Comments on: Open Submissions, Closed Networks? Festival Programmers, Distribution Companies, and the Blurred Line Between Access and Influence https://filmindustrywatch.org/open-submissions-closed-networks-festival-programmers-distribution-companies-and-the-blurred-line-between-access-and-influence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=open-submissions-closed-networks-festival-programmers-distribution-companies-and-the-blurred-line-between-access-and-influence Exposing the shell games of the film industry - we won't let them hide. Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:09:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Mary https://filmindustrywatch.org/open-submissions-closed-networks-festival-programmers-distribution-companies-and-the-blurred-line-between-access-and-influence/#comment-295 Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:09:09 +0000 https://filmindustrywatch.org/?p=10945#comment-295 This article is a vital part of the discussion. As a filmmaker, I’ve spent thousands of dollars on submission fees only to feel they are being dumped into a black hole and a very unfair process.
At Sundance, I’ve hear multiple programmers (in public, at live events) state things like, “We’ve been following you ever since film school/our labs, and when you were production of your feature/next film, we just knew we wanted to be a home for it.”
Also, I was just at Cannes, I heard a programmer of a well known festival tell the filmmaker next to me they were dying to see their film, wanted desperately to program it. There is a network that gets you access to the top programmers, but you have to get invited into that room.
Also, I went to a smaller indie festival, where somewhat flat out told me they bought a screening spot, the price was buying all tickets to ensure it was sold out. Meanwhile, my film was rejected from the same festival.

These are just a few examples over the years. But yet, I’ll still be submitting my next film to festivals. I love attending them, seeing new films, meeting other artists, so I don’t fault them entirely.

]]>