Today’s blog is about my entry into the film festival world and my limited experience thus far.
I started entering Breaking Through The Clouds into some film festivals and the announcements are just now trickling in. So far, BTTC has played at the Reel Stuff Film Festival (part of National Aviation Hall of Fame) and the Ohio Independent Film Festival. Today I learned that the Tulsa International Film Festival selected BTTC as part of it’s line-up (can I get a yaaa). I also learned of another one that it was accepted into but will have to wait until next week to announce it. I expect to hear more results in the coming weeks.
I am finding that film festivals are a bit of a strange mix. Nearly every town seems to have it’s own film festival now-a-days and everyone I talk to seems to want me to enter my film in their local town’s festival (I’m grateful for the support and recommendation). Some festivals are fantastic with hard working individuals doing their best for something they believe in – more on that further down in this article. Others seem like an idea someone hatched to raise money. The people behind these film festivals have no intention of really promoting or selecting truly independent films, even though they say they will. They prey on the hopes & dreams of artists wishing to “make it”.
The big festivals appear to be mostly reliant on shock value for content. They also rely on lots of PR from the right people (usually smaller arms of big Hollywood or TV production companies or studios). I find the truly independent film maker doesn’t really stand a chance in that environment. I was told by one film festival director that 80 to 90% of the films are already selected for the festival before general submissions are even open. Deals are made with big time production companies to get their film viewed and promoted to create buzz for awards. This revelations was truly disheartening to hear, especially since the PR works as most people refer to what is being fed to them without knowing they are being “sold” to (something I am seeing more and more).
Many films that are out there and making it are trendy, shocking and “DIFFERENT” in the way that the kids in high school all wear black, get tattoos and piercing so they can be different, just like everyone else. You can find numerous films on the same topic every year: hoarding, obesity, etc. This is true with networks and television as well. The current trend in TV is all about “reality” – putting narcissistic people in odd situations and seeing what happens (I’ll save that commentary for another blog posting).
Of course there really are some incredible stories/films out there.. but MANY of the ones you hear about all have financial backers and supporters to help them get it made and there most certainly is the whole marketing side of things. The independent producer just doesn’t stand a chance against the big guns since these film’s marketing budget can be more than our actual film’s budget. These big productions also often have access to lots of staff, money and know who they need to rub shoulders with while a true independent is still learning the process. It seems a bit lopsided to have these films listed in the same categories as “independent films” in these big festivals. When you have commercials, NPR, NY Times reviews and ads all over the place, of course more people are going to be aware of the film. For someone like myself, it’s all I could do to make the film, let alone promote at the same level as some of these others. The same is true with putting a compelling story on the Afghan war against an uplifting, inspiring story about women who flew in 1929. Even if they are both compelling and well done, it’s hard to compare them.
When looking through a specific database that most film makers must use to enter film festivals, I did a search for “history”. Of the over 6,000 festivals listed, not one focussing on history came up. I did the same search for women’s film festivals and found a dozen or so, many of them for short films but a few for feature length. Of course there’s absolutely no film festival on women’s history – something I would like to remedy if given the opportunity.
Then there are the festivals that are truly earnest in their intentions of supporting the film maker and the story being told. These are typically small festivals with people who have big hearts and believe in the mission of supporting the arts. While these festivals may not get the same buzz as Sundance or Silverdocs, they are the ones really reaching out to help the independent film maker in my opinion and are truly supportive. These are the ones I prefer!
I have made a conscious effort to enter BTTC into the small film festivals that truly care. It’s hard to always know which ones these are but so far, I have been fortunate to find it in both Real Stuff and the Ohio Independent Flm Festival. The experiences have been like supporting a local community business where we mutually help each other. Ron Kaplan, the director of Reel Stuff, truly made me feel appreciated for all the hard work I put into BTTC and the message I was putting out there. He gave me a compliment in one of his introductory statements which I have always treasured. He said in essence that BTTC is an incredible film and truly not getting the recognition it deserves. In saying this, he was, in my opinion, alluding to the fact that a film maker must somehow get in the PR rotation machine to make it as opposed to people truly taking notice of any quality work or storyline. I have treasured the “recognition” Ron gave me in that speech ever since and this same sentiment expressed to me from audience members after seeing the film.
At the Ohio Independent Film Festival, the committee was in touch with me daily for at least a week updating me on every lead they were following to promote the film and get the public’s attention. Neither of these festivals have anywhere near the attendance that big name festivals do, but the people who attend are genuine, supportive and enthusiastic. This makes me feel like the tortoise in the tortoise in the hare children’s story, but through each festival, I gain a few more supporters in my quest.
I will never get rich from my film. In fact, I will never get out of debt with my film unless something miraculous occurs. However, the richness I have found in meeting quality people at these small film festivals has been priceless. Getting to travel and meet people within the communities and hearing how BTTC might inspire them repeatedly reminds me of why I produce the film in the first place.
Breaking Through The Clouds 