The universal bane of indie filmmakers everywhere: the ubiquitous festival entry fee. Every so often I see a plaintive request from a filmmaker for suggestions of festivals to submit to that won't cost them an arm and a leg and I think, "Someone oughtta be keeping a list of those."
It turns out I'm that someone.
Please let me know of additional fests that are missing from this list (a bunch of European ones, I know). I'll be expanding the list over the next few weeks until it's more or less complete.
You can read the list of no-fee film festivals here.
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Chris Holland has been writing about movies since 1991. In 1996 he co-founded 
2 comments:
As much as submission fees may be the bane of indie filmmakers, they are a necessary evil for most festivals to stay alive! People complain about entry fees, but we would not have a place to show our selected films if we didn't charge. This is a great resource, but indie filmmakers should be advised not to just save their submission cash for "the big festivals," which is something we definitely hear. Support the little festivals!
The one good thing about submission fees is that they usually ensure your film is being watched. If a festival doesn't charge, they have no reason to watch every film that crosses their path either.
And as a last note, for a great no-fee festival, check out Fantasia in Montreal.
Another place to submit for free is PBS's environmental doc show, Natural Heroes. It's curated just like a festival, but is shown on PBS.
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