Product Description
The guerrilla guide to marketing and selling an indie film.

Some people are just there for the loot bags. But most of the people at a film festival are trying to market and sell an independent film. Don’t be just one of the horde. Use Chris Gore’s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide to help your indie film stand out! Entertainment Weekly loves Gore’s book, calling it a “treatise on schmoozing, bullying, and otherwise weaseling one's way into the cinematic madness known as film festivals.” The newly revised and updated fourth edition includes full listings for more than 1,000 film festivals, with complete tips and contact information, plus in-depth analysis of the Big Ten festivals. With detailed, fresh how-tos for marketing, distributing, and selling a film and using websites to build buzz, plus interviews with top festival filmmakers, step-by-steps on what to do after your film gets accepted, and explanations of how to distribute a film, Chris Gore’s guide tells filmmakers exactly how to become a player in the indie world. Chris Gore’s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide includes complete listings for more than 1,000 festivals—find the best for indie, documentary, short, student, digital, and animation, and a CD-ROM! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

really funny and informative
I really liked this book. It gave a great incite into what it takes to get into a film festival though a marketing perspective. When making a movie this is great for providing information on stuff to keep in mind if you want to make money on your movie. He talks about how to get into parties and what your press kit should have. I find this information really valuable when making movies and writing scripts.

A Waste of Time and Money!
This book is like produce, it was too old and smelled before it hit the shelves.

A MUST read for filmmakers
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R18X5Z9VTGOHKJ But I wrote it, so I am biased. This short video should explain everything... ... Read more

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The first in an annual series, the Film Festival Yearbook 1: The Festival Circuit, published by St Andrews Film Studies in collaboration with College Gate Press, features articles related to the global proliferation of film festivals. This issue focuses on the dynamics of the film festival circuit, including the roles of individual festivals as nodes on this complex network and the cultural policies that shape its channels of film exhibition and distribution. This inaugural volume includes essays by Dina Iordanova, Ragan Rhyne, Janet Harbord, Charles-Clemens Ruling, Rahul Hamid, Kay Armatage, Ruby Cheung, Ma Ran, David Slocum, Mark Cousins, Nick Roddick, Dimitris Kerkinos, Marijke de Valck & Skadi Loist, and William Brown. ... Read more

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In an increasingly "event-driven" cultural environment, film festivals have become indispensable venues for exposure and promotion. Yet are Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto being sabotaged by their own success? Do these festivals truly serve the needs of cinephiles, as well as the larger public? This multifaceted collection of essays, memoirs, and impassioned polemics explores the decades-long debate over these controversial questions. Featuring a distinguished array of critics and programmers, the anthology begins with the first appearance in English of André Bazin's 1955 essay "The Festival Viewed as a Religious Order" and follows with essays examining the ongoing tension between market-oriented "business festivals" and festivals devoted to the needs of local audiences. Case studies assess the shifting fortunes of Asian film festivals, such as Hong Kong and Pusan, exemplary, cinephilic festivals, as in Vienna, Kino Otok, and Trieste, and one catastrophically mismanaged festival: Bangkok. The volume concludes with an exclusive interview with the fimmaker Atom Egoyan, whose career has been nurtured by his participation in a variety of international film festivals.

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Since its inception in 1946, the Cannes Film Festival has embraced the high-brow and the high-glam - new cinema from Iran or China and red carpet parades from Madonna or Nicole Kidman. Who is not familiar with Cannes' famous paparazzi scrums, beachfront happenings and world premieres? But the history of Cannes is also famous for scandals and controversies, where the great nations of the world have gathered and clashed. The history of Cannes is littered with key moments, flashpoints that changed international culture. This vivid and beguiling history reveals the best and most revelatory tales from this festival's spectacular history through previously untold first-hand accounts from key players. ... Read more

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Includes interviews with more than one hundred Cannes insiders to provide a glimpse into the annual Cannes Film Festival, where everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Grace Kelly have converged during this international summit for the movies. ... Read more

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Chris Gore reveals how to get a film accepted and what to do after acceptance, from putting together a press kit to putting on a great party.Amazon.com Review
The recent boom in independent filmmaking has been both a boon and an added challenge for aspiring directors. While the chic status of festivals like Sundance makes it easier for a few hot new directors to find major distributors, other worthy films risk being lost amid a sudden flood of contenders. Chris Gore, editor of Film Threat magazine, has written the Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide to help the aspiring auteur rise above the tide. The book is chock-full of practical down-and-dirty advice. Every aspect of submitting to and attending film festivals is covered, from an exhaustive listing of festivals and their entry deadlines (the Turku, Finland, Lesbian and Gay Film Festival deadline is in July, so get cracking) to what to wear to the industry party you'll be crashing (big pants with big pockets, the better to stash giveaways and whip out business cards). You can even find a listing for the best bar in the Ukraine (Eric's in Kyiv) and a sidebar of handy tips that will keep you on your projectionist's good side.

