Film Festivals: Positive Reviews & Deserved Boos: Pt. 23 - Indie Horror, FAMEUS Int'l & Atlanta Underground Film Festivals

AN ONGOING SERIES ABOUT ONE SILLY LITTLE MAN’S FILM FESTIVAL SUBMISSION EXPERIENCE

Film Festivals: Positive Reviews & Deserved Boos: Pt. 23 – Indie Horror, FAMEUS Int’l & Atlanta Underground Film Festivals

Article by Justin Bowler

Holy CRAP!

For those of you who don’t know, this is an ongoing review series about my film festival submission experience. These festival reviews are not based on whether or not I was accepted to their festival, it is based merely on my interaction with them as a filmmaker inquiring about their festival and if my genre film is the right fit. I send them three questions, and they are “Yes or No”. It’s pretty easy. Yet, for some reason, some fests, despite multiple inquiries, can’t/don’t/won’t respond.

Filmmakers submit their films online to festivals. They can pay upwards of $100 just to be considered. Yet, they never get confirmation that their film was actually watched. They never speak with anyone from the fest. They don’t know who is judging the film. It could be someone well versed in cinematic theory, who has studied film for years, dissected scenes for hidden nuances, and has a few degrees in writing, film studies and art. OR it could be some random guy who “really likes” going to movies, sees a lot of Hollywood blockbusters, and has opinions on which Transformers movie is the best of Michael Bay’s work. Sadly, filmmakers are forced to “trust the system”. It can be very sketchy. Some festivals take the time to make sure it isn’t, whereas others just don’t want and/or care to make it otherwise.

Check out my friend Paul Osborne’s documentary Official Rejection. It will give you some real insight into how unfriendly some fests are to filmmakers. Sadly, it will blow your mind. Some fests only watch the first few minutes of your film, some don’t watch any of your film. Yet, they all accept your submission fee. It is an eye opening and sad realization.

Let me set the scene. I have a short film called OH, THE EFFING HORROR. (That’s right, the title is meant to be shouted.) Check out the trailer HERE.

Clearly, it is a genre picture. It’s a horror/comedy, or “Horr-omedy”. In addition to the gore and general subject matter, it contains nudity. Finally, with a run time of almost seventeen minutes, it may be too long for some festivals to program. All three of these points give rise to questions I have for festivals.
– First, do they program horror films? (The majority of the fests out there are NOT horror fests, so I would like to know if they even consider the genre in their short film competition.)
– Second, do they accept films with nudity? (Plenty of festivals have to keep it family friendly. I don’t have a problem with that, but, I would like to know that before I shell out my $45.)
– Third, is a seventeen minute run time too long? (Many fests have time limits for their shorts, but don’t always post that info on WithoutaBox.com or FilmFreeway.com.) (For you newcomers, these are the two websites used for the majority of festival submissions.)

My journey began by contacting festivals through the informational email they listed on WithoutaBox.com or FilmFreeway.com. In my email, I stated who I was, the answers I was seeking and inquired who could answer. Typically, I was referred to the Artistic Director or Programming Director.

The Indie Horror Film Festival
Submission Price:- Up to $100

I first emailed the informational email, willy@breakingfate.com, listed on WithoutABox on 8/31/16. I did not get a response. So, I emailed again on 10/1. No response. So, I emailed again on 11/13.

Justin,
I am the Festival Director. Is there a question I can answer for you?

Regards,

Willy Adkins
Breaking Fate Entertainment
The Indie Horror Film Festival

Why, yes. In fact, there are three questions you can answer. I emailed again with my yes/no questions. I never heard back from them. Really? Your submission price is up to $100 and you can’t return an email? Where does the submission money go?

THE INDIE HORROR FILM FESTIVAL gets a NEGATIVE REVIEW for filmmaker friendliness. Do not submit.

FAMEUS International Film Festival
Submission Price – Up to $50

I first emailed the informational email, fiff@fameusmagazine.com, listed on WithoutABox on 10/6/16. I did not get a response. So, I emailed again on 11/13. I got this response.

Dear Justin,
I am one of the program director.
Please let me know of your concerns and questions on our film festival.

Thanks

Regards,
Chris

So, I emailed again with my questions on the 17th. I never heard back from them. Stay away from this festival.

FAMEUS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL gets a NEGATIVE REVIEW for filmmaker friendliness.

Atlanta Underground Film Festival
Submission Price – Up to $60

I first emailed the informational email, atlantafilmseries@gmail.com, notice the @Gmail address (always a red flag), listed on WithoutABox on 11/13. I did not get a response. So, I emailed again on 12/19. No Response. I emailed a third time on 2/3/17. Still, they did not respond to me.

Once again, here is an example of the trend that I have noticed. If the informational email listed is “festival”@gmail.com, then the chances are the email is NEVER checked. In this case I am right. Stay away from this fest.

ATLANTA UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL gets a NEGATIVE REVIEW for filmmaker friendliness.

Look at that, I just saved you $210!!!!

If you would like to know more, check out the past articles for this series with the links below. If you would like to find out more info about my genre film, follow it on Instagram @OhTheEffingHorror for instant updates.

Once again, I’d like to hear your stories about festival submitting. If you think there is more to be said about any of the festivals I have reviewed, then I would love to hear it.

Thanks for joining me, check back Friday to find which fests are fab and which fests are effed. (See what I did there?)

Let’s stay positive despite these current jack-holes.

Justin Bowler
IG @IndyFilmTwittic and @OhTheEffingHorror
Twitter @JustinTBowler