Howdy hello all, seeking festival suggestions,
Long time lurker on this sub, as in, years hanging out in the rafters-level lurking. I've got a debut feature (1hr52) comedy called "Influenca" that I spent about 5 years on, crew of only my wife and myself, an expansive local cast of actors and comics, and a soundtrack with some great folk/rock musicians. Even secured a funny little cameo from comedian Maria Bamford.
No Gen. AI used at all, miniatures were built in some places, selective camera tricks, etc etc. My wife and I wrote, directed, edited, produced, shot, rigged and lit the thing on a budget of $2k.
This past weekend we won Best Narrative Feature at CIFAF and it handed us back a great deal of momentum which, understandably, had been withering between smaller wins and big rejections. They stated the judges almost never laughed-out-loud during viewings, but our pacing and tone achieved it quite often, after sitting through 700 other submissions. The screening was a lot of fun too, lotta laughter and some genuine tears from the crowd.
Obviously it's a tough process to get through, the festival circuit, and after wasting a lot of money I've learned to stop submitting at the late deadlines, to avoid "awards" fests, AI email invites, etc etc. One festival, I was literally the only person at the screening. Didn't feel great. I'm sure you've been there.
Early on, we had an NPR affiliate give us some time to discuss the film and its unusual circumstances/budget, but we're still looking for some kind of proper exposure to get it moving. I don't know if that's going to be the right festival, a review, or what; we're both first-timers in this, no educational background in the field either. I've been working on separate film projects since, but just want to ensure this one has had its chance, and the recent win made it feel like there are more places it can go.
For a pretty deadpan-yet-silly comedy with some starkly defined dramatic moments and an actiony set-piece at the end, what are some fests you'd recommend? Any that you think would lead to positive networking, representation, future pitches or distribution discussions?
Here's our filmfreeway page. https://filmfreeway.com/projects/2030147
We've only screened inside Ohio thus far, and only at film festivals with geoblocked online programs, so that's our premiere status.