Film Festival Marketing Package: How to Build a Press Kit

how to create a film festival marketing package

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Film Festival Marketing Package: How to Build a Press Kit

A film festival marketing package is a clean PDF press kit that gives festivals and media everything they need to promote your film. Users say the essentials are high quality film stills labeled with the film's title, a logline, a brief synopsis, a director's statement, bios for key cast and crew, technical specs such as genre, runtime, and aspect ratio, and contact information on the last page.

Build the document in Canva, PowerPoint, or Google Slides and export it as a PDF, with the 16x9 slideshow layout being the most popular format. Canva has decent templates you can work from. Keep the design simple and neat, because the kit is only an information booklet, and double-check that your screening time, date, and venue are correct on every promotional material and festival platform.

Once you secure a premiere, promote the film on social media, where video posts are the most effective, especially those with a real person on camera rather than a trailer alone, and tag the festival as a collaborator. Tell your cast and crew about selections and screenings so they can help promote the film. Attending festivals, panels, and screenings in person matters too, since knowing people is often more valuable than a big online presence for distribution and future collaborations.

Press kit checklist

  1. Film stills High quality, labeled with the film's title
  2. Logline A one-line summary of the film
  3. Synopsis A brief plot summary
  4. Director's statement A short statement from the director about the film
  5. Cast and crew bios Cover all the key roles
  6. Technical specifications Genre, runtime, and aspect ratio
  7. Contact information Accurate details placed on the last page
Film Festival Marketing Package: How to Build a Press Kit — infographic

Essential Components of a Press Kit

Film Stills: Provide high-quality, emotionally resonant film stills that are clearly labeled with the film's title, as these are crucial for promotional materials. "Make sure you provide high quality film stills that are labeled with the film name - this helps the festival when building the program and promo materials and is really really appreciated."
Basic Metadata and Bios: Include a logline, brief synopsis, director's statement, and bios for key cast and crew, along with technical specifications like genre, runtime, and aspect ratio. "Not really, just make a nice PDF with the basic metadata of the film, and bios for all the key roles."
Contact Information: Ensure all contact information is accurate and readily available, ideally on the last page of the document. "Last Page - Any additional information you would like to provide and your contact info."

Presentation and Format

Digital Format: Many Users suggest using a PDF created from presentation software like Canva, PowerPoint, or Google Slides, often in a 16x9 aspect ratio. "Canva has some decent templates that you can work off of. I think the 16x9 slideshow format is most popular now (you can save as pdf, it does not have to be a slideshow)."
Clarity and Simplicity: Keep the design clean and straightforward, focusing on easy readability rather than overly complex aesthetics. "Keep it simple and neat. It's just an information booklet."
Accuracy: Double-check all screening information, including times, dates, and venues, across all promotional materials and festival platforms. "make sure your screening info (time date venue) is correct on EVERYTHING."

Marketing Beyond the Kit

Social Media Engagement: Use social media to promote your film once a premiere is secured, particularly with video content featuring real people, and tag the festival as a collaborator. "From a social media perspective, posts with video are the most effective and engaging. Especially those with a real person on camera and not just a trailer."
Personal Networking: Actively attend festival events, panels, and screenings to meet people and make connections, as this is often more valuable than an extensive social media presence for securing distribution or future collaborations. "If you want a career you need to know people. What’s the best way to meet people? Attending festivals."
Crew and Cast Involvement: Ensure your cast and crew are informed about festival selections and screenings, as they can also contribute to promoting the film. "Tell your cast and crew. I've known actors who were never told that the film they worked on was in a festival"

Do you need guidance on tailoring your marketing package for specific types of film festivals?

Bottom line

A film festival marketing package, or press kit, primarily serves as an informational booklet for festivals and media, focusing on essential film details and high-quality visuals. Users emphasize clarity, accuracy, and providing compelling content to aid festival promotion.

