Yes, We Reached Out. And Yes, There Is Still a Submission Fee.

A candid defense of filmmaker outreach, discounted submissions, and the shared responsibility of building a worthwhile film festival

Let’s address the elephant in the screening room.

When a film festival contacts a filmmaker and invites them to submit, some filmmakers immediately ask: “If you want my film, why should I have to pay?”

It is a fair question. Filmmakers are frequently bombarded with generic invitations, discount codes, deadline reminders, and exaggerated claims from festivals they have never heard of. Some of these messages are poorly targeted. Others come from festivals that offer little more than downloadable laurels and an awards list. Grifter festivals exist, and filmmakers have every right to investigate where their money is going.

But that is not the entire story.

Legitimate festivals, even Oscar-qualifying ones, also conduct outreach because discovering strong work is part of responsible programming. We do not believe the best possible festival lineup will magically assemble itself from whichever filmmakers happen to find our FilmFreeway page before a deadline. Curators seek out artists. Galleries approach painters. Publishers solicit manuscripts. Music festivals contact performers. Film festivals should be allowed to actively search for filmmakers whose work appears worthy of consideration and align with programming themes.

Outreach is not inherently exploitation. Sometimes it is simply curation beginning before the submission arrives.

Why We Approach Proven Filmmakers

When we contact a filmmaker, it is usually because something about their work caught our attention.

Perhaps the film was selected by another credible festival. Maybe it received an award, generated strong audience reactions, or demonstrated a distinctive voice or emotional connection. We may have discovered the filmmaker through another festival’s program, a recommendation, an industry colleague, a trailer, a previous project, or actually seeing it for ourselves at another festival.

“Proven” does not necessarily mean famous, heavily awarded, or professionally represented. It means that the filmmaker has demonstrated some evidence of ability, follow-through, or artistic potential.

That matters because festivals receive an enormous range of submissions. Some are exceptionally jaw-dropping. Some are promising but imperfect. Others are unfinished, technically careless, dramatically incoherent, or submitted with almost no apparent consideration for the audience or the festival reviewing them.

Outreach allows us to improve the quality and diversity of the programming pool instead of relying entirely on passive discovery. It gives us an opportunity to find filmmakers who may never have heard of our festival, especially those working in other countries, emerging markets, or communities outside the usual festival network.

An invitation to submit is not a promise of acceptance. It means we saw enough potential to want the film placed into consideration.

That distinction matters.

Is It Mass Outreach?

Sometimes filmmakers feel targeted by what appears to be a mass message. We understand the optics.

A festival operating internationally may contact hundreds or even thousands of filmmakers during a season. That scale can make legitimate outreach resemble spam, particularly when filmmakers are already receiving messages from less reputable organizations.

Festivals need to take responsibility for how they communicate. An outreach message should be honest about what is being offered. It should not imply guaranteed selection, manufacture false exclusivity, or pressure filmmakers with misleading promises. Whenever possible, it should explain why the filmmaker or project was identified.

At the same time, scale does not automatically mean the outreach is indiscriminate.

Film festivals are trying to reach artists across countries, languages, platforms, genres, and professional networks. That requires research, communication, follow-up, and, yes, sometimes the use of message templates. Using an efficient process does not mean the interest is fake.

If an invitation is not right for you, decline it. Ignore it. Ask questions. Research the festival. No filmmaker is obligated to submit simply because a festival made contact.

But the existence of a submission fee does not automatically make the invitation dishonest.

Why We Offer a Discount Instead of an Automatic Waiver

Our discount offer represents a shared investment.

We are saying that we identified your work and want to reduce the financial barrier to consideration. We are not saying that the work required to process, screen, evaluate, discuss, and potentially program the film suddenly costs nothing.

A legitimate in-person festival requires projectors, screens, venues, technicians, marketing, graphic design, websites, ticketing systems, hospitality, staff, judges, screeners, insurance, awards, printing, transportation, and endless hours of production. Before a single audience member sits down, an extraordinary amount of labor and money has already been committed.

Submission fees help support that infrastructure. They also support the enormous amount of screening work required to find the films that will ultimately appear in the program.

A discount acknowledges that the festival initiated the conversation. Retaining part of the fee acknowledges that the filmmaker is asking the festival to evaluate and consider the project within its competitive process.

That is the two-way street.

The festival does not owe every filmmaker a free evaluation. The filmmaker does not owe every festival a submission. Both sides are free to decide whether the opportunity is worth the investment.

If the remaining fee presents a genuine hardship, it is completely reasonable to ask for a waiver. Ask respectfully and explain the circumstances. A festival may say yes, offer another arrangement, or simply be unable to accommodate the request. None of those outcomes needs to become a moral indictment of either party.

