Four Tips For Festival Rejectees

"Your film didn’t get into the A-level fests so far?

With Sundance, Berlin and SXSW having already been announced — or come and gone — for 2013, there are some disappointed filmmakers grappling with an official rejection and its impact on the life of their films. Not getting into a major festival is certainly not the end of the world, but being unprepared for anything except acceptance really can be the end if filmmakers haven’t planned and budgeted for the lack of a conventional distribution deal. Because it isn’t smart just to play the festival circuit and hope for a deal, here are a few tips filmmakers can use to take control of the future of your film release.

Improve your film through test screenings. I don’t think people do these enough, and with their target audience, not just their friends, family and crew. In fact, when someone tells me they have done everything they can to build an audience and the film is just not getting traction, I tell them to take another look at the film and test it in front of an audience that doesn’t have a stake in its success. Nothing else I say to do in the rest of this post will work if the film is weak. Make sure it is the best it can be.

Concentrate more on distribution strategy planning. This really can’t be emphasized enough because it still isn’t at the forefront of the filmmaking endeavor. Domestically, it is certainly possible for filmmakers to reach audiences and distribute their films through a multitude of services. If a major festival premiere does not materialize for your film and the offers for significant distribution aren’t forthcoming, use all of the tools available now to self release. For your theatrical release, use regional fests or demand-a-screening services like Tugg or Gathr. To sell streams globally from your own website, use Distrify, Dynamo Player or Assemble. Want to reach tablet viewers? TFC Direct will help you access iTunes/Amazon/Hulu/YouTube. Gravitas Ventures can help you reach more than 50 different cable VOD operators in North America and internationally, accounting for over 100+ million homes. Topspin Media can be used for email growth and management, shopping cart services for selling merchandise, audience analytics and marketing services."

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