Introduction
The festival platform is a tool that allows you to track the distribution. We constantly update the table, and it reflects the work we are doing with your film.
The table consists of fields with data about festivals, fees, selections, and awards. It is a private and secure link with a code in the URL, which we can deactivate at any time.
You should receive this link by email.
2. The “Inscrip” Filter
The most important filter is Inscrip=Yes/No, as it marks the forecast of festivals and the submissions already made. If you filter by «Yes,» you’ll see the festivals we have entered, and if you filter by «No,» you’ll be able to track the forecasted festivals, i.e., those we plan to send and are currently working on.
3. The Work Process
Each month, we prepare new submissions to festivals, which are noted in the table (Ins=No). Some of these festivals may not have opened their calls yet, but we note them just in case. As we make submissions, we confirm them, so the forecast number tends to fluctuate constantly. All these changes are reflected in the table.
During this process, you may send us festival proposals that you don’t see in the table.
4. Table Fields
Now let’s look at the fields the table is divided into:
4.1 Deadline and Type
This is the festival’s submission deadline, and this field can be filtered by month and year. The type refers to the deadline date, which can be early, regular, or late. For festivals with submission fees, we usually work with early and regular deadlines. For festivals with only one deadline and no fees, we typically default to regular deadline.
In this post, you can learn more about how festival submission fees work.
4.2 Search Bar
After the type, you’ll see a powerful search bar for festivals, which appear with a link to their website.
4.3 Country
You can filter by the country of the festival, and thus see in each case the submissions or forecasts we are managing.
4.4 Category
This is the festival category, which can be of various types. The General category includes festivals that accept all genres, and you can also see festivals that pre-select for the Oscars or the Goyas. The categories WP, IP, NP, and RP refer to the requirement of world premiere (WP), international (IP), national (NP), and regional (RP) premieres.
4.5 Submission Platforms
With this filter, you can see the platform we used for the submission. ONLINE refers to the individual submission forms for each festival. PDF indicates that we had to fill out and sign a form, and INVITATION means a special submission to the festival with which we have an agreement or are festivals that do not have an open call and only accept films by invitation.
In this link, you can view the submission platforms available on the market.
4.6 Fee
In this field, you can filter whether festivals have a submission fee or not.
4.7 Waiver
This refers to the exemption from the submission fee. In our work process, we usually reach agreements with festivals to avoid paying these fees or to secure a discount. These are the variables:
- No: This is the default field when the film is not yet submitted, meaning we are working on it, and it may change to discount or waiver.
- Yes: In this case, we have a waiver and won’t pay a fee.
- Disc: Submission with a discount.
- Never: These are festivals that clearly state in their guidelines that they do not offer waivers or discounts. We usually send to very few festivals with this variable.
4.8 € and €R
These fields are related to fees. € is the price we paid. If we received a waiver, it should be zero, and if it’s discounted, it will show the price we paid, always in Euros (dollars are converted to Euros).
In the case of €R, it’s the festival’s regular fee price, so you can compare the savings.
4.9 Response
If selected, it can be in competition: Contest or in side sections, Informative. By default, it is Pending, and we update it as festivals respond.
4.10 Award
This field tracks the number of awards won at the festival and can be sorted from highest to lowest.
4.11 Opening and Closing
These fields show the start and end dates of the festival. You can filter the start date by month and year, and you can also sort it from oldest to newest. This allows us to have a festival calendar, as the table is ordered by deadline date by default.
5. Table Header
Now that we understand the fields, let’s look at the header. It has two rows after the title. The first shows the number of festivals filtered in the table, sums the fees (the price paid), and the awards.
In the second row, the total real price of the fees (column €R) is shown. The savings are calculated by subtracting the real price from the actual fee expense. The Initial Credit and Extra Credit columns show the planned investment in fees. Finally, Available Fee Credit displays the remaining amount to pay fees.
6. Filter Combinations
The power of the table lies in the filters and the possible combinations. This way, you can view the festivals that are registered or forecasted with fees, or by country, etc. You can create any combination you want to track the distribution.
