First Impressions: Making the Most of Your FilmFreeway Film Profile and Emailing Festival Programmers
How to make a strong first impression — either good or bad — with a festival programmer.
By Greg Sorvig — Director of Film Programming, Heartland Film
“I usually don’t ask for waivers, but my cat died this week and all my submission money had to go to vet bills.”
Granted most waiver requests are similar in style and tone, I can always expect something new and wild to hit my inbox during the Heartland International Film Festival call for entries period. The quote above was followed by a supporting eulogy to convey just how much the recently deceased cat meant to the pleading filmmaker.
Call me a sucker for sentimental non-sequiturs, but I gave the guy a waiver. Was his story real? Who knows, but it scored high enough in creativity and pathos points to get my attention.
Cat still alive? Don’t have a cat? Are your finances secure enough so that in an animal emergency you don’t have to dip into film submission savings? Don’t worry — you can still make an impression by selling yourself, your project, and your story via your FilmFreeway submission and communication via email with festival programmers.
Your Film Submission is Your Resume
Not just your film — your entire FilmFreeway submission. FilmFreeway is essentially Indeed.com for filmmakers, and as someone looking for a job (festival placement), you cannot settle for just attaching your resume (film) up by itself if you expect to get the gig. Here are some best practices for standing out:
KNOW WHAT’S BEING SUBMITTED: Don’t leave your film’s submission information to an intern. Make sure you own your film’s story and destiny by filling out the information yourself.
GO BEYOND BARE MINIMUM: You spent a good amount of time on your film, so don’t sell it short by neglecting the other submission information. A one-line synopsis and abbreviated cast and crew list tells me you don’t care about your project. Don’t leave anything blank.
INCLUDE A COVER LETTER: Take advantage of this opportunity to sell yourself and your story! Who are you? What drives you? Why did you submit to this festival? You don’t need to write a novel, but convey your passion. If you know alumni and have been referred, definitely include that info!
COVER LETTER BONUS FOR SHORTS FILMMAKERS — PROGRAM SUGGESTIONS: Our short films are generally packaged by theme. Including helpful suggestions in your cover letter, such as “This film will play great in a comedy or after hours program,” never hurts!
STICK TO STILLS FROM THE FILM: Unless you have absolutely killer behind-the-scenes photos, stick to high-quality stills from the film itself. When I see a breathtaking still my mind flash forwards to our print and online guide. Your official stills will help sell your movie to programmers and eventually the general public in the event you’re programmed.
PASSWORDS: If you change your online screener’s password than make sure you update it in your FilmFreeway submission as well. We have a good record of chasing down broken links, but we would really prefer not to.
Email Etiquette — “Hey Buddy” Intros and Waivers
Filmmakers generally email for one of two reasons: a “Hey Buddy” introduction or a waiver request. I know festival programmers who don’t offer waivers, period, but it never hurts to ask. Here are some best practices for sending initial emails to festival programmers:
EMAIL A PERSON, NOT A GENERAL ACCOUNT: Most film festivals have their staff listed on their websites with corresponding email addresses. My email is even listed on our FilmFreeway festival profiles. Emails might pile up in a general “info” or “submissions” account, so directing your message to a staff member will likely get a faster response.
DO NOT EMAIL THE WHOLE STAFF: One of my top pet peeves is when a filmmaker copies the entire staff on an email. If you have a question about film programming keep it to the top film programming contact. If possible, limit your email to one person or copy the top two in the department.
DON’T SEND A LINK WITH YOUR WAIVER REQUEST: I have not watched one single unsolicited link sent in a waiver request email. You’re already asking for a perk, so don’t push it and assume a programmer is going to displace an official submission because you’re trying to circumvent the system.
I HAVE ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND GOOGLE: If you claim to have exhausted your bank account and don’t have the means to submit your film, you better think twice about posting those yacht party photos at Cannes. If you have money to travel to and party at Cannes, you have money to submit your film to a nonprofit film festival.
PLAY UP CONNECTIONS: Not that it’s a major decision maker, but if you know alumni of a given film festival, feel free to mention them in your introduction or waiver request. At Heartland, we give alumni free submissions for live and love referrals, generally providing waiver discounts!
DON’T FOLLOW UP WITH INCESSANT FILM UPDATES: “Hey Greg! Following up on last week’s email — we just won third place in audience voting at the South Central Regional Topeka Film Forum!” This doesn’t help your cause.
SEND A “HEY BUDDY” AFTER YOU SUBMIT: Send your FilmFreeway cover letter in a separate email and let me know that you submitted. I’ll be surprised that your message isn’t a waiver request and you’ll earn instant brownie points!
DO SEND A FRIENDLY REMINDER: Sometimes emails fall through the cracks or don’t get flagged. If you poured your heart out to me in an email and didn’t get a response, feel free to send a friendly follow up in a few weeks or months.
FULL WAIVER? HOW ABOUT A DISCOUNT?: Some fests draw a hard line and will not grant a waiver request, period. It’s a case-by-case basis for me, but generally I grant waivers for little to no-budget films, nonprofit-supported titles, filmmakers from third world countries, or — in rare instances — highly creative stories (dead cat and passionate eulogy). Instead of a waiver, I suggest asking for a discount.
All film programmers are different when it comes to approach and preference, but I hope you find this insight helpful on your film’s submission journey. Just like a resume and job interview, the extra effort you put in to selling yourself and your work will pay off on FilmFreeway and beyond. Tell your story, be yourself, and make a strong first impression!
Don’t have a “Hey Buddy” or waiver request? Feel free to send me an email anyway at gsorvig@heartlandfilm.org.
Greg Sorvig is the director of film programming for nonprofit arts organization Heartland Film, Inc. As head programmer in charge of film selection for the Academy Award-qualifying Heartland International Film Festival and Indy Shorts International Film Festival events in Indianapolis, Greg acts as the organization’s liaison with major studios, industry, and filmmakers. Learn more at heartlandfilm.org.
