Film Festivals: Positive Reviews & Deserved Boos: Pt. 29 - Cinema at the Edge, Amsterdam International Filmmaker Festival & London Independent and Los Angeles Thriller Film Festivals

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

Film Festivals: Positive Reviews & Deserved Boos: Pt. 29 – Cinema at the Edge, Amsterdam International Filmmaker Festival & London Independent and Los Angeles Thriller Film Festivals

Article by Justin Bowler

Phony festivals and dumbass-ery.®

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 FilmFreeway.com (and in some cases Withoutabox). 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.

Sadly, every single one of these four festivals didn’t even respond to my many email attempts. If they can’t answer a single email with 3 “yes/no” questions, there is no way I believe they are going to take the time to give cold submissions an honest chance. SAVE YOUR MONEY! STAY AWAY FROM THESE FESTIVALS!

Amsterdam International Filmmaker Festival aka
Amsterdam International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema
Submission Price – Up to $80
Email: info@filmmakerfestivalamsterdam.com
Originally contacted on 11/21/16. No response.
Contacted again on 12/19. No response.
Contacted again on 2/2. NO RESPONSE.
Amsterdam International Filmmaker Festival aka Amsterdam International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema gets a NEgative review for Filmmaker Friendliness. Stay away from this fest.

Cinema at the Edge
Submission Price – Up to $65
Email: cinemaattheedge@gmail.com (notice the gmail account) This is usually a red flag.
Originally contacted on 1/25/17. No response.
Contacted again on 2/10. No Response.
Contacted again on 3/2. NO RESPONSE!
Cinema at the Edge Film Festival gets a NEgative review for Filmmaker Friendliness. Stay away from this fest.

The Los Angeles Thriller Film Festival
Submission Price – Up to $85
Email: contact@lathrillerfilmfest.com
Originally contacted on 1/25/17. No response.
Contacted again on 2/10. No Response.
Contacted again on 3/2. NO RESPONSE!
The Los Angeles Thriller Film Festival gets a NEgative review for Filmmaker Friendliness. Stay away from this fest.

London Independent Film Festival
Submission Price – Up to $115
Email: info@liff.org
Originally contacted on 1/30/17. No response.
Contacted again on 2/10. No Response.
Contacted again on 3/2. NO RESPONSE!
London Independent Film Festival gets a NEgative review for Filmmaker Friendliness. Stay away from this fest.

Well, we knew we couldn’t keep the positive streak forever. But, on the bright side, I just saved you $345!

If you would like to know more, check out the past articles for this series with the links below. They are not all as happy and positive as this week. If you would like to find out more info about my genre film, follow it on @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 jackholes.

Justin Bowler
IG @IndyFilmTwittic and @OhTheEffingHorror
Twitter @JustinTBowler