Community answers 26

What others in the community said:

How to make the most of your film festival run.
96% upvoted

INTRO: Navigating the festival circuit is hard enough, but what do you do if you are accepted at a festival? We’re the team at the Wyoming International Film Festival, and this is part 5 of our film fest deep dive series “Make the Most of Your Festival Run.” If you haven’t already, check out parts 1-4.

Part One: Are Festivals Even Worth It?

Part Two: Red Flags and Green Flags.

Part Three: How WyoIFF is Programmed.

Part Four: The Dos, Don’ts, and Uncomfortable Truths of Festival Submissions.

Part Five: Make the Most of Your Festival Run.

Part Six: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s Festivals.

Part Seven: FAQs and Q&A.

SO YOU’RE IN A FESTIVAL… NOW WHAT?

ATTEND: Always attend a festival if you can. And if that festival has events, attend those events. And if you meet people at those events and they invite you to another function, attend that too. If the festival gives tours – attend. If the festival has panels – attend. Go to as many screenings as you can, participate as often as you can, and get yourself out there. We all love the story of the intrepid filmmaker who made a smash hit indie movie all by themselves… except that only happens once. If you want a career you need to know people. What’s the best way to meet people? Attending festivals. You can land jobs, you can land distribution, you can make lifelong friendships, you can find financing, you can find your next script… so many incredible things can happen at a film festival, but they almost always only happen to those who attend.

MOBILIZE YOUR CAST AND CREW: It’s significantly easier to attend festivals if you have multiple people on the same team representing the film. Can’t make it to a festival? Send your lead actor, or your producer. You’ve got into a big festival, and it feels overwhelming? 3 people can do a lot more promotion than 1. It’s rare that a film is only made by 1 person. Even super low budget films usually have a small team behind them. It’s a major advantage most movies have but few ever use. Multiple people can do a lot more promotions, appearances, traveling, and hit-the-bricks work than a single person. Your team doesn’t dissipate at “wrap”, so utilize them.

PRINT MATERIALS: When you meet folks at a festival the first question you’re going to get is “What’s your film?” so how are you going to answer? Sure have an elevator pitch ready, but you know what’s better? A postcard. Make postcards with the key art of your movie and a synopsis, along with contact information and social media links. You can leave postcards at the festival’s check in desk for passers by, you can hand them out at networking events, and you can pass them around to total strangers to promote your film. In addition to postcards, posters are another eye catching tool you can use. Some festivals will allow you to put up a poster round the venue to attract more views. Posters can also be a great marketing tool for red carpet photos and social media posts. Even in the digital age, print media can still be valuable.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Once people see your postcard of poster, often times they’ll look up your film. Have your social media primed and ready to go. Better yet, have QR codes on your print materials that automatically direct people to your website or social media. Once someone clicks the “follow” button, you’ve got them on the hook. It’s going to be a lot easier to grow your audience if they have a place they can follow you and keep updated about your film/work. Younger filmmakers tend to more social media savvy than their older counterparts, so if you aren’t great at social media find a friend, pay them in beer, and get your socials up to date.

ATTEND EVERY EVENT: Does the film festival have networking parties? Go. Do they have tours? Go. Do they have workshops, panels, Q&As, a VIP lounge, or some other kind of event? Go. Go. Go. Ben Franklin did more for the United States by attending French parties than John Adams did during “office hours”. More networking gets done after hours than during the festival itself. Parties and events aren’t just good ice breakers, it’s where deals are made. We’ve repeatedly said that networking is the most important part of a film festival, so if you aren’t attending these events, you aren’t getting to full value of your time at the fest. Hang out in the VIP lounge, join the tour, grab a cocktail at the afterparty. Whatever it is, whatever it’s called, attend the events.

QUID PRO QUO: An easy way to get other filmmakers to see your film is to go see theirs. Talk with other filmmakers, learn about their films, and go see them! Not only are you getting a buffet of amazing stories and filmmaking, but they are just as likely to fill the seats for your movie as well. Obviously, you don’t want your audience to only be made of other filmmakers, hence why all other promotion is vital, however, your fellow filmmakers are often your biggest cheerleaders. Moreover with other filmmakers in attendance you might get better feedback on your movie, or altogether team up for your next project. Go see their movies, get inspired, and ask them to see yours.

