In short: A festival strategy is a short plan for which festivals you enter, in what order and why. The submission tracker records each entry, its deadline, its fee, the date you submitted, the status and the reply. Write the strategy first, then build the tracker from it. Review the tracker each month so no deadline or reply goes unnoticed.
A festival run is slow, expensive and easy to mismanage. Entries go wrong in two common ways: filmmakers enter festivals in no particular order and run out of money before the right ones, or they miss a deadline because the list lives in someone's head. The strategy and the tracker solve both problems. Write the strategy first, so you know why each festival is on the list, then keep the tracker up to date.
What the strategy is for
The strategy is a one-page plan for the film's festival life. It sets out what success looks like for this film, such as a screening with an industry audience, a sales agent, a distributor or a credit for a showreel. It then sorts the festivals into tiers, so the best fit gets the first call on your time and money.
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How to fill it in
- Write the film's goal in one line. Be specific about what success would look like for this film, not for films in general.
- Sort the festivals you have found into three tiers: the ones you most want, the ones that suit the film and are realistic, and the ones you enter to test the cut with a live audience.
- Check each festival's page for its deadline, its fee, its premiere rules, and its eligibility rules on length, format and country.
- Enter every festival in the tracker on the day you find it, even if the deadline is months away.
- Submit in deadline order, and use any early deadlines the festival offers. Do not hold back a good entry for a later date without a reason.
- Record each reply, and write the next action beside it. Review the whole tracker once a month, and cut the tiers as you learn.
Worked example
A fictional 12-minute drama, finished in September. The goal is a screening at a festival with an industry audience, and a credit that helps the next project. The first tier holds two festivals with deadlines in late autumn, and the second tier holds four with deadlines the following spring. The first tier festivals have strict premiere rules, so the producer checks them before any other step. The tracker shows the first-tier entries with their fees next to the deadlines, the submission dates and the replies. When the first-tier replies come back negative, the producer moves the second-tier entries forward and records what the rejections said about the cut.
Common mistakes
- Entering everything at once with no tiers, so the fees run out before the best festivals close.
- Missing a deadline because the list is not written down.
- Skipping the premiere rules and finding out after the entry fee has gone.
- Not recording replies, so the same festival gets asked again without context.
- Entering with the wrong cut or the wrong running length for the festival.
Festival deadlines often arrive while the edit is still moving, so lock the cut before the first deadline and keep a copy of exactly what you submitted. For the costs side, the short film budget template and short film funding: BFI NETWORK and regional film hubs are the next places to look. If the film still needs a studio day, Granary can quote for one.
Questions we get asked
How many film festivals should I enter?
There is no fixed number. Choose a short list that fits the length and genre of the film, the festivals' premiere rules, and the money you have for entry fees.
What should a festival tracker include?
The festival, its deadline, the entry fee, the date you submitted, the status and the date you heard back. Add a notes column for anything you need for the next submission, such as the cut you sent or the premiere status you declared.
Should I check premiere rules before I enter?
Yes. Check each festival's premiere rules before you enter, because an earlier screening elsewhere can rule some festivals out.
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