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re: I've always wanted to go (Reply to this comment)
by cntaur5
I've always wanted to go to the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Your review will have to suffice this year! Thanks!
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Nov 17 '00
6:12 am PST
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I love your reviews (Reply to this comment)
by grandgram
Your reviews are so different and interesting from others on this Texas reading group. This is the only reading group I joined and I loved to read how you are doing with your film. Best of luck to you and hope you make it to the big screen soon.
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Nov 19 '00
2:45 pm PST
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I love your reviews (Reply to this comment)
by grandgram
Your reviews are so different and interesting from others on this Texas reading group. This is the only reading group I joined and I loved to read how you are doing with your film. Best of luck to you and hope you make it to the big screen soon.
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Nov 19 '00
2:45 pm PST
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I love your reviews (Reply to this comment)
by grandgram
Your reviews are so different and interesting from others on this Texas reading group. This is the only reading group I joined and I loved to read how you are doing with your film. Best of luck to you and hope you make it to the big screen soon.
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Nov 19 '00
2:45 pm PST
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the ? festival (Reply to this comment)
by mabbis
i had a film play at the 2003 new york april edition of this festival. the marketing people leave little to be desired and have all the manners of a wild animal looking for it's next kill. bad, bad, bad behavior. it appears that this festival's major concern is having you give them money everytime they are required to interact with you. and if you stand your ground and tell them that you are not interested in their "fabulous" packages, they will not do one thing for you.
this film festival screens any film as long as you have the money. it is not a festival that you want to send your film if you are looking for a true assessment of your film. while other film festivals are charging a reasonable price the reputation of the new york international independent film and video festival says it all by the amount of their entry fees.
good luck to all independent film makers.
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Nov 18 '03
11:20 am PST
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STAY AWAY! (Reply to this comment)
by angry_filmaker
STAY AWAY from this festival. ALL they want is your money and they are not legit.
I only caught on after I had sent them the money. Here’s my story. They told me I would fill the last spot in the festival... and if I didn't send it right away I wouldn't get in. They told me all these big names would be there. They told me my movie was perfect and exactly what they where looking for….. and most importantly they told me I would get a refund if I didn’t get in. Once the $300 went through they told be I had closed the festival. I started to realize how much I had just got played after I hung up, so I got my producer to submit using a fake name. He filled in the bare essentials and made up a movie that sounded really bad, he even misspelled the title. And sure enough they came a calling. Telling him there was only a few spots left in the festival (which I had supposedly closed) and he should sent them the money right away if he wanted to get in. I then called them to withdraw and get a refund, I didn’t think there would be a problem because they say they give a full refund if your not accepted, and I hadn't been accepted yet. But they said its company policy not to refund inless your not accepted... even if you haven’t been reviewed yet. So now I have to hope they don’t like my movie and submit this entry to every message board I can find! By the way, from what I hear, if your check clears your in.
So basically stay away from these slim balls! They are what’s wrong with the world!!! They're only in the business for money and they don't care about you. Submit only if you can't get anywhere and can afford it, otherwise send them bad karma and hope Stuart Alson dies a slow and lonely death.
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Mar 23 '04
2:45 pm PST
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Horses for courses (Reply to this comment)
by filmie
(If you can make it through my whinges, there are also some comments of hope towards the end)
THE GRIPE:
I've just returned from screening my film at this festival in New York. I would have to agree with Hamburgerman's advice not to expect much from the festival organisers for promotion of your film. All promotion (and subsequent number of bums on seats) is totally up to you as the filmmaker. And as for potential distribution, again it is completely up to you to do the schmooze, the hunt and the capture.
The Opening Night Gala bore elements something short of a crazed street market, filmmakers squashed like sardines, not only competing for oxygen in the crush, but also for attention over each other in what seemed futile attempts to cheer the (supposed) brilliance of their films. Compounded by the nightclub venue (the ultimate sleazemarket), the overall vibe was cheap and mayhemic. If there really were as many (useful) "Industry reps" present, as the organisers claimed, they were anonymous (and if you were one, why wouldn't you be?) and probably attended on a quick in/out basis.