Perhaps most helpful is Gore's inclusion of interviews with actual filmmakers who have experienced wildly varying degrees of success; the directors are remarkably candid and very generously try to help others avoid their own mistakes. Those who are still struggling not only illustrate the ongoing process of learning to play industry games, they show an artist's remarkable ability to keep the spirit alive. Filmmaker Joal Ryan memorably describes taking inspiration from the career of Pauly Shore: "The world tells him he's not funny; he says he is--and keeps working." Whether you want to be a filmmaker or just party like one, The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide will help you operate like a true industry player. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Not fully read but looks good.
I have not read this book completely but what I did read looks very good and informative.

Most complete overview of the film festival world
This work provides the most comprehensive insight into the film festival environment.If you are a festival fan, film maker or festival sponsor this will certainly help you maximize your effort (and avoid those little stupid mistakes!).

The independent film business has changed dramatically during our economic downturn.If you want to learn from others' mistakes and enhance your chance to be successful, this is a mandatory addition to your bookshelf.

Helped us achieve a nomination for our film "How the Game Is Played"
We recently entered the New York International & Independent Film and Video Festival in December of 2008. We purchased Chris Gore`s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide to help us become familiar with the festival world. We learned so much from the book that our 1st film festival was a complete success! We were really involved and created a buzz about our movie, that ended up with a full audience and resulting in a standing ovation! To top it off the film did so well the festival staff asked us to stay and give a 2nd screening which no other film received this great honor! We owe a lot of our success at the festival to Chris Gore`s wonderful book, we knew exactly what to do, it was like we had been attending festivals our whole life`s, and boy did we have fun! We just received our nomination for an award, which will be presented at the next festival in March of 2009!How the Game Is Played is also available on amazon.com!

This book is indispensable if you are an indie filmmaker
I am an independent filmmaker and run my own film festival in Utah, called The Gangrene Film Festival. I have striven to find a short list of film festivals that have good patronage and excellent exposure in which to enter my short films in. The truth is, the film festival scene is so saturated with fly-by-night film festivals that merely searching with Google only gives you a huge list of podunk festivals that aren't worth your while.

Chris Gore's book is an excellent resource to help weed through the white noise and get at the festivals that will truly find you exposure. He categorizes festivals into different groups, those with high-exposure, middle-of the road fests, and all the rest. He also categorizes festivals by genre, which I found particularly useful.

If you aim to send your films to the festivals, make sure you start with Chris Gore's book. It is absolutely comprehensive--the only festival guide you will ever need.

Thanks, Chris, and keep going man.

Hope this helps.

-Craig Nybo, co-author of Total Human: The Complete Strength Training System

Must Have For Any Filmmaker
This book is a much needed addition for any filmmaker. Not only does it list an extensive amount of festivals, it gives solid info about each festival that you usually don't find on the festival's website. Chris Gore also did a wonderful thing, he has top ten lists for categories such as; top ten underground fests, top ten digital media fests, etc. You don't want to blindly send out your film and pay the outragous festival fees if you know your film doesn't fit the vibe of the festival you are sending to. With this book you will avoid doing this. If you only get one book before sending your film out to festivals, get this one! ... Read more

Product Description
Every year thousands of filmmakers like you unleash their newly completed movies upon the film festival circuit. Whether you're a first-timer with a comedy short or a seasoned veteran with a documentary feature, you all face the same set of problems. You all ask the same questions. You all want the pleasure of seeing your film play before a festival audience and gain the recognition it deserves. This is your book.Film Festival secrets will help you select the right festivals for your film, prepare your festival screener, save money on festival fees, create marketing collateral, and craft a screening sell out plan. And that's just the beginning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Great resource!
Very insightful, thoughtful, frank guide to navigating the shark-infested film festival waters, with many great ideas on promotion and tactics. I have played the woeful film festival game many times, and still found great new ideas and inspiration. Kudos!