The Entitlement Problem Exists on Both Sides

Now for the part people are often afraid to say publicly.

Some festivals behave badly. They collect fees without providing meaningful consideration, transparent communication, legitimate screenings, or any real benefit to filmmakers. They prey on ambition and distribute hundreds of meaningless awards. Filmmakers should call out those practices.

But filmmakers are not automatically beyond criticism.

To put it bluntly, some filmmakers approach the festival system as though their shit does not stink. They assume that completing a film entitles them to free consideration, an acceptance, an award, an audience, detailed feedback, and immediate recognition.

It does not.

For every "online-only" grifter festival taking advantage of filmmakers, there are also filmmakers submitting incomplete projects, half-hearted efforts, careless presentations, or deeply misguided vanity exercises while insisting that anyone who fails to recognize their genius must be corrupt, incompetent, or jealous.

Delusion and narcissism are not exclusive to festival operators.

Here is the secret no one wants to admit: a meaningful percentage of rejected films are not overlooked masterpieces. Some are simply bad films. Some are absolute garbage as submitted.

The sound is unintelligible. The edit has no rhythm. The story does not communicate. The performances are unsupported. The film is far longer than its idea can sustain. The credits contain errors. The export is unfinished. The filmmaker has confused personal importance with audience impact.

That may sound harsh, but pretending every completed film is equally accomplished helps no one.

The good news is that filmmakers can improve.

The tools for learning cinematography, sound, editing, screenwriting, directing, producing, and marketing are more accessible than at any point in filmmaking history. Watch better films. Study structure. Learn sound. Seek honest criticism. Kill your babies and cut scenes that do not work. Stop surrounding yourself exclusively with people who tell you everything is brilliant.

Be a better filmmaker because you can.

And because you have to.

A Good Film Can Still Lose Because of a Bad Submission

There is another uncomfortable reality: genuinely good films sometimes fail to advance because the filmmaker appears not to care about the submission process.

A strong film deserves a strong presentation.

Create a decent poster. It does not need to be expensive, but it should not look like an afterthought.

Prepare a clear synopsis. Check the spelling. List the correct runtime, country, language, credits, and completion date.

Make a short trailer or teaser. Thirty compelling seconds can help a festival understand how to market the screening and convince an audience to attend.

Upload stills, filmmaker biographies, production notes, subtitles, and promotional materials before they are requested. Make sure the screener link works. Respond to emails. Read the festival’s rules.

None of these materials will turn a bad film into a good one. However, they demonstrate professionalism and give a festival the tools it needs to advocate for the film.

Festivals do not merely select films. They must also promote them, schedule them, describe them, sell tickets to them, and build an audience around them. When one filmmaker provides a polished poster, compelling trailer, complete media kit, prompt communication, and cover letter while another provides a blurry screenshot and an empty project profile, the difference matters.

The film remains central, but the submission tells us whether the filmmaker is prepared to participate in the process.

Emotional Connection Is the Final Test

Technical competence alone is not enough.

Festivals receive many beautifully photographed, professionally edited, competently acted films. The projects that stand out are usually the ones that make someone feel something.

An audience must laugh, cry, ache, worry, question, recoil, recognize itself, or see the world differently. The film must create a connection beyond the filmmaker’s own attachment to the project.

That is why a technically imperfect film with an authentic voice may outperform a polished film that leaves the audience emotionally untouched.

Filmmakers should ask themselves a difficult question before submitting: Does this film communicate outside the circle of people who made it?

Your effort matters. Your intentions matter. Your sacrifices matter. But the audience cannot experience your intentions. It can only experience what made it onto the screen.

An Invitation Should Be Received in the Spirit Intended

When a legitimate festival reaches out, it is saying: “We noticed something in your work, and we believe this project may deserve consideration.”

That should not be treated as an insult.

Investigate the festival. Decide whether its audience, programming, location, reputation, and opportunities align with your goals. If they do, feel flattered, submit the film. Pay the fee when you can. Use the discount when it is offered. Ask respectfully about a waiver when you genuinely need one.

Then give the festival the strongest possible version of your work and everything it needs to present that work properly.

Festivals must do better too. We must communicate honestly, screen responsibly, respect filmmakers’ time, provide real public events, build audiences, and ensure that submission revenue supports an actual cultural experience.

Neither side is entitled to unquestioning admiration.

The relationship works when filmmakers bring strong films, professional materials, and realistic expectations, while festivals bring legitimate consideration, transparency, thoughtful programming, and meaningful exhibition.

That is not exploitation.

That is participation.

-Dewey Paul Moffitt | Festival Director

PAIFF

PS: For you filmmakers out there still considering PAIFF, we appreciate you! Here's a 20% off submissions discount code for you taking the time to read this: IGUANA20

https://www.filmfreeway.com/pafilmfestival