Benjamin Carter 
If you have ever wondered who decides which films make it into a festival lineup, that person is a festival programmer. Understanding what a festival programmer does opens a window into one of the most influential yet behind-the-scenes roles in the film industry. These are the people who watch hundreds or even thousands of submissions … Read more
The HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual Academy Awards-qualifying and BAFTA-qualifying short film festival based in Hollywood, California, founded in 2005. It is one of the most recognized short film festivals in the world, drawing thousands of submissions from independent filmmakers each year and screening the best of them at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatres … Read more
The SXSW Film Festival is a nine-day film, television, and XR showcase held every March in Austin, Texas, where filmmakers premiere new work, attend conferences, and meet industry decision-makers. Founded in 1987, it runs alongside the SXSW Film & TV Conference as part of the larger South by Southwest convergence of film, music, education, and … Read more
The Tribeca Festival is an annual cultural event held in New York City that celebrates storytelling in all its forms, including film, television, music, audio storytelling, games, and immersive experiences. Founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, it was created to revitalize Lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. Today … Read more
Film festival submission fees are the charges filmmakers pay to have their work considered for inclusion in a festival’s program. If you have ever watched a short film premiere online and wondered how it got there, the answer almost always starts with a submission fee, or, more often than you might think, a successful fee … Read more
If you’ve just wrapped a short film and you’re staring at a credit card bill wondering whether you’ll ever see that money again, you’re asking the right question. The honest answer is this: most short films don’t generate direct profit, but the ones that do usually combine several income streams at once. I’ve spent the … Read more
Finishing your festival run feels strange. One day you are refreshing your email for acceptance letters, and the next the screeners stop coming and the laurels stop arriving. I have walked through that empty moment with three of my own shorts and dozens of filmmakers I have mentored. The good news is that your film … Read more
ShortsTV is the world’s first and leading 24/7 television network dedicated entirely to short films, and it is one of the few legitimate commercial channels where independent filmmakers can actually earn money from their shorts. Operated by Shorts International Ltd, the network reaches audiences through connected TV, mobile apps, online stores, and theatrical releases of … Read more
If you have spent any time in the independent film world, you have probably heard someone mention Vimeo Staff Picks with a mix of admiration and longing. It is one of the most recognizable badges of recognition a short film or video project can earn online. But what are Vimeo Staff Picks, exactly, and why … Read more
You just finished your short film. Weeks of pre-production, sleepless shoot days, and hours in the edit bay have come together into something you are proud of. Now comes the question every filmmaker faces: how do you actually get people to watch it? YouTube is the largest video platform on the planet, with over 500 … Read more