INTERVIEWS: If big budget films are doing it, you should to. Interview as much as you can. When you get into a festival reach out to local news, tv, podcasters, or organizations. Do as many interviews and promotions as you can before your film. Be sure to collect the links afterwards as well, they will come in handy later. The more media appearances and interviews you can do, the more momentum you can build for your release. It also has the added bonus of building your audience and your brand. One hand washes the other; a film with more media buzz generates more audience curiosity, which generates more buzz, and so on. 

BE READY FOR YOUR Q&A: has a great post on this subject. Your Q&A is a chance to impress your audience and share some fun anecdotes from your production. Having a great movie is the easiest way to build an audience, but a charming personality does just as well. Use your Q&A to show off your personality. Use it to discuss your artistic choices, fun stories from set, you ambitions for your next project… whatever. So many filmmakers go into their Q&A unprepared and give flat answers. This is your time to shine! Use it!

FEEDBACK IS WORTH MORE THAN GOLD: Maybe not literally. Outside of a film festival, most filmmakers won’t see their work on the big screen. Don’t take it for granted. You have a captive audience; no phones, no pause button, no talking, no distractions… and they’re here to watch your movie on a big screen with fantastic speakers. Get feedback. Ask them about the film, how they felt, what they liked, what they missed, what they could have lived without. Gauge audience reactions in the theater and follow up afterwards. Ask your audience to rate and review the film on Letterboxd or IMDB. Ask them to follow on social media. Ask them to spread the word. Finding your audience is hard enough, but once you have them in the seats, don’t let them go without further engaging the film. Reviews, ratings, follows… this is how to build a brand. Speaking with an audience can also help identify weak spots in a film. If it’s something fixable, go fix it. If not, make a note for you to avoid on your next project. Either way feedback from an audience is incredibly valuable. Don’t let it slip by. SOAPBOX TIME (skip to the next section if you’re not interested) Filmmakers who advocate for online releases vs festival runs often point to numbers. In a film festival you might only have a few dozen people attend your screening, while the same film released online can get thousands of views. Those filmmakers dramatically underestimate 2 things: the impact a film has on an in-person audience, and the ability to speak with that audience face to face. No filmmaker wants people watching their movies on a phone. If our programming team did that y’all would be furious! But for some reason those same filmmakers are a-okay uploading their hard work to Youtube because they are chasing views. Sad to say most of those views aren’t watching the film all the way through, and not on a device that’s going to capture the film correctly. Besides, even the kindest Youtube comment (which is rare) isn’t going to give you the same perspective as a conversation with a living, breathing person. A live audience watching your film on a big screen is irreplaceable. And after they’ve watched the film, you can speak with them face to face. You can build a base of supporters and fans. You can actively engage those people to promote you on your behalf AND share your film once it’s uploaded online. Best of all you can get real feedback, and see in real time how your audience responds to your film. You know what every famous filmmaker has in common? They have fans. Go out and build your fan base!

ASK QUESTIONS: No one likes the guy that’s wheelin’ and dealin’, promoting themselves nonstop, and pushy about everyone attending their film. Yes, everyone is doing that at a festival, but have some finesse. Ask questions. Firstly, as a filmmaker, you should have an insatiable curiosity. By asking questions you will learn so much from your fellow filmmakers; their process, their techniques, their technical capabilities, how they solve problems, how they raise capital, and how they approach stories. You can learn so much about your own craft by asking others questions. But asking questions is more than just getting answers, it's building rapport. People love to talk about themselves and their own projects. It’s disarming. It’s comfortable. When you ask a lot of questions you’re not just learning, you’re gaining the other person’s trust. It’s a charisma building no-brainer. People don’t like to be talked at, they liked to be talked to. So talk to them.

FESTIVAL RUN AND THE BIG PICTURE:

Most filmmakers aren’t just looking for a single festival screening, they are looking to have a festival run. That is to say multiple screenings at multiple festivals over a period of weeks, months, or even years. While there are a number of podcasts and articles on how to attend a festival, there isn’t a lot of information about how to maximize your festival run.

