Working the Festival Circuit: 32 Tips on Making an Indie Feature Film

I worked on 13 movies as a 1st AC & 2nd AC and Director of Photography before I became an award-winning Director & Writer in my own right. Having gone from Runner to director I have experienced the whole gauntlet of film making from the biggest shoots (Harry Potter and James Bond) to tiny micro-budget one-man crew shoots. I have seen many ways to do things effectively and simply.

There are 6 main areas of filmmaking for the indie filmmaker: Development, Pre-production, production, post-production, festivals, and sales. In my first blog, I cover development and pre-production. In my second blog, I covered production and post-production. In this blog, I will be giving my tips on the film festival circuit for indie filmmakers.

These are my observations from more than 1,000 days on set and 29 years in the industry! Hopefully, they will make your filmmaking journey more fun and more productive.

The fun bit of festivals is having your film screened in a big theatre. Just for a moment we can celebrate all the work that has taken months and possibly years to arrive. All the naysayers were wrong! You can promote your work, invite everyone, sales agents, talent scouts commissioning editor, your friends and family and of course all the cast and crew. Maybe even sell some tickets!