The Plight of Film Festivals
Are filmmakers the "ones left behind"? Get your festival strategy down pat before wasting time and money.
When I first started navigating the film festival circuit for my documentary, The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan, I had no idea how film festivals worked. I thought that getting into festivals would mean better chances at distribution, more visibility, and the opportunity to take my work to the next level. Over time, I realized the reality was much different. The truth is, the film festival circuit is a brutal grind and although our film received 41 official selections and 17 awards, I emerged with a completely changed perspective on how this industry works. Despite what looks like a total and utter success on paper, the experience also left me with some serious questions about the film festival circuit, which can feel like a maze of smoke and mirrors at times. For every legitimate festival that helps filmmakers, there are dozens just collecting submission fees and not watching your films. Like everything these days in 2025, you have to become an expert at separating the real from the fake. I can spot a scam film festival from a mile away now, but it took time, money, and quite a few hard lessons to develop that expertise. The best advice I can give? Be honest about your film's potential, do thorough research before submitting, and remember that not all festivals are created equal - not even close.
There are two things that are extremely crucial when thinking about hitting the film festival circuit:
Your strategy - which festival to apply to, how many festivals to apply to, and what tier level to apply to.
How to apply.
Almost all of my submissions for festivals were through the website Film Freeway and my festival strategy at the beginning was pretty obvious - I had no strategy. I applied to random festivals without checking them out first. Big mistake.
Festival fees
I’ll get this out of the way first, because how you pay for the entry fees is your business and not mine. In my case, to cover the film festival entry fees, I ran an online crowdfunding campaign in January of 2023 and raised enough money to submit to 130 domestic and international (any festival outside Japan) film festivals. I can’t thank everyone enough for those kind donations. In the end I dipped into my own wallet to finish off the applications.
How to apply
I used Film Freeway, which is essentially the Amazon of film festival submissions, a platform that centralizes the festival submission process. This site also has a monopoly on the market and before it came along, submitting to festivals was, from the stories I have heard, a nightmare of individual applications, different formats, and scattered deadlines.
For the Japanese film festivals, because Japan is so far behind the rest of the world in almost everything (it’s not the technologically advanced country you think), there is no such service like this and I had to apply to each film festival individually. Payment methods for these Japanese festivals ranged from anything from having to purchase a postcard and get an old school stamp (a system used in the 1800’s and still in play in Japan today), to bank account wire transfers and convenience store payments. There is also no way of keeping track unless you write it down somewhere.
The Japanese film festival payment process was overall, a massive pain in the ass and that’s why Film Freeway is so handy. The platform basically works like this: you create a project page where you upload your film, add details, photos, press materials, and whatever else you want to include. Then you can browse thousands of festivals, read their requirements, and submit directly through the platform. Each festival sets their own fees and deadlines, but the actual submission process is standardized and very simple.
The catch is - and this is important - Film Freeway makes it TOO EASY to submit. The barrier to entry for creating a "festival" is very low, which means alongside legitimate events like Sundance and Tribeca, on their platform you'll find plenty of questionable festivals that might just be someone's laptop and a dream. There's very little vetting of who can create a festival on the platform as the only requirement is to have a website. Just because a festival is on Film Freeway doesn't automatically make it legitimate or worth your submission fee and I learned the hard way. There were days when I wondered if some festivals even existed and after enough research raised red flags, over the course of one year I had to withdraw from multiple sketchy "festivals" that seemed to be nothing more than a Film Freeway page, a bogus website, and a PayPal account. The minute you contact Film Freeway support and use the words “scam festival” they will immediately check into it and if found to be a scam festival, your money will be refunded as credit. I always used the credit to re-apply every time.
Every film festival The Ones Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan screened at was legitimate because as I got better at the game, I became a “film festival maniac” in terms of making sure I wasn’t being ripped off and that the laurels we received were from legitimate festivals.
Once a festival has been deemed a scam, FilmFreeway removes it.
This leads onto strategy, and the laurels that come with each festival.
Strategy - collect those laurels - but how?
Festival laurels are those shiny graphics you see on movie posters and trailers - you know, the ones that say "Official Selection" or "Winner" with leaves wrapped around them like ancient Roman crowns. They might seem like just decorative badges, but in the film industry, they're actually powerful marketing tools. Each one represents a festival's stamp of approval on your work. Gold is a winner, white is an official entry that didn’t win an award - still a great achievement given you are sometimes competing against thousands of other films. For visual purposes, most people tend to stick to all white colours no matter what as well. Personally, I went with the colour distinction.
While my strategy for festivals at the beginning was nonexistent, my strategy for the film itself was pretty clear-cut: dedicate 2023 entirely to the festival circuit, collecting these laurels like Pokemon before moving to theatrical distribution in 2024. That wasn’t an easy path to take either by the way, handling rejection after rejection, which I talked about in a different substack post:
Here's why: when you're approaching distributors or trying to get your film seen in theaters, having a poster decorated with festival laurels immediately signals that your film has been vetted and approved by others in the industry. It doesn't matter if most people haven't heard of the festivals - just seeing those shiny laurels makes your film look more legitimate and professional. Think of laurels as social proof - they're like those star ratings on Amazon and tell potential viewers, "Other people watched this film and thought it was good enough to showcase." Even if someone doesn't know the difference between Sundance and their local film festival, seeing multiple laurels creates an impression of quality and success - and this is where Film Freeway hits you with dopamine - I ended up becoming borderline obsessed with applying to film festivals, to get that dopamine hit and that sense of “I made a good film.”