BUDGET: As we’ve advised before, you should create a budget before you move forward with any step of the filmmaking process. Festivals are no exception. It’s not enough to create a budget of film festival submissions; you should create a budget of attending festivals. Travel, accommodations, food, and other activities gets very, very expensive very, very quickly. Some festivals partner with hotels to offer discounts to filmmakers (Something the Wyoming International Film Festival does) Other festivals offer travel vouchers, or pay for filmmaker’s travel in part or in whole (this isn’t something we do) Doing some research on which festivals you can travel to, what discounts you might get, and how much travel would cost will help you develop a better festival strategy. Remember, if you have cast and crew that are also traveling to festivals these costs might change.

STRATEGY: When looking at your festival run, it’s important to remember what your strategy is. Are you trying to win awards? It’s better to plan your festival run so all the buzz around one award win will help play up your chances at the next festival. Are you looking to network? Play your festival run around networking events and markets, specifically targeting festivals where professionals and industry insiders attend. Are you looking to build an audience? Plan your festival run around events that pack the theater, or where audiences will be drawn to your specific type of film. For filmmakers to make the most out of their entire festival run they must both look at the macro, and micro. Be intentional about which festivals to submit to, and be conscience about which order those festivals will play in.

DON’T BLOW YOUR PREMIERE: When submitting to festivals, look at their premiere requirements. If the festival requires a world premiere, don’t submit to any festivals that would screen before that festival. If multiple festivals in the same city require a premiere for that city, you need to be decisive. If a festival requires a regional premiere, don’t submit to festivals in that region which would screen beforehand. A common question is “If my film is online, is that a premiere?” Yes. The definition of a premiere is the first performance or exhibition of a work. If you put the film on youtube, that’s your world premiere. If you panic and take the film off youtube, guess what, it doesn’t matter, you already premiered it. If you send it to an online festival, that’s a world premiere. If you have a friends and family/cast and crew screening… you guessed it, that was your premiere. Many festivals require a premiere; some require a world premiere, some a national or continental premiere, others require a regional or city premiere (WyoIFF requires a Wyoming premiere) While you develop your film festival run, be sure to plan your screenings in an order that won’t conflict with premiere requirements. NOTE: Many festivals that require a world premiere don’t say “we require a world premiere”. They use language like “world premieres preferred” or straight up don’t say anything about premiere status. You should always research previous years films before you submit. If everything on their slate is a world premiere, you can bet your bottom dollar they require a world premiere, regardless if they opening say it or not.

BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END: A good movie has a clear beginning, middle, and end. A good festival run also has a clear beginning, middle, and end. It’s not enough to research festivals and decide which ones are best for your film. You must also consider what order those festivals screen in, and how that will be most beneficial to your festival run as a whole. Every film is different, every strategy is different, and every filmmakers has their own strengths and weaknesses; it’s impossible for us to definitively say what the best run order for festivals would be…. but we’re going to try. Typically a filmmaker will want to begin their festival run with as big of a festival as possible for their world premiere; someplace they can get a lot of good press, or win an award, or make important contacts, or even have a laurel from a well-known event that turns heads. Your world premiere should make a big splash. After your premiere you want to follow up with 1 or 2 other larger events. Remember, festivals watch each other, and if your film plays a few big shows right out of the gate, that might help get into more festivals down the road. In the middle of your festival run filmmakers typically want to hit Category 2 or 3 festivals (We at WyoIFF almost always fall in the midpack of a film’s festival run) It’s best if these festivals are as densely packed together as possible, that way you can maximize and press, awards buzz, or audience reactions as possible. Festivals that land in the middle of a festival run can also help build momentum for distribution or sales agents. The end of a festival run are mostly for vanity festivals, festivals the filmmaker wants to play at but cannot attend, 2nd run festivals, and last minute press and awards pushes just before the public release of the film online or with a distributor. The end of a festival should wrap up everything in a nice bow. You don’t necessarily have to go out with a bang, but defiantly don’t go out with a whimper. As you submit your project to festival, try to plan which festivals would play at the beginning, middle, and end of your film’s fest run.

