I finished my film, how should I approach film festivals?

There are so many film festivals these days I can hardly believe it! No doubt that entering your film into festivals is a good distribution strategy, but the KEY is to get your film into festivals where acquisition execs are actually present. Doesn't that make sense?

For example, I always say to start with the big festivals first. The big festivals which are always frequented by acquisition execs are: Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Sundance, and Venice. There's a few second tier festivals which get some acquisition execs attending as well: Los Angeles, Tribeca, and South by Southwest.

Now if you don't get accepted into one of the major or second tier festivals, don't fret. If all else fails, even the smaller festivals can be good exposure for your film - an opportunity to get some local press (with which to build your press kit) and get your film in front of an audience. Even if there are not acquisition execs present at these smaller festivals, if you win awards they will take notice later if you submit your film to them for distribution.

In short, as part of your distribution strategy for a completed film, you want to definitely submit to the big festivals first as they can be a real launching pad for your film. If the bigger festivals don't work out, try and rack up awards and good press at some of the smaller festivals, as it will pay off later.