The
fda
festival 500
T
o be honest, when Actuality Media first started taking crews abroad to make short documentaries we didn’t think festivals were the right way to go for distribution. Many festivals didn’t want to take films that had already been screened elsewhere, and we stand by our decision to release the films online as soon as they are complete. It is important to allow our changemakers full distribution of the film so they can begin to leverage them for their own benefit, and so that others can recognize the good work these people do.
G
etting the word out about our films and changemakers out to the world has always been our main goal, so we didn’t refrain from sending films to festivals entirely. In 2011 “Rhythm en los Barrios” netted our first festival showing. We continued making festival appearances each year after, and our 2013 film “Box Girl” kickstarted a big festival trend that we decided to expand on in 2014 with the Festivall 500. Our first selections from that year have racked up the accolades and our 2015 selections are beginning to pull in festival selections as well.
W
e can’t wait to see what films you will make on a Documentary Outreach with us.
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Here’s the
idea
A
t the end of each Documentary Outreach season, Actuality Media will select the two best documentary films and back each film with USD$500 for festival submissions.
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Our advisory board selects two films. $300 goes to our festival selections. $200 goes towards the festivals that your crew selects.
„Where do I want my films to go?“ Sure, it‘s probably your first thought. What you really need to focus on first is making the best short documentary film you can so that your film will be amongst the top two films of the season. With that goal in mind, we’ve got notes for you to gain points in your favor. We’re sure you already have ideas in mind for the best way to make your documentary - which is great - but there are specific things our advisory board members are going to be looking for in your film. The criteria is based off of the filmmaking and storytelling process you will learn in-country and it doesn’t just give you points in favor of the Festival 500 selection, it will help you make a better film overall. Some of the highlights include: Adherence to a five part story structure. Attainable character goals. Visual storytelling is key - the less sound bites and dialogue the better. Non-repetitive sound bites and dialogue – make your point and move on. Identifiable characters – choose your subjects wisely. Make sure there are distinctions between them. Reveal details about them that your audience can relate to. Show their name and title on screen only when it is important to the story. The title of your film should appear on screen in the first minute of the film. Your film must be 10 minutes or less. The name of your changemaker must appear somewhere in your film. Keep your credits simple (nobody, festival screeners especially, likes to sit through lots of credits for a short film). Make sure you have legal right to use the music in your film. Don’t end your film with smiling, happy faces. There is always a better option for a conclusion.
the fine print
Releasing Your Film: You can’t post your film online for a year. It’s hard to resist, we know. We aim to only participate in festivals where films can already be online (because we’re going to post your film to Vimeo as soon as it is 100% finished), but there have been a few instances when we have gotten into a festival that then asked us to take the video off the internet for a month or so until the festival had happened. We complied, and we were able to comply because we had the only copies of the film online. If you put the video up on YouTube or Vimeo it is beyond our control to take down, or make unlisted, to comply with festival requests. Your Festival List: We‘ve got to get the process going - for us it‘s a yearly cycle. Your Producer must have a finalized festival list to us by the end of the calendar year. Your Budget: You have a maximum of $200 for the festivals you choose. Some sites charge submission fees that must be factored into the budget as well. Festival Restrictions: We will only submit to festivals that accept submission screeners online. We will happily submit to festivals through Without A Box, Film Freeway, and Film Festival Life We will not submit to festivals that have a limit on the number of previous submissions to other festivals. If a festival requires any other submission format besides digital, it’s the responsibility of the crew to make that happen. We will mail out DVD’s for official screening copies.
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Festivals Include Hot Docs Full Frame Documentary Fest AFI DOCS Film Festival Show Me Justice Film Festival Chicago International Social Change Film Festival Awareness Film Fest Say It Loud Film Festival Global Peace Film Fest British Documentary Festival Ethnografilm Festival
Your Film Can Go Anywhere
I
f a festival you want to submit your film to doesn’t fall within the submission requirements for the Festival 500, that doesn’t mean you can’t submit your film. You are more than welcome to submit your short documentary to any festival you would 4
like - whether your film is one of our Festival 500 selections or not. You just need to submit to that festival on your own. Please keep us up to date on where your film is headed so we can spread the word and celebrate all the successes of your film!