INTERVIEWS BREED INTERVIEWS: Unless your film is already well known, has name talent attached, or has already won some big awards, chances are you’ll have to seek out the press, not the other way around. But that’s okay! Every film ever made needs to promote itself, and as a filmmaker you are the biggest champion there is for your story. Once you have a few interviews under your belt, your press release will be even juicer. You can use quotes, reviews, or clips from your interviews to garner more attention from the media. Before you attend a festival reach out to local media outlets or film critics and ask for an interview. You can include previous interviews or reviews to pique their curiosity, which means they’re more likely to take the time to speak with you. The press is always looking for the next big story, and if you have some interviews already, you start to look like a juicy opportunity rather than a backyard filmmaker.

USE YOUR AUDIENCE TO BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE: Did you know Siracha doesn’t advertise? They made $150 million by selling hot sauce and didn’t spend a penny on advertisements. What’s their secret ingredient? (other than being delicious) Word of mouth. We don’t advise you skip out on your marketing materials, but nothing is more effective than word of mouth. People talking about your movie is more valuable than the best social media team or the slickest trailer. After you’ve built your audience it’s time to engage your audience. Ask them to share your film, rate your film, review your film…. Anything they can do to spread the word, you need to ask them to do it. Audience members are often passive; they watch a movie, and that’s all. No posts, no reviews, nothing. You need to get your audience engaged! Ask them to share the film with their friends or to give it a good review. The more audience engagement you have, the more buzz you create, the more other people are likely to see your film. It’s a snowball effect but it doesn’t get going until you give it a push. Throughout your entire festival run you should build momentum. By the end of your festival run your film will have taken on a life of its own!

FOLLOW UP: This seems like a no-brainer, but a lot of folks don’t do this! Be sure to follow up. If your film has some success, share that with festivals. They can help promote you. If you met some cool people at the festival, be sure to set up another meeting via zoom, or get coffee or lunch. If you met a producer or a sales rep, be sure to talk to them. A festival is a great way to network, but networking events are like a first date. You need to do the work to set up a 2nd date. You might be surprised how many career changing connections people make at festivals so don’t forget to follow up with the folks you talked to!

KEEP YOUR MARKETING UPDATED: If you want a successful festival run, it’s all about the snowball effect… or the ripple effect… or the domino effect. Pick your idiom. Point is, after every single festival you need to update your marketing materials. Update your laurels, update your EPK, update your artwork, update your filmfreeway page, your social media, your website. Update everything! This can get very hard, very quickly. But trust us, it’s better to do it as you go then try to catch up months down the road. When you update your marketing it serves 2 functions; it generates content that keeps your film fresh in everyone’s minds, and it helps create buzz that other press outlets and festivals latch onto. Keeping your marketing updated is a lot of work but it’s time well spent.

EXPLORE: We’ve said it before. We’ll say it a million more times. Festivals ARE FUN!! It’s literally in the name “festival”. One of the most underrated and under appreciated opportunities festivals give is the chance to travel. How many of you reading this have been to Cheyenne, Wyoming? Our guess is not a lot of you, and even fewer have us on your “Top 10 places to Visit.” But when our filmmakers visit they have a blast! Festivals give you a one-in-a-lifetime excuse to go visit somewhere you might not otherwise go. If you want to maximize your festival run, it isn’t just about attending, it’s about exploring. When you visit a new city, or state (or country as the case might be) take some time to explore. Try something new, visit with the locals, go off the beaten path. Filmmakers are artists. Artists need inspiration, and very little sings to the human soul more than exploration.

Do you have any festival tips we might have missed? We’d love to hear ‘em! Thanks for reading this far, and stay tuned for next week “Part Six: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s Festivals.”

