Answers
Where can I get a listing of festivals happening around the world?
A comprehensive listing of documentary festivals can be found here on DFGdocs.
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Are there any major festivals I should aim to get my film into?
Two of the most important festivals to get your film into are the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (known as IDFA) and the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival in Toronto, Canada.
Both of these are high profile events and are extremely important, as they are well attended by 'the industry' - producers, commissioning editors, sales agents, and distributors etc. The opportunities to network, talk about your film, and generate interest are invaluable. As with all big festivals, they prefer your film to have some kind of "Premiere" status - if not a World Premiere, then at least a National, European (or North American in the case of Hot Docs) Premiere is helpful. So, try to get your timing right and put your films into either of these festivals first, and avoid submitting to other smaller festivals beforehand.
The good news with Hot Docs, and increasingly with other festivals too, is that even if your film is not accepted, it is still held in a videotheque there, and it's listed in a big handbook which is made available to buyers, other Festival Programmers, and Distributors. These people may choose to sit down and watch your film, so it's definitely worth submitting. In addition there is also a Shadow Festival run along side IDFA (http://www.shadowfestival.nl), and it's worth putting your film in here.
Other than that, there are several other major documentary festivals around the world that you should also consider. These include:
Silverdocs, USA (June)
The Yamagata International Film Festival, Japan (October)
Doc Leipzig, Germany (October/ November)
Sheffield Doc/Fest, UK (November)
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What about UK festivals?
Here in the UK, we have the
Sheffield International Documentary Festival, which takes place
in October. This again is an important industry event, with
seminars, workshops, talks, discussions, a videotheque, numerous
screenings, and of course that all-important bar to meet others and
'network'.
There's also OxDox and the new Britdoc festival, as well as
numerous other general and specialised festivals that accept
documentaries.
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How do I choose which festivals are best for my film?
Research the listings on this site and look for those festivals
that have 'industry' events alongside screenings, as these are
usually the best to publicize your work.
Also, look at previous festival programs and see if the kinds of
films screened are the kind of films you like (and ones you may
have heard of) - if they are, the odds are it's full of like-minded
people, and a good audience to appreciate your film. Many of these
festivals are extremely hospitable, looking after you, arranging
special 'directors' events and dinners, so make sure that you make
the most of these opportunities if you do go.
Lastly, this may sound obvious, but make sure your film meets a
festival's requirements before you submit it. For instance, if
you're planning to send your film off to a film festival that only
accepts films from a woman director and you're
not a woman, you might
want to think again.
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