Each selection, each award, each laurel became part of building buzz and credibility for the film. It's a bit of a game, sure, but it's one you have to play if you want your indie film to stand out in today's overcrowded market. How on earth did Rionne McAvoy’s little zero budget documentary got on the big screens of 10 cinemas in Japan? Because I planned my festival run as a year-long marketing campaign and building up anticipation (despite rejection after reject for most of 2024). I also need to mention something very important - at the beginning I had no idea what “tiers” were. It sounds obvious now but I think most first time filmmakers are all like this.
Tiers
Film festivals are often classified into different tiers or categories based on their prestige, recognition, and impact on the industry. These tiers can influence a filmmaker's career, distribution opportunities, and visibility in the global film community. You’ve all heard of the Cannes Film Festival (France), the Sundance Film Festival (USA). There are so many other prestigious ones too, such as the Berlin International Film Festival (Germany), the Venice Film Festival (Italy), and the Toronto International Film Festival (Canada). These are tier 1 festivals, and the tiers go all the way down to tier 4. There are also other tiers such as niche and regional festivals and local and emerging festivals, and then there are the scam festivals praying on filmmakers who don’t know any better. One festival sent me feedback that was clearly copy-pasted from another film entirely, and not even a documentary! They mentioned characters and scenes that weren't even in my film and told me to study films completely unrelated to anything I was doing. That's when you realize you're just paying for the privilege of being ignored.
But here's the thing - the good festivals are really good. They're the ones that:
Actually watch your film
Provide thoughtful, specific feedback
Create real networking opportunities (NEVER do online festivals in my opinion)
Help build audiences for your work
Care about filmmaker experience
Have verifiable track records
You do however, have to KNOW YOUR FILM.
The key to survival is being ruthlessly honest with yourself about a few things things:
The actual quality and appeal of your film - be honest!
Which festivals are legitimate and worth your time
Who your audience is
It’s important to be completely open and honest to yourself about your film as well as listening to people who know what they are talking about. Filmmakers often aim for the tier 1 or 2 festivals for global recognition (and yes, I did apply to many of the big ones - hey you gotta be in it to win it!) but participating in lower-tier festivals can help with networking, smaller distribution opportunities, and career development.
My documentary did well because I was realistic about what it was - a zero budget documentary about a specific social issue. I wasn't deluding myself that Cannes would come calling. Although it took time and many mistakes, instead, I targeted festivals where:
The subject matter aligned with the festivals mission
There was genuine audience interest in Japanese culture or social issues such as women’s issues and child poverty, where it would spark real conversations
The festival had a proven history I could verify no matter the tier
Where I could be valued as a filmmaker
Here's what I learned to watch for when applying to festivals:
Always check the festival's actual website and social media presence
Look for photos and videos from previous editions to make sure the screenings actually take place
Research past winners
Read submission terms carefully
Be wary of online-only festivals - I think they are totally worthless
Trust your gut when something feels off
Applying to the right ones
All top tier festivals want “world premieres” which is the very first public screening of a film anywhere in the world because it adds prestige to their program. It means the film has never been shown in public before, making it a highly anticipated and exclusive event for festival-goers, critics, and industry professionals. So what do you do? It’s a chicken and the egg situation. In my case, I knew I didn’t have a tier 1 film, so I wasn’t going to wait months, turning down good opportunities in the hopes of getting into a top-tier festival. Smaller festivals often do a far better job of supporting filmmakers and making sure their work gets the attention it deserves with the right audience. Instead of focusing on prestige, it’s important to think about impact. Where will your film find its audience? Where will it spark conversations? Where will you feel truly valued as a filmmaker? These are the questions that should guide your festival strategy. It’s also worth recognizing and supporting the festivals that genuinely care about filmmakers. These are the places that build communities, foster real discussions, and ensure that films reach the people who need to see them.
Success on the festival circuit isn't just about having a good film - it's about being strategic, doing your homework, maintaining realistic expectations, and actually enjoying the experience!
My advice through experience
Don't rush to put your film online. I was hounded online by people saying things like “why don’t you just put it on YouTube for free if you really care about the mothers?”
But would that create any change and spark real conversation? Would the biggest media outlet in Japan, NHK, as well as other major news outlets, have come calling if I had done that? No, they absolute would not have. The fact is that nobody places any value on a free YouTube video.
I had to build buzz through strategic festival submissions first whilst growing an audience via social media before I could release it. Your film will have a much better chance of being seen than if you just throw it into the vast ocean of online content.
My biggest takeaway from the entire experience is that festivals are stepping stones, not escalators. Use them wisely, but don't expect them to do the heavy lifting for you. It’s about finding the right space for your work to be seen and appreciated, rather than just chasing the biggest names in the business - and ultimately failing - as well as learning how to spot the scammers!
Rionne McAvoy is the director of the award-winning documentary The One's Left Behind: The Plight of Single Mothers in Japan, showcasing his dedication to addressing pressing social issues. A committed documentary filmmaker and professional wrestler, he explores critical themes with passion and insight. Additionally, he has a keen interest in post-World War II Japan, particularly the intricate connections between politicians and gangsters during that era. Known in the wrestling ring as Rionne Fujiwara, he brings the same determination and storytelling prowess from his wrestling persona to his filmmaking endeavors.