Made a film, got it into a big festival, what the hell do I do now?
91% upvoted

Honestly didn’t expect to get this far…

Made a low budget horror feature that is premiering at a really large genre film festival - got multiple projects in the works but with no financing attached. Got sales agents and distributors swamping us like sharks. But none have had great reviews / their contracts are awful.

I know I’m not going to make our money back on the project, applying for BFI tax credits and hoping to get an MG to put towards future stuff.

But where do I go from here, do I reach out to sales agents? Do we do our own distribution? Do we find a distributor who has funded projects? How do I reach out to potential funders?

There’s so much conflicting advice on how to take the next steps and what to do.

Thank you for any advice! Also if anyone can recommend some “won’t actively try to screw you over” reps or distributors, ideally UK or Europe based I’d really appreciate it.

What actually makes a filmmaker want to submit to a small festival?
94% upvoted

Hey everyone,
I run a small short-film festival and I’ve been trying to understand how filmmakers make their decisions about where to submit.

I’ve experimented with some FilmFreeway marketing services, but honestly haven’t seen much of a bump — and I’m wondering if those even work anymore or if it’s more about word of mouth and community.

If you’re a filmmaker, what makes a smaller festival feel legit to you? Is it past winners, reviews, social media presence, physical screenings, etc.?
And if you’ve ever run or helped with a festival, how do you actually attract quality submissions (and get people to show up to screenings)?

I’m not here to promote mine — just trying to learn what actually works for festivals trying to grow.

Filmmakers whose short films got accepted into festivals, how much did they cost to create?
100% upvoted

I attend festivals and I find this behind-the-scenes stuff interesting. Directors or crew or cast members of a short that got accepted, what was the budget?

And how did you procure the funding for that feature?

I know it's a broad question to ask the average budget of a short film, there is no singular answer I'm not asking that - I'm wondering how much it cost your team personally?

What was the budget breakdown? And if you're willing to, feel free to share what festival it was, but you don't have to.

Press kit for festivals
100% upvoted

I’m a first time filmmaker. Recently I submitted my short film to a couple of festivals and so far got selected for three. Now I got a message that they need a press kit, but since I’m really new to the film world, I do t really know, what’s expected… I googled some examples online, but they were really diverse in format, style, and complexity. Now I want to ask you guys, is there any kind of standard, or “right way” to make a press kit? Feel free to share links, tips, or experiences! :) Thank you!!!

Tips for promoting festival screenings as a filmmaker?
80% upvoted

I’m curious if filmmakers, programmers, and / or festival directors have tips on what strategies actually help get butts in seats when your film is screening at a festival?

I’m familiar with some of the classics…

- Printing postcards with your screening info and passing them out to people you meet at the festival

- Social media posts where you tag relevant parties (the festival, etc) and hope those posts get reshared

- Connecting with local organizations that care about the issues in your film (e.g. local ACLU chapter, etc).

But I’m curious if people have a sense of what strategies actually move the needle in terms of trying to sell out screening of your film at festivals (and on the flip side, what strategies are a waste)?

I have a short film, but submitting to festivals costs money
70% upvoted

I have written, directed, and edited together a short film (not my first). I'm putting it on YouTube soon, and I have a small list of some festivals to submit my film to. The problem is, the list is small because of how expensive the festival submission fees are. Even though I have these few festivals, I'm not sure what the likely hood of getting in is. What do I do with this short film now? Do I send it to people in the industry? (also seems unlikely to yield anything) Sorry if this question is a bit naive, but unfortunately fees do seem to be a limiting factor here...

EDIT: Thank you everybody for the advice! It's been really enlightening and there's a lot of great info here. I've calculated the costs of submitting to a few festivals (ranging from one super-reach to a few more genre-specific and higher likely-hood ones) and once the festival run is completed I'll upload to YouTube, and see if I can market it and use it on my portfolio. Thank you all for taking the time to answer my somewhat naive question, haha

Posts like these are what pushed me to submit my short to yall! Thanks for continuing to share!

DO NOT sign the film away without professional representation (Agent)

Everyone trying to get your film is trying to scam you out of your hard work.

