Category: Film Fests

Director Thais Francis Takes On Social Media in “Late Expectations”

February 15, 2016

Scrolling through picture-perfect Instagram shots inspired Thais Francis to write her first-ever film, Late Expectations, showing at Cinema Village on Saturday, February 20 at 4:30 p.m. as part of the 2016 Winter Film Festival (February 18 to 26 in New York City). In the short film, high school senior India seems to be living a … More Director Thais Francis Takes On Social Media in “Late Expectations”

Talking Trash With Dean Dempsey, Director of Candy Apple

February 3, 2016

If you like your New York served up grimy, and filled with an assortment of intense, oddball characters that are low on cash but high on ideas, you don’t want to miss Candy Apple, showing February 19th at 9:30 at Cinema Village as part of the 2016 Winter Film Awards,running Feb. 18th through 26th in New … More Talking Trash With Dean Dempsey, Director of Candy Apple

Director Natalie van den Dungen Tells How Being a New Girl Herself Inspired “Bunny New Girl”

January 24, 2016

It’s Annabelle’s first day at a new school in the short film, Bunny New Girl, screening on February 20th at 8 p.m. at Cinema Village as part of the Winter Film Awards Festival in New York City. That feeling of anxiety is something that anyone whose family moved when they were a kid can relate to, but for … More Director Natalie van den Dungen Tells How Being a New Girl Herself Inspired “Bunny New Girl”

Filmmaker Cinder Chou Tells How a Smelly Sweater Inspired “What Happened to Susan”

January 20, 2016

We live in a very complicated world, but sometimes it’s the little everyday things that can really drive you mad. For writer/director Cinder Chou, a fairly mundane annoyance became the inspiration for her first film, What Happened to Susan, screening on February 20th at 8 p.m. as part of the Winter Film Awards Festival in New York … More Filmmaker Cinder Chou Tells How a Smelly Sweater Inspired “What Happened to Susan”

Call for Entries | Winter Film Awards 2016 Indie Film Fest

June 16, 2015

WINTER FILM AWARDS announces a CALL FOR ENTRIES for the 2016 Indie Film Festival to be held Feb 24-27 2016 in NYC. We seek diverse, fresh voices and creative indie films from emerging filmmakers in all genres – feature length and shorts, narrative fiction, documentary, animation, horror, web series and music videos. … More Call for Entries | Winter Film Awards 2016 Indie Film Fest

5 Film Festival Survival Tips for Introverts

August 11, 2014

From Raindance.org: It was awards night at my first film festival in Houston, and a man introduced himself.  His appearance screamed Hollywood.  Trendy suit.  Slicked back hair.  Unwavering eye contact.  This was the type of person film festivals were made for — not me.  He held out his hand and assured me that we had … More 5 Film Festival Survival Tips for Introverts

Write, Direct, Repeat: Film Festivals and the Short Film, Part 1

July 26, 2014

Last week I had the thrilling opportunity to premiere my second short film, Deal Travis In, at the New York International Short Film Festival. This was the second consecutive year I premiered a short at this festival and my mind was flooded with memories of how I felt at this time last year. I had … More Write, Direct, Repeat: Film Festivals and the Short Film, Part 1

Your Movie's Been Accepted to a Festival – Now What?

July 22, 2014

By Mara Lesemann: I’ve spent the past year taking my first feature (Surviving Family – http://www.survivingfamily.us) to 18 film festivals in the US and Canada; we also had 2 invitation-only screenings for family and friends. While we didn’t hit the festival home run that everyone dreams of (Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, etc.), we did get into … More Your Movie's Been Accepted to a Festival – Now What?

An IW Investigation: The Dark Underbelly of the Film Festival Circuit, Part 1

July 1, 2014

When the Sundance Film Festival hands out its grand jury prizes Jan. 26 in Park City, it will be an evening full of elated filmmakers, both new and established, filled with satisfaction and an anticipation of what’s to come for their films as they are recognized at the country’s premiere festival. On the same night, … More An IW Investigation: The Dark Underbelly of the Film Festival Circuit, Part 1

What Festival Directors Really Think

September 11, 2013

Stephen Follows (Blog) contacted 5,000 film festival directors, asking them to fill in a quick anonymous survey about their experiences.  523 festival directors completed the survey. Following is the third of three articles Stephen wrote about the results. In the last installment of my Film Festival Survey, I offer the thoughts of film festival directors from … More What Festival Directors Really Think

Three Film Festival Tips for New and Emerging Filmmakers

June 30, 2013

Every year, filmmakers flock to international film festivals like Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice, and SXSW in search for distribution deals that will take their work to screens around the world. For many independent creators, the combined cost of travel, accommodation, meals and festival fees may eat up a large part of your marketing budget or … More Three Film Festival Tips for New and Emerging Filmmakers

What to expect when you're expecting to get into a film festival

March 21, 2013

By Kat Candler, Independent FIlmmaker Project In the spirit of SXSW starting this weekend, I’ve put together a list of things you can expect when taking your short film out into the world. But let’s start with … Making movies is hard. And you’re gonna get rejected. A lot. And getting rejected repeatedly can kill … More What to expect when you're expecting to get into a film festival