Useful and reassuring
Chris's "Film Festival Secrets" book appears to be an excellent guidebook to the independent film festival circuit (I say 'appears' because we are about to jump into this world with our first feature drama TRIUMPH67). I found the writing to be informative, easy to digest, and quite exciting. Filled with great advice and festival insider tips and tricks, this handbook for indie filmmakers is a must-have and I've already recommended it to several other budding film directors and producers. I think you will really enjoy this book, I sure did. Thanks, Chris, for putting out this resource.

Jeremy W, cinematographer/co-producer
[...]

A Secret Review For Independent Filmmakers
The book, "Film Festival Secrets for Independent Filmmakers" is not what I consider to be a worthwhile read. It would have been more useful for me if it was not too short and not too long, I was getting bored very quickly.

Excellent Advice
Mr. Holland's book presents extremely practical advice on how to navigate the film festival world, from submitting your film to getting the most out of your experience at the festival, and following up with your contacts afterward. He even includes xtra tips for filmmakers of shorts, who normally get pushed to the side in favor of the feature length films at major festivals. Excellent advice for any indie filmmaker, written in a down-to-earth style. It's a keeper.

Scret Weapon
As a film director, it can be difficult to 'Think with the End in Mind'. Between scripting, casting, the hassles and chaos of the shoot, and all of the little battles in the war of film production... figuring out where to go once the edit is complete can be daunting. It's like figuring out the way through a dense forest, only to come onto a new forest entirely. Where do you go from here? "Film Festival Secrets" is that map you've been looking for. It was recommended to me by a previous film festival programmer (now filmmaker himself) who told me that, amongst film festival programmers and the like, this book held the dirty secrets that they had to deal with on a day-to-day basis. The elusive secrets behind premiere status', the workarounds, and the overall path to playing your film on a fest circuit is laid out here. It really is a secret weapon. Don't read it after you complete your next film... read it before you start it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Condition
The book was in excellent condition and the shipping was quick.I am very pleased with my purchase.Thank you! ... Read more

Product Description

Surviving and thriving in Park City at America's most important film festival.

Independent film at 7,500 feet! January in Utah - for 10 days, the normally sleepy mountain resort of Park City becomes the focus of the movie world, as 50,000 people descend on the town to sample the year's finest independent films, do a little business, and partake in all that is the Sundance Film Festival.

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic for film fans and filmmakers
Sundance is such a cool festival, but has changed radically over the last 10 years (and is still changing).The festival has also taken on a kind of mythical status, and as a result it can sometimes be difficult to separate the reality from the hype.Thankfully this book cuts to the chase and provides a load of info on both the festival and the city of Park City itself.If you're a filmmaker (or wanna-be), then the business section provides a useful insight into how buying and selling operates in a festival context (although I'd love to see more on this topic).The city and festival guides are certainly comprehensive, but the I think the most valuable part of the book is the collection of interviews with different people from across the industry talking about their Sundance experiences and how the festival works for them.This provides a wonderful insight into the inner workings of the festival which isn't available in any of the official literature.A great little book which will definitely make your visit to Park City a breeze! ... Read more

Product Description
Film Festivals and Imagined Communities, the second volume in the Film Festival Yearbook series, brings together essays about festivals that use international cinema to mediate the creation of transnational imagined communities. There are texts about the cultural policies and funding models linked to these festivals, as well as analysis of programming practices linked to these often highly politicised events. The case studies discuss diaspora-linked festivals that take place in Vienna, San Francisco, San Sebastian, Havana, Bradford, Sahara, South Korea, and London and that feature cinema from places as diverse as Nepal and Kurdistan, Africa and Latin America. Authors include Lindiwe Dovey, Ruby Cheung, Michael Guillén, Jérôme Segal, Miriam Ross, Roy Stafford, Yun Mi Hwang, Isabel Santaolalla and Stefan Simanowitz, Mustafa Gundogdu, and Dina Iordanova. The Resources section features an up-to-date bibliography on film festival scholarship (by Skadi Loist and Marijke de Valck) and an extensive thematically-organised listing of a variety of transnational festivals. ... Read more

Product Description
Almost every day of the year a film festival takes place somewhere in the world--from sub-Saharan Africa to the Land of the Midnight Sun. Sundance to Sarajevo is a tour of the world's film festivals by an insider whose familiarity with the personalities, places, and culture surrounding the cinema makes him uniquely suited to his role. Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, writes about the most unusual as well as the most important film festivals, and the cities in which they occur, with an eye toward the larger picture. His lively narrative emphasizes the cultural, political, and sociological aspects of each event as well as the human stories that influence the various and telling ways the film world and the real world intersect.