Even when you do find an agent, you also need a “entertainment” lawyer to go over anything before you sign it.

Ignoring these steps will be something you regret later.

Also make sure in the contract you secure part of the film for life, it will be a small portion but letting any distributor take 100% ownership of your film will sink you financially. It’s your film, you own part of it. Always

With my first two features, we didn't really put a lot of stock into film festivals. We'd get one for our premiere and kinda just focus on getting a sale to a distributor. Since doing so, I've learned the importance of the festival run, and we made sure that we stepped it up a peg with our latest film, BEATEN TO DEATH. My only wish is that I could attend more international festivals. I'm based in Australia and we just don't have it in the budget to be jet-setting across to the USA to help with the campaign.

This is all great! However I don’t really agree that a friends and family / crew screening counts as a premiere, unless it’s a publicly advertised and not invitation only event.

I’d hire one of the better film industry lawyers. Like Christos @ Lee & Thompson. Explain what where you are, I’ve got a finished feature that’s getting offers. Then say what you need, I need someone to handle this part, get the film to distribution with a reputable sales agent and to negotiate that deal so I don’t get screwed. How much will you charge?

How Do You Market Your Short Amongst Festival Submissions?
79% upvoted

Gearing up to submit my latest short to festivals.

I have a ton of BTS footage from production that I'm planning on using for marketing, as I feel like building anticipation / an audience online might give me a leg up with submissions.

However, with a festival run often stretching close to a year, I'm worried that my own audience / non- festival followers will lose interest after months of promotional content before the short is ever released to the publicly.

So my question is, If festivals prefer or often demand work that has yet to be released, how do you build hype for festival submissions without burning out your own audience?

Make sure you provide high quality film stills that are labeled with the film name - this helps the festival when building the program and promo materials and is really really appreciated.

I made a google docs page with a table; each row has title, logline, synopsis, director bio, credits etc; some additional rows for image stills, director photo, poster (these have a link to a google drive folder with them); I always just share the link to this google doc when needed and sometimes I slightly update it (so the latest used is always the most up to date for the festivals too)

Friends of mine had a low budget horror feature in one of the largest genre fests, that lead to a year long festival run, which lead to a distribution contract including at least a small theatrical run and now they're pitching their next feature. So my suggestion from not only their experience but tons of other 2nd hand experience (used to do a ton of indie post finishing work) is keep that festival run going, make some great connections with the festivals (you'll want them for future films) and festival goers, and find a sales agent.

Canva has some decent templates that you can work off of. I think the 16x9 slideshow format is most popular now (you can save as pdf, it does not have to be a slideshow). Include logline, brief synopsis, directors statement, cast and crew credits, list festival screenings and awards, list press appearances, contact info at end. For mine, the film stills are the backgrounds to each page. Then I have a link to a Gdrive folder with all the downloadable jpgs.

Film Festival Submissions: How important is having a website and/or Social Media Page?
100% upvoted

When submitting a short film to festivals, how much does having a dedicated website or social media presence actually matter? I know a strong online presence can help with visibility and marketing, but I’m curious if festival programmers or screeners pay any real attention to that side of things.

It seems like having a solid following couldn’t hurt, but I’m wondering how much weight it actually carries; especially since follower counts and engagement metrics are so easy to inflate these days.

From a social media perspective, posts with video are the most effective and engaging. Especially those with a real person on camera and not just a trailer. Go on camera and speak about your screening and film. Keep it short and sweet and enthusiastic.

Add the festival as a collaborator and tag in relevant groups.

Then go on other groups and forums and engage with the community, liking and commenting on posts before recommending your screening organically. Everyone goes on groups just to promote their own film and don't engage with any other content, and members know it and see it and ignore it. If you can start getting recognized as a contributor, more people are likely to listen when you speak. (Which means embedding yourself in groups well in advance)

Is it really worth submitting to film festivals? How many do you usually submit to?
75% upvoted

Hey everyone, I’ve been wondering about the real value of submitting to film festivals. I recently submitted an experimental short to around 50 festivals. Most of them were free or had very low fees. So far, I’ve gotten only a couple of responses, and no major selections.

