Film Fest

Raindance presents 2008 Film Festival Toolkit

Greetings! Raindance Film Festival was launched 16 years ago - in 1993. We thought we'd share some of the things we've learned through trial and error. Click here to see the 4 reasons to attend film festivals. Read on for our Film Festival Toolkit:

1. The Script Before you shoot, have a think about the script. Is there a special angle that you can use that will make your film (short or feature) stand out? Here's an article that might help: 9 Elements of Great Films While you are at script stage, why not look at the top 100 films that did NOT get made in 2007: The Black List

Why Raindance? Raindance is all about films and filmmakers. We are not a red carpet festival. We put all of our resources into making this the best festival for you and your film. Raindance 2008 Submission details click here (Early Deadline 1st May, final deadline June 6) 2. Publicity and Promotion Getting the word out is the creative challenge. First, you will need to write a press kit. Click here for the 7 Essentials For a Press Kit Part of your job is to write a press release. Click here for How to Write a Press Release. Perhaps you want to market your movie on the internet. Click here for some ideas on How to Market Your Film on the Internet Why Raindance? Filmmakers and film lovers attend Raindance making the festival a fantastic place to network. Many filmmakers, writers, directors and producers have met at Raindance over the years and have moved on to collaborate and exchange ideas.

3. Avoid These Pitfalls After 16 years of running a film festival and noting dozens of cock-ups, I wrote this article: 10 Stupid Mistakes Filmmakers Make Probably the biggest mistake you can make is to include music that is not cleared. You won't be able to screen your film at festivals, let alone sell it. Click here for some advice on Music Rights Want to take a reality check? Click here for the 10 Dirty Secrets of Independent Film Are you interested in the Cannes Film Festival? Take our tour, courtesy of Tiscali.co.uk. Why Raindance? The Festival team and jury are filmmakers; they are sensitive and responsive to the needs of filmmakers. The festival is determined to get your films in front of the best eyes in the industry. Here's a look at last year's jury. Raindance 2008 Submission details click here (Early Deadline 1st May) 4. What do festivals want? Click here for the most common FAQ's we get asked at Raindance. Here is a great interview with our Senior Programmer. Interested in a career as a filmmaker? Here's a tongue-in-cheek article full of useful do's-and-don'ts: How To Fake Being An Indie Auteur Click here for a useful list of Distribution Tools Why Raindance? Prestige and education. Our panel discussions are considered some of the best anywhere. Have a look at last years events here. Many of our events were filmed. You can see them here, courtesy of Tiscali.co.uk 5. Some more stuff! Click here to learn How to Profit from Sundance (and other festivals!) Click here for The World's Top 100 Film Festivals for Shorts Click here for 10 Sites to Watch Films Click here for Money-Making Sites for Filmmakers Why Raindance? Awards and jury prizes Raindance has a long list of Awards which look great on any film's CV. Have a look a the list of awards from last years festival. Raindance also founded the British Independent Film Awards. Submitting your short or feature to Raindance means your film is automatically included for the BIFAs Raindance 2008 Submission details click here (Early Deadline 1st May, final deadline June 1) I hope you enjoyed this. I look forward to seeing you and your film at Raindance. Sincerely, Elliot Grove and the Raindance Team Raindance Festivals Limited

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