Exploiting the filmmaker's dream to cash in on a non-existent festival: it happens on a large scale in the film industry. Everyone in the film world knows about it, but few are willing to speak out.
Go Short does not. During workshops, such as the Gelderland Film Meeting, Go Short regularly addresses this topic. For a long time, we stood alone in the fight against scam festivals, but fortunately, we now feel supported by film journalist Cesar Majorana (VPRO). In his three-part podcast series Op de vijfde rij, created in collaboration with EYE Filmmuseum, he exposes the dubious festivals that profit at the expense of filmmakers. Like a true Alberto Stegeman, he sank his teeth into the subject and investigated it, bringing this issue from the film niche to the wider public. We spoke with him about his research.
How did you come across these film festivals?
"A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Cannes for VPRO. When I received the invitation and looked it up online, I found another film festival taking place around the same time in Cannes. At first, I wasn’t sure which one I was supposed to attend. I brought it up in a group of filmmakers, and they told me it was probably a ‘scam festival.’ My editor-in-chief had wanted to do something with this topic for the podcast for a while – and so it happened."
Where are all these film festivals suddenly coming from?
"Most of them come from FilmFreeway. This is a platform where hundreds of questionable film festivals are created. Filmmakers are asked to pay hundreds of euros in entry fees, and if they win, they basically receive a worthless prize. They get an A4 sheet and a PDF file containing a laurel that they can use for their film's distribution."
“The heartbreaking thing is that many filmmakers are unaware of this. They live in Brooklyn, New York, and submit their film to the Amsterdam International Film Festival. When you're that far removed from the place where the film festival is organized, it might sound like a legitimate festival. However, it doesn’t actually take place. The work of the filmmakers isn’t reviewed, and one of the ‘winners’ randomly receives a prize.”
“It’s a nasty way of doing business. As a festival organizer, you're taking advantage of a creator’s dream. Moreover, this puts the reputation of our entire industry at risk. The frustrating part is that it’s already so widespread: many people within the film world know about it, but the societal conversation often still doesn’t take place.”
How can you protect yourself as a filmmaker? What are the red flags?
"If a festival hands out too many awards, that should raise some red flags. The same goes for a film reel or a cliché symbol of that country as the logo – like a windmill for the Amsterdam International Film Festival. Also, texts and reviews of submitted films that show little film knowledge and contain many spelling mistakes can be a sign of a scam festival."
"If you want to be absolutely sure, you can protect yourself by simply calling the embassy of that country and asking if the festival is really taking place. The distance is often one of the ways these types of festivals can continue doing what they do."
What should Filmfreeway do?
"Filmfreeway needs to be much more proactive in fighting scams and fraud. Currently, they hold too much power as a platform. They have a monopoly and aren’t willing to give it up, so there should be fairer competition in this area – but of course, that’s easier said than done. Moreover, they are not approachable. I’ve already tried, but it led to nothing."
“Something else remarkable about the pandemic is the gigantic growth in the number of new film festivals. When the corona crisis broke out, my first thought was that many film festivals would disappear or be cancelled. This growth can be explained in retrospect, because so it turned out to be mostly these kinds of questionable film festivals.”
You submitted your podcast for the Amsterdam International Film Festival and missed out. Have you been able to process this in the meantime?
“Although I indeed didn't win, I still framed the nomination and hung it on my bedroom wall. The real prize for me is that people have listened to the podcast and that the social conversation is being had.”
Go Short in this matter
Go Short is aware of the questionable practices on Flimfreeway and, for this reason, cannot be found on the platform. We would therefore advise makers not to use Filmfreeway and submit your film directly to the relevant film festival. For more tips on getting your film selected, read our article 7 tips to get your film selected for a festival where our programmers Jip & Mathieu update you on how most programmers in general select films for their festival(s).
Luister de podcast
If you want to know all about Cesar's adventure, we recommend following the podcast series ‘...in the world of scam festivals’ by On the Fifth Row. Click on this link to listen to the first episode.
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