo! Today we got accepted into our first festival. It's not Cannes or Sundance...but there are are some GREAT prizes for best picture/best director, ect ect. The awards ceremony is March 4th, will keep you all updated.

After March 4th I'll put up the name of the festival!
 
I thought the male lead was pretty good. The female...not so much. Certainly eye-candy but she comes across as a model who was cast for a part based on her looks and not her acting ability, this short with a really good actress + more specific direction would be much stronger. Her introduction where she smiles as she wakes up doesn't come across as genuine and really diminishes the believability of the story. That said I still enjoyed it overall, it has some heart -- maybe a bit cliche, but certainly not the worst offender in that regard --it certainly seems like this could be placed at some fests.
 
Congrats on getting into the fest!
On another note, I wanted to see what you guys think of this?
I accidentally submitted to the Nashville Film Fest on WAB, but I never paid the fee or sent the film to them to watch, and of course I don't know of a way to delete submissions on WAB.
My favorite part is the underlined section.
I got a rejection letter today saying:

Dear Brandon,

Unfortunately, your film Enemy of the Mind, has not been selected for the 2012 Nashville Film Festival.

We received more than 2,900 entries this year and the decision process was a difficult one. Our process allows for each film to be seen a minimum of two times, some film are seen up to five times prior to rejection or acceptance.

If you have questions regarding our decision, please email filmmakers@nashvillefilmfestival.org and we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can. We ask that you email and do not call as we are still in the notification process.

If you are curious to see which films made the selection, we will begin public announcements on February 29, continuing through the end of March.

We wish you the best of luck in the future and thank you for submitting.

Sincerely,
Wm. Brian Owens
Artistic Director
Nashville Film Festival

Comments?

EDIT FEB 23 at 9:26 p.m. :
THEY ARE WATCHING!
Just wanted to update that as of right now, Feb 23, my status in WAB has CHANGED to the Nashville Film Fest RECEIVING THE FILM TODAY FEB. 23 AFTER I POSTED THIS FIRST POST ON IT but I'm yet still unpaid...and never sent the film.
here's the link to my screen capture
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e134/lestcasey/2-23-20129-25-16PM-1.png
 
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