I’m starting to question whether it’s even worth applying to so many, especially the free or low-cost ones. Do these festivals even watch the submissions? Or are they just flooded with entries and it's all luck unless you have a big name or connections?

Also, do most filmmakers focus on fewer, more reputable (and more expensive) festivals instead? What’s the strategy that’s worked best for you?

Would love to hear your thoughts. I’m trying to understand what actually gives a film a chance in the current festival landscape.

Thanks in advance.

Talk to the festival and see if they have a designated marketing liason for this exact purpose. Please make sure to read thru the ticket purchasing and line policy if any.

  • poster boards at the venue that your film will be screening at. Check with festival / venue when and where it can go up.

  • fun promo items that fit the theme of your film. A well thought of promo item, even cheaply made, can put your film on people's radar.

  • make sure your screening info (time date venue) is correct on EVERYTHING. Festival website. Festival app. Venue website. Venue app. Program book. Any of your promo material.

There is no silver bullet to this. Put in time and execute and the rest is up to the film God.

Tell your cast and crew. I've known actors who were never told that the film they worked on was in a festival

Cross Marketing Partnership with Film Festivals. Yes I mean YOU!
56% upvoted

Hey all,

I’m looking to create cross-marketing partnerships with film festivals and wanted to see if any festival organizers here would be interested.

The idea is before, during, and after our festivals, we help promote each other’s events to our respective communities so we can support more filmmakers, drive more submissions, and help each other grow.

A little about me:
My name is Malik Jackson. I’m the owner of Filmmakers Helping Filmmakers, Fylm TV Film Festival, and the Fylm TV platform.

For Filmmakers Helping Filmmakers, across Facebook and Discord, our filmmaker community has about 18,000 members globally.

Fylm TV Film Festival is our inaugural event based in Detroit, Michigan. The festival will focus on film screenings, networking, and entertainment-tech startups.

Fylm TV is a creator economy platform designed to offer a Netflix-style viewing experience, curating high-quality independent films, shorts, and series. At the same time, it provides filmmakers with built-in monetization and audience engagement tools. As films gain traction through views, revenue, and engagement, IP buyers and studios can track performance and pursue acquisition opportunities, entirely at the filmmaker’s discretion.

Long term, my goal is to use our growing network to support filmmakers beyond one festival run. That means helping films get seen by new audiences, connecting filmmakers to more opportunities, and potentially redistributing strong projects to other festivals, platforms, and industry partners.

Slide: FylmTV.com/partnerslide
Doc: FylmTV.com/partnerdoc

If you are interested, please let me know or feel free to DM me. I’d love to talk!

Not really, just make a nice PDF with the basic metadata of the film, and bios for all the key roles.
Last Page - Any additional information you would like to provide and your contact info.
Keep it simple and neat. It's just an information booklet.

Related questions

What should a film festival press kit include?
High quality film stills labeled with the film's title, a logline, a brief synopsis, a director's statement, bios for key cast and crew, technical specs like genre, runtime, and aspect ratio, and contact information on the final page.
What format should a film festival marketing package be in?
A PDF created in presentation software like Canva, PowerPoint, or Google Slides. The 16x9 slideshow format is the most popular, and you can save it as a PDF rather than presenting it as a slideshow.
Why do film stills need to be labeled?
Clearly labeled stills help the festival when building the program and promotional materials, and festivals really appreciate receiving them that way.
How do I promote my film after it gets into a festival?
Post about the premiere on social media once it is secured. Video posts perform best, especially those featuring a real person on camera instead of only a trailer, and you should tag the festival as a collaborator.
Is social media or in-person networking better for filmmakers?
In-person networking tends to matter more for a career. Attending festivals, panels, and screenings is the best way to meet people who can help with distribution and future collaborations.
What mistakes should I avoid in a film festival press kit?
Letting screening information go unchecked. Verify that the time, date, and venue are correct on everything, and keep the design clean and readable rather than overly complex.

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