Allie's Festival Picks - Part 1

If you’ve ever done a basic internet search for film festivals, you can imagine how daunting the task of choosing just a handful can seem.  Of course, there are tools available to make the selection easier.  Websites like WithOutABox.com allow filmmakers to create online press kits and tailor searches to find festivals with specific traits.  Even then, the volume of festivals out there can be overwhelming.  To narrow it down, I did a little more research into each festival and selected the few that make the most sense for Jemila’s Tale.  I’ve selected a few smaller fests, a few that are of medium size, and one really big one – the “shorts corner” at Cannes. 

In planning my portion of the festival submissions, I’ve focused mainly on niche festivals that highlight films for youth audiences as well as a few that are close to where I grew up – Ohio. 

Here’s a little bit about my first two festival submissions:

Cleveland International Film Festival, March 22 – April 1, 2012.

“For the past 35 years, the CIFF has been the premier film event in Ohio. Today the CIFF presents contemporary international and American Independent filmmaking, with more than 150 features and 130 short subjects from approximately 60 countries.”

My home state!  We’ve entered Jemila’s Tale in the shorts category.

Kids First! Film Festival

“Now in its twelfth year, the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival is a showcase for children's films, TV shows and DVDs from major studios and independent filmmakers. The festival partners with more than 150 venues worldwide who host more than 10,000 screenings of KIDS FIRST! films year-round to an audience of more than one million.

Youth are given a true voice - as curators, as audience members, as film critics, as volunteer staff and as filmmakers showing their work. Almost one-third of the films accepted every year are from student filmmakers.

All films screened during the year are considered for the KIDS FIRST! Best Awards, given once a year. Our Awards Celebration is held in either Los Angeles or Santa Fe, NM, our national headquarters.”

How great is a film festival featuring children’s films with input from kids?  Jemila’s Tale is a twist on a fairytale from a child’s perspective. With Cynthia B. as the star, how could we go wrong with this pick?  

Stay tuned for more of my festival picks! I’ll make another post with a few more of my festival selections soon!

Peace,

Allie