DISCUSSION THREAD: SCAM FESTIVALS
This is a discussion for filmmakers, or for anyone who attends or runs film festivals.
I submitted my feature film Dirt to the New York Movie Awards. Normally, I wouldn’t submit anything to this festival, even without doing a lot of research, because it doesn’t have a legitimate “feel” to it. I say this because their submission fees are very high in most categories (over $100 in some of them), and they have a huge number of separate categories, which indicates that they’re a kind of mill, churning out meaningless “awards” for a large number of applicants. Furthermore, they offer, for a very high fee, filmmaker “reviews” and “interviews.” On top of that, you can buy a gilded award statue from them for €300. These are all classic signs of scam festivals, rackets that extract money from artists, desperate for some kind of attention and recognition for their work, often without actually showing the films to the public. There are many variations on the details of these scams, and the New York Movie Awards does actually have a monthly showcase in a micro-cinema, where they show a small number of the short films which win “awards.”
Why did I submit my feature film? First of all, I confused this festival with the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival, a completely legitimate and very nice festival I’ve attended in the past, which holds their screenings in another micro-cinema very nearby. Also, I received an email solicitation from the festival with a discount code, allowing me to submit a feature film for $5, so it seemed very low risk. (The normal fee is $70.)
My film has been named an “official selection.” I found out that they don’t screen the “official selections,” so this designation seems to have little significance, if any. Furthermore, although they accept fees for feature films, their monthly showcase only includes short films, so none of the feature films selected or awarded are screened.
I considered writing a review of the festival, including my doubts about them, on FilmFreeway. I saw that they have over 700 filmmaker reviews, and I saw no negative comments. First of all, it’s a testament to the large numbers of films they “accept,” since these 743 reviews cover only four years, albeit with a monthly screening. None of the filmmakers mentioned being physically present at a screening, and some were completely frank about praising the festival as a “fantastic tool for promoting your film,” which is certainly one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is to view artists like spouses in an abusive relationship: feeling so powerless and trapped that they don’t dare speak out about the abuse. Certainly, many artists would never leave a negative comment about any festival, for fear of pissing off anyone in the film business.
The festival is run by filmmaker Massimiliano Mauceri, who has also created a similar “London Movie Awards” and “Florence Film Awards.” Of course, it’s also possible that I have the whole situation wrong, and New York Movie Awards is a fully legitimate and wonderful festival. I’m certainly not trying to tell 743 people that they don’t know what’s good for them. Perhaps the festival has changed over its history.
For me, the issue of scam festivals, ripping off desperate artists, is nuanced and complex, not simply a case of “bad” vs “good” festivals. In the US, in particular, there is no government funding for the arts to speak of, and there would be no film festivals at all if they didn’t require artists to pay submission fees. This is even more true for experimental film festivals, since there is no commercial market for these films. Asking artists for submission fees is sometimes unavoidable.
What makes a festival “legitimate?” To put it another way, what are some ways that a festival can provide a useful service, both to artists and film lovers? Well organized screenings, with good technical quality? Effort on the part of the festival organizers to bring in an audience? Are online only festivals as legitimate as hybrid or in person festivals? Are screening fees for artists essential? (Hopefully not, since they are exceedingly rare.) How about the percentage of films which receive awards, or whether or not awards at film festivals are a good idea to begin with?
There is a spectrum of different possibilities here. Certain kinds of festivals might be worthwhile for artists in one situation, but a waste of time and money for artists in a different situation.
What are you thoughts and experiences with the proliferation of questionable festivals? Have you applied to any? What was your experience? If you’ve been part of any festival team, what’s your perspective? Or as an audience member?
Let me hear from you! As with any online discussion, please listen carefully and reply thoughtfully. Thanks.
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Van McElwee here, David. I'm sure that I've unwittingly applied to these scams. The whole process is expensive and demoralizing. Then there's the confusion of not knowing if the award or recognition is something to be shared, documented, etc. I wish there was a rating system. At least we can do our own research and depend on our BS detectors.