Of the festivals profiled in detail, Cannes and Sundance are obvious choices as the biggest, brashest, and most influential of the bunch. The others were selected for their ability to open a window onto a wider, more diverse world and cinema's place in it. Sometimes, as with Sarajevo and Havana, film is a vehicle for understanding the international political community's most vexing dilemmas. Sometimes, as with Burkina Faso's FESPACO and Pordenone's Giornate del Cinema Muto, it's a chance to examine the very nature of the cinematic experience. But always the stories in this book show us that film means more and touches deeper chords than anyone might have expected. No other book explores so many different festivals in such detail or provides a context beyond the merely cinematic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting view of film festivals
Great articles about the fests. You can tell that there is knowledge to back up the passion in the writing.

Travel writing as film history
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times and NPR film critic, has traveled the world to watch movies at film festivals so that the viewing public can learn about new, upcoming films and the stars and artists that make them. Along the way, he has seen it all, from the upstart come mega-festival Sundance to little known venues in war zones like Sarajevo, Bosnia and Burkina Faso in Africa.

Now, Turan has written a delightful travelogue of his experiences, focusing on 12 of the more than 400 film festivals each year. The festivals he spotlights are divided into four sections: Festivals with Business Agendas (Cannes, Sundance, ShoWest), Festivals with Geopolitical Agendas (Burkina Faso, Havana, Sarajevo, Midnight Sun), Festivals with Aesthetic Agendas (Pordenone, Lone Pine, Telluride), and some failures under the section of the Politics of Festivals.

From the food to the people to the landscape to the cities to the films, Turan feeds us the flavors of each festival; but, that is not all as we get all the juice and details from behind the scenes of these festivals, and we really learn how they tick.

If you are a successful filmmaker, you will enjoy the nostalgic ride; if you are an inspiring filmmaker, there is much to learn before you visit your first festival as an insider; and, if you are a film buff, then you will enjoy the ride with Turan as he visits the festivals in ways we can't. Come along and visit the place where big Hollywoodland meets the independent spirit of film.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way. ... Read more

Product Description
Film festivals have become the new meccas of emerging film talent around the world. Industry players and wannabes alike flock to them in droves. Whether you're thinking about Toronto, Cannes, Sundance or Slamdance, The Variety Guide to Film Festivals is an indispensable source of information for filmmakers and fans alike, with listings of virtually every film festival in the world, and insider profiles of key fests. You'll know all you need to know:how festivals work, who goes, and why they can be an independent filmmaker's best friend. And you'll get it in a way that is only possible from Variety--the largest entertainment news staff in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A brilliant distillation of expert views on key fests
I don't know when this fest guide came out, but it's a revelation. As an indie film producer and festgoer, I've waded through all of the hype and junk on festivals. They fall into two categories; either they're stodgy anddry or they're filled with crap about where to go dancing and/or be seen.Festivals cost a lot of money and time to attend and thank God the expertsat Variety have cut through the nonsense and delivered a book that istimely, informed and concise. This festival guide cuts to the chase. Also,having been around the intl. fest scene, I know the names like Peter Cowie,David Stratton, Gerald Pratley, Derek Elley, et al. These people know theirfests and they can't be bought off, which I suspect is the case with someof the nonsense I've read in books that supposedly help you"survive" fests.

Total snoozefest! Helpful only if you're a complete bore!
This has to be one of the most boring books I've ever read. Follow this book, and you'll end up waiting tables in no time. The film festival guide by Chris Gore is a much better, more informative read. Avoid thissnoozefest!

INACCURATE, THIN ON USEFUL INFORMATION
I expected quite a bit more from the staff of Variety but this compilation of articles reprinted from the archives of Variety lacks focus.It is unclear who this books is for -- the filmmaker or the traveller?The thincontent satisfies neither.In addition, there are glaring inaccuracies inthe listings and appendix such as the phone number for the Sundance FilmFestival, which is wrong.How could they get this number wrong?! Also, thebook is only a paltry 197 pages, not the 288 pages mentioned in the bookdescription.Buyer beware.

