Navigating the Film Festival Circuit as an Independent Filmmaker

Rebecca Norris Resnick

You’ve finished writing and producing a film—congratulations! Now what? You need to find your audience, make connections, and build credibility as a filmmaker. A great way to do that is by submitting your film to festivals that can offer potential exposure, awards, and networking opportunities. However, navigating the film festival circuit can be daunting without guidance from someone who’s been in the trenches.

In this 26-minute tutorial, writer/filmmaker Rebecca Norris Resnick, who has written and produced multiple films that have been on the festival circuit worldwide, will walk you through how to submit your film to festivals across the globe, and how to prepare for the experience of attending festivals. You’ll also learn how to handle the selection process, deal with rejections, create marketing materials and press kits for festivals you are accepted to, and how to get the word out to industry and audience members alike to build a fan base for your work.

About the Instructor

Rebecca Norris Resnick is a screenwriter, filmmaker, script analyst, instructor for Writer’s Digest University, and columnist for Script Magazine. Distributed features include Cloudy With a Chance of Sunshine (Indie Rights and House Lights Media) and short films On Becoming a Man (Shorts International) and Toasted, which won the Canadian Film Centre’s ShortsNonStop competition. Her web series, Split, won multiple awards at LA WebFest and was nominated for an Indie Series Award.

Rebecca’s films have screened in festivals worldwide including the Cannes Film Festival, Dances With Films, Hollyshorts, and the Manhattan Film Festival, and have won numerous awards. Rebecca is also an alumna of the ABC/Disney Television Discovers program, where her script Misfortune Cookies was performed in both New York and Los Angeles. As a script analyst, she has read for many contests/companies, including Sundance, Screencraft, BlueCat, Screen Queensland, ScriptXpert, QED Entertainment (District 9, Fury), and Southpaw Entertainment (The Space Between Us, August Rush). When not working on her newest project, Rebecca stays on her toes chasing both her adorable daughter and her tuxedo cat, Sox.

Learn more about Rebecca at rebeccanorrisresnick.com.