4 Free Film Festival Submission Sites For Filmmakers
Are you an aspiring filmmaker? You might want to consider signing up for a digital submission manager. They’re extremely useful for finding festivals and contests — then keeping track of them. Most will allow you to browse without signing up, but many festivals require you to have at least one of these accounts in order to enter. Here are the top four free services to get you started.
Often thought of as a hub for submitting writing and other forms of art, there are a growing number of film-related opportunities, like the 2018 AT&T Film Awards. This short film competition offers over $60,000 worth of prizes and all finalists get a trip Warner Bros. Studio in June, where the trophy will be awarded.
Deadline: April 15, 2018
There is no fee and there are five categories to choose from.
A few other rules:
Open to U.S. Residents Only
Must Be No Longer Than 10 Minutes
Must Be Filmed in 1080p HD or Higher
Must Be in English and Complete After January 1, 2016
Owned by Amazon, this is the place to submit to many top festivals like Sundance and Cannes. Loved by some, but not without controversy. Accused of unfair charges, uncompetitive practices, and high registration fees for festivals.
This Canadian company that claims to be a fairer alternative to Withoutabox is gaining quite a foothold, and will likely become the most popular manager in the near future. It’s probably the best free service available right now, with a growing number of prestigious festivals accepting submissions through it.
The Atlanta Playhouse Film Festival is free to enter through FilmFreeway. All genres are welcome. The only rule: the film must be 20 minutes or less.
Deadline: March 31, 2018
Late Deadline: April 31, 2018
Founded in 2006, it’s run by Blue Compass Ltd. who are also behind the entertainer-centric employment site, mandy.com.
The bottom line is, if there is a festival you want to enter and you can only do it through one service, you’ll obviously have to sign up for that one. Let’s face it — filmmaking is tough, anything that makes it easier to get your hard work out there is worth the time.
Short List of Fee Based Sites:
FilmFestivalLife
FestHome*
ShortFimCentral — it looks like they aren’t currently allowing new registrations.
*UpToFest recently merged with Festhome
Further Reading:
https://reelshorts.ca/2014/02/filmfreeway-vs-withoutabox-and-the-rest/
