A Producer's Rant About Rude Film Festivals

Still from Cookies & Cream

Let me start off by saying how grateful I am to film festivals that have screened our films all over. I don't want to be unappreciative, its hard enough to play one fest. I especially appreciate those fests that do things the right way, you know, the courteous way. This rant is not for you.

Ok. I haven't decided how to handle a particular situation I've just discovered, so I figured I'd use our growing readership for the sake of interaction, and in this case, advice. I need your collective advice on this one.

I remember how strange it was when one of our family members literally stumbled on the discovery that 3 of our films (Carter, Uptown, and Cookies & Cream) had played in Scotland at the Deep Fried Film Festival. Which was enough to piss me off personally, because I've been trying to visit Scotland for a couple of years now. This would have been the perfect "excuse."

The problem was of course, that the festival neglected to inform us we were even selected! This became one of the hottest topics at a couple Q and A sessions at the great Idaho International Film Festival, where Paul Osborne's Official Rejection had just ruffled the feathers and opened up the can of bad, festival-story worms. Bruce Fletcher, IIFF's program director, was especially heated about our 3 films, and these Deep Fried Freaks. He brought this up all over my Facebook page, his Facebook page, then multiple times in Idaho. I remember laughing to Brian Ackley and Ryan Balas, the directors of the other 2 films, and feeling like we were just happy someone was playing our movie in the UK. So what they neglected to inform us? Nonsense.

I get Fletcher's frustration now. He was really offended for us, based on the fact that the fest probably charged something for the screenings. Then, they are screening your SCREENER for god's sakes. I mean, c'mon. Can't you give me a chance to ship over a projectable version to you, either on a different format or the same one? What about the opportunity for the filmmaker to reach out to some people in the UK who may have seen the film and liked it? Can a brother get a list of guests' emails, or have them join our Facebook fan page? Something?

Yeah at first you may think its cool to be selected, but when you are stripped of the opportunity to a) know about it, b) talk to someone about how your film will be screened and what technical settings may or may not work best, and c) to consider, and plan your trip, then you feel kinda jipped.

Well it happened again. This is why I decided to write this rant, because if we start enough of a stink, maybe other fests (regardless of where they are located) will learn some of the most simple lessons of submitting-filmmaker etiquette.

I recently discovered that Cookies & Cream played overseas at the Birmingham Black International Film Festival in Birmingham, UK @ 12pm (awful slot, I know, but not worst than Uptown's in Seattle) on Thursday, October 29th (here's the PROOF) I can't even remember what I was doing on the 29th. But it sure wasn't knowing my film was playing at that VERY MINUTE IN THE UK. No email. No call. No postcard. Not even a social networking site message. Weird.

I would have loved to know who saw it, what they thought, where I can let them know about the DVD release updates, where else it will play in the world, or even just say "hello." Forward them to our myspace page. Or Facebook. Or something.

Two ways I can handle this. We can get Bruce Fletcher on 'em, and he can blog on here with us and blast away at festivals that do this, afterwhich we would encourage the spreading of that potentially harsh and critical "warning" that would include a nice little review over at sqirrl.com, or, I can email the festival and see if they will get back to me. And see if they can provide me a reason, or a thank you, or list of names, or the number in attendance, or something. And see if they answer me.

Think the second option is the easy answer? Of course it is. Because you are LOGICAL (well most of you are). But you'd be surprised. Getting an answer from strange festivals like this is tougher than you think. Hell, Deep Fried still hasn't given us one.

- Princeton