While on the topic of Opening Night, I'd have to say, the chaotic atmosphere was partially due to what seemed like sheer organisational disarray. Filmmakers who spent big $$$ on buying booths (small tables you could barely lay your material on) were left (without greeting from any festival official) to work out for themselves their booth location if it hadn't already been taken over by an adjoining exhibitor. To send you on another dark note for the evening, the security guards to the venue obviously weren't informed of entry procedures, as I know of many exhibitors who were at near fisticuffs to be allowed entry into the festival that they had paid premium dollar for. Again, the knuckleheadedness of these guys out the front only "cheapified" the overall atmosphere of the event.
The sum of my gripes about this festival is this:
1. Expensive. Very.
2. Unsophisticated (both in festival presentation and calibre of some of the exhibiting films).
3. Hard-sell tone of all the festival staff (which isn't hard to see through; only a pain in the butt to deal with) (not to mention, lowers the festival brand a few notches on the crediblity scale).
4. The inequitable/lack of effort by festival staff to support film promotion.
5. The questionable marketing strategies of the festival as a whole (eg focuses more filmmaker enrolments than it does on effectively targeting industry and audience attention) (Sidenote: at a basic level, this event wasn't even listed in TimeOut!)
THE GOOD BITS:
Despite all this, if you as a filmmaker can endure all the above, there are some positive aspects (you have to bear the patience) to discover. Most of it basically starts with you slightly shifting your perspective on things and being realistic with your expectations.
Firstly, it's not a film festival. It operates like a film market. "A festival" has connotations of prestige and excellence; something to celebrate. This event is NOT that. It's something where you (as the producer of the goods) sell and expose. Therefore it's a "market". You do the selling. You and you alone are responsible for your own sales. The organisers are responsible for the forum for you to do so. And provide you with the banner of a festival which is a marketable attachment in your selling process.
This is actually, in my view, why participating in this festival benefits over simply hiring a theatre and holding an independent screening. Your real target viewers (whether they be industry or public) are more likely to attend a screening that is part of a festival as opposed to a solo screening. And whilst many exhibitors may form many lists complaining about its general modus operendii, members of outer circles aren't aware of the questionable practices that those within experience. If your film doesn't meet the acceptance criteria of the Tribecas, the Cannes, the Sundances of the world, the NYIIFVF branding (even at a token level) will give it more edge than if it didn't have any festival attachment at all.
Another benefit of participating in a collective screening (200 fellow exhibitors) is the networking opportunities. As an indie filmmaker, it's imperative your contact list is perpetually growing. Even just meeting other filmmakers, you can build your bank of potential future collaborators... and if the theory of 7 degrees of separation holds true, you may meet your future link to your next big investor. You never know it might be only a couple of degrees of separation. But, despite the annoying cliche (and admittance that this is a festival benefit) you have to be in it to win it!
Okay, here comes my surprising (even to me) festival jackpot.... THE SEMINARS! The daily seminars conducted were EXCELLENT in my view. I'd very nearly say they were worth the festival entry fee alone. They were informative, insightful and therefore USEFUL; and delivered by some highly respectable and engaging speakers. A brief, personal Q&A at the end of each session also allowed for another entry into the professional black book, not to mention a quick self-promotion if relevant. From this perspective, I would say the festival actually serves very effectively as a conference - an informative networking arena.
Would I enter this festival again?
Yes, if a pre-allocated marketing budget allowed for it.
Yes, if my film didn't get accepted into other festivals (for various reasons other than being of substandard quality).
No, if my expectations of it were anything more than a film market / film conference.
No, if they insist on the hard-sell approach even on a second-time participant.
In sum, I would try other festivals first.
I wouldn't "find the money" for it especially.
I would laugh in their face when they tell me I'll just make the deadline if I get my money to them pronto.
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May 03 '04
11:43 am PDT
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