festivals

I've been scrambling to get ready for next weekend's Action on Film Festival that I'm flying to that I just realized right now, the film is playing in Texas at the Dusk Til Dawn Festival!!! if anyone caught it there, reply to this entry!!!! Mike Garcia, the director of that festival is a great guy- totally committed and supportive of filmmakers and their projects. Unfortunately I couldn't make the festival at such short notice. But right now is the first time an audience is watching that film in a theater!!!

So there's this ongoing debate about whether or not you should include promotional packaging like fliers, postcards, slick dvd packaging with your festival application to improve your chances. Many festivals actually explicitly say that "your submission will be judged on the quality of your film, not your marketing materials," meaning don't try to butter them up with cool packaging!

But then there are some directors, whose films have done well at festivals, that swear by the exact opposite saying that including that marketing material helped their film do so well.

So let's talk a bit about festivals. I've applied to 42 so far, heard back from about 10 of them, got into 3 so far. Does that make me an expert? No, but i've already learned stuff i didn't know before!!

boy, i'm going slightly nuts here...I've got three NYC screenings I'm trying to plan and 2 festivals (i don't think i can go to all 3 at this point cuz it'll be so much travel... anways, i'm working frantically to get my dvd packaging and promo items like one sheets and postcards ready for them.

here's the direction i'm headed with the poster...(UPDATED for last time again!!:)

So that's TWO nominations at the Action on Film Festival!! In the LA area? Come to the screening on Saturday July 28th!! We'll be there so come party with us!! www.aoffest.com

Yo man, the title says it all!! The Action of Film Festival takes place this month in Long Beach, CA. I'm heading out there and meeting Brianna Shaughnessy, the actress who played Willie- the super kick ass girl! So i announced last week that we were an official selection and learned tonight that Deployment Strategy is 1 of 5 nominations for Best Special Effects!

yee-ha! I just got word this morning that Deployment Strategy won the Sci-Fi Short film division at The Indie Gathering, an excellent festival in Cleveland, OH. The film will be screened there August 4th with filmmaker QAs and workshops taking place the whole weekend!! This is Deployment Strategy's first official placement in the festival circuit! We're sooo psyched!

Breaking news!!- DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY IS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION AT TWO FESTIVALS!!!!!!!!!!!!

So this IS NOT the official poster for the film, but I needed to rush a quick one. Not bad huh? The Big Bang Film Festival is so gracious to list all entries- not just official selections on their website. Kind of rare for a festival right?

They only required a small version of the movie poster so for mine, there is no enlarged version since it's just a temporary one. I like this quick one because it does incorporate the overall style I'm going for...

The Big Bang festival entry page will show a picture of me, the movie poster, synopsis, and hopefully the trailer! Details as they come in...

My Big Bang entry page