How many submissions does Sundance get?
Zwicker quoted approximately 4,000 total submissions for feature films, and Barrera 9,000 for shorts. Of these, only 120 or so features make it in each year, and about 60-70 shorts.
The dream of your film being the next Call Me By Your Name, Manchester by the Sea or The Usual Suspects (yes, all were Sundance world premieres) inspires more than 13,000 films (features and shorts) to be submitted for consideration each year at one of the world's largest and most prestigious indie film festivals.
Open submissions to our U.S. Feature Film categories must be world premieres, while open submissions to our International Feature Films categories must be international premieres. However, we reserve the right to select projects for some out-of-competition programs that do not meet these requirements.
Sundance Film Festival Submissions
Early submission to the Sundance Film Festival will range between $40 and $65 based on the type of entry. The U.S. or International Short Film will cost $40 as well as entry of Episodic Content and New Frontier Projects.
SUNDANCE ACCEPTS ROUGH CUTS
And unfortunately, they will not accept an updated version of either short films or features.
The awards ceremony marks a key point of the 2021 Festival, where 73 feature-length and 50 short films — selected from more than 14,000 submissions — were showcased online via the Festival's custom-built online platform, as well as in 28 Satellite Screen locations across the United States.
Note: Those who want to submit a screenplay to Sundance must note that the Sundance Film Festival does not accept submissions of screenplays. The Sundance Film Festival 2021 has come with a new submission category, which allows you to submit a VR, AR, MR or XR project.
Sundance Film Festival FAQ
The first step is to complete the online submission form, then send a copy of your film to the address provided. The festival receives over 12,500 submissions for around 275 berths, so the chances of selection are quite slim.
Short films, whether they are being shared online or through film festivals, are most profitable as a calling card that will get you more work. Look at it as a resume, but for your film career. Every short film you write, direct, produce, and -most importantly – share will lead to more work.
Short Film at the Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival accepts content that is 49 minutes or under for the Short Film category from any country.
Is Sundance hard to get into?
It's an enduring and popular myth that just so happens to be true—or at least true enough of the time that young filmmakers still dream of using Sundance to become the next Wes Anderson or Karyn Kusama. But the first step is to actually get your film in. Which, easier said than done. But it's not impossible.
At festivals, directors pitch producers on their films, producers sell those films to distributors and distributors sell the lucky films to cinema chains. In addition to getting a distribution deal on their festival film or a deal on a new film, filmmakers stand to make money from a festival if they win a prize.
It really depends on how many you expect to apply to, how many you expect to attend, and what you want to get out of a festival. I would never recommend budgeting less than $1,000 and a more realistic figure would be close to $5,000.
The most prestigious film festivals in the world, known as the "Big Three", are (listed chronologically according to the date of foundation): Venice, Cannes and Berlin. The most prestigious film festivals in North America are Sundance and Toronto.
- Comply with the Preselection Conditions.
- Fill out the online Entry Form.
- Upload your film online (for short films)
- Send your film (for feature films) to the address indicated at the bottom of the Entry Form.
- If your film is selected, you must comply with the Festival's Rules and Regulations.
The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres.
The filmmakers received a $20,000 cash award from Sundance Institute with support from the Alfred P.
Ultimately, Sundance programmers had to sift through 3,762 feature-length films, compared to 3,500 for the 2021 festival. “We received more films than we did last year, and the quality was amazing,” Yutani said.
The Sundance Film Festival has scrapped its plans for an in-person gathering for 2022, and will press on as an exclusively virtual event. After a protracted nail-biter, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has proven too overwhelming for a planned physical return to Sundance's luxurious setting in Park City, Utah.
It includes a hands-on writing workshop, group conversations about the art and craft of screenwriting, and two one-on-one script feedback sessions with creative advisors.
How much does it cost to submit a film to Cannes?
Submission fees range by format, from 50 to 350 euros. Formats range from Blu-Ray/DVD to HDCAM and Beta. All films must either be in English or French, or have English or French subtitles. If selected, films for screening must be provided in a Digital Cinema Package, JPG 2000 file, or a 35mm print.
- Save your premiere. ...
- The more festivals, the better. ...
- Know your festivals. ...
- Attend events you want to submit to. ...
- Highlight personal threads. ...
- Give your film a hook. ...
- Seek out connections. ...
- Give your film the time it needs.
Even for small indie films, the average budget is in the $1-3 mil range. If you're trying to make a short film with similar production values to a very low-end indie feature, and assuming you pay about the same amount for things, that's about $11,000 per minute of screentime.
Scenes usually range between one and three minutes (one to three pages in your screenplay). In a short movie, you can get away with including some short scenes that last a little under a minute. This means that in a 15-minute film, you may end up with only about 15 scenes.
- Be visually unique with great music and sound. Going viral means stimulating people enough to prompt them to share your work. ...
- Tell a story and trigger the right emotional response. ...
- Keep it short. ...
- Know your potential stakeholders. ...
- Piggyback where you can. ...
- Conclusion.
Festival Package: $750 for 10 tickets for online feature premieres, second screenings, and award-winner screenings. Early ticket-selection is included, good to help insure you nab a virtual seat. It also includes access to the New Frontier selection, Indie Episodic titles, and shorts for the duration of the festival.
The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres.
Sundance Film Festival FAQ
The first step is to complete the online submission form, then send a copy of your film to the address provided. The festival receives over 12,500 submissions for around 275 berths, so the chances of selection are quite slim.
The most prestigious film festivals in the world, known as the "Big Three", are (listed chronologically according to the date of foundation): Venice, Cannes and Berlin. The most prestigious film festivals in North America are Sundance and Toronto.