PS to last review!
Also omitted is the Franco-Spanish Film Festival -- held in Miami last year, sponsored by the French and Spanish governments,a venue mostly for Latin American films co-financed by the French and Spanish. It has beengoing for at least two years. Another indication that this compendium offilm festivals is neither all-encompassing nor up-to-date.

Good overview of film festivals but incomplete
Gaydos's guide is nicely-organized by date, which is helpful for filmfestival entrants,and the various indexes (country, genre,etc.)areexcellent, but does it really include all-- or at least, all the major --film festivals? If it doesn't, it's misleading to claim (from the backcover) that "you'll know all you need to know." One extremelyimportant festival it doesn't mention is the New York Film Expo, which isthe oldest venue for short independently-made films (narrative,documentary, animation, experimental) in the United States. The Expo beganin 1966 or 1967 in Canton, New York,at St. Lawrence University and movedwith its founder, Nick Manning, to various campuses across the countrybefore settling in New York City.(It's now independently run.)Variety hasrun articles about it, as has the Village Voice and like publications.Danny De Vito, Spike Lee, and other filmmakers had among their firstexposures (and some the first of many awards) at this festival. If thismajor festival was omitted from Gaydos otherwise well-done compendium, onehas to wonder how many others have also been omitted ... Read more

Product Description
This guide offers a wide range of unique information onover 500 film festivals around the world. Excellent for anyoneinvolved in the film industry at any level. Attorney John Sloss writesits foreword. He is according to the Hollywood Reporter " thequintessential indie lawyer[whose] projects are quality all theway".The guide also has feature articles which include the making of"Cuba 15" an award-winning short film by its creator Elizabeth Schub,the benefits of travelling festivals and first hand coverage ofdifferent festivals throughout the world. It also includes a listingof producers and distributors, and film schools. Produced inassociation with the Kodak Emerging Filmaker Program.

There is a brief description of each film festival, with festivaldates, addresses, number of attendees, type of film accepted,languages and country restrictions, entry fees, email and websiteinformation, contact person and awards. Each entry is separatelyindexed alphabetically, by month, genre, country and submission dateto make searching as easy and quick as possible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Frustrating
With online listings readily available, the listings in this and other film festival books are not particularly relevant. This one in particular, since it is three years old.

The value of these books, then, is the commentary. IFFG has some good stuff, specifically the first-hand accounts, by filmmakers, of their experiences at many different festivals (though sadly they too often consist of reviews of the movies that played at these festivals, which is especially irrelevant four years after the fact). Overall, it is a useful tool for filmmakers trying to decide which festival to attend, though I would say it is inferior to the Gore book in this regard, and quite dated.

Unfortunately, it is marred by absolutely the worst editing I've ever seen. Every page has numerous typographic and grammatical errors, something that is especially ridiculous considering that this is a 3rd edition. The mistakes are consistent across the many different authors who contributed to the book, so these are errors of commission, not omission.

My favorite is the use of an enye (n with a tilde over it) for the word "in", which is particularly incomprehensible in a book with no spanish language content. My current theory is that the text was handwritten, then OCR'd into the computer and rushed to print.

I can't recommend it.

Insightful, organized and useful
The best of the bunch.Excellent online suppport for updates

Essential reference guide for confused indie filmmakers!
There are many upsides to this fest guide book, the contact information is first rate and the AMOUNT of international festivals blew me away! First of all as a low-budget filmmaker I had no idea there were that many festivalsout there for me! I also liked the articles from other filmmakers and I'mhoping the author will have more of that in the next edition. The guidecould do with a blast of color but really that's just minor. As a referenceguide, I've recommended it to my colleagues.

Essential for indie filmmakers to tackle the fest circuit!
I actually stumbled on this guide inadvertently and after scanning the others, selected this particular festival guide. The descriptions were clear without being cutesy and the comments section was very valuable. Ilike the extensive contact information and the indexing is very thorough.As an indie Canadian filmmaker I would like to thank Mr. Stolberg for hisefforts. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Take One, published by Canadian Independent Film & Television Publishing Association on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1054 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (11/24-28/04).(Festival Wraps)
Author: Allan Tong
Publication: Take One (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: Canadian Independent Film & Television Publishing Association
Volume: 13Issue: 49Page: 43(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more