Submitting to more festivals does not increase your hit rate. It just spreads your fee budget across festivals that were never going to programme your film. Programmers select based on fit, not on volume of effort. A scattergun campaign produces the same selections as a focused one, for three times the cost.
The honest target is 15 to 20 carefully chosen festivals, not 50 or 100.
Give festival fees a real budget line
There is no official industry percentage for festival-fee budgeting. A practical starting point is to set a fixed campaign cap before you submit anywhere, then work backwards from the festivals that genuinely fit the film. For a short film made for £8,000, a focused submission-fee budget might be £250 to £400. For an £80,000 feature, £2,000 to £4,000 can disappear quickly if you do not set limits.
If you are already in production without a festival budget line, retrofit one. Do not cut essential post-production polish for scattergun fees; a smaller, better-targeted campaign is usually the stronger trade.
What festival fees actually look like
- Tier 1 features (Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Tribeca, and comparable paid portals): roughly $70 to $135 depending on category and deadline (Tribeca's late feature fee tops out around $135). Cannes Official Selection does not charge a submission fee.
- Tier 1 shorts: roughly $50 to $95
- Major festivals on direct portals (Locarno, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, Sheffield DocFest): fees vary and are not always published the way FilmFreeway fees are. Check each festival's own submission page rather than assuming a flat range.
- Tier 2 shorts: roughly $25 to $50
- Regional / themed (BFI Flare, Outfest, Aesthetica, Raindance): $20 to $50
- Local / city festivals: $10 to $30, often with waivers for local filmmakers
Treat these as planning ranges, not fixed prices. Fees change every year, currency varies by festival, and some major festivals use direct portals rather than FilmFreeway.
The tier mix that works
For a focused 15-to-20-festival campaign, the workable mix is:
- 3 to 5 tier 1 festivals: the ones with awards qualification, real industry presence, and a chance (however small) of distribution conversations
- 5 to 8 tier 2 regional or themed festivals: festivals where you can actually win something and meet decision-makers
- 5 to 10 niche, genre, or identity festivals: festivals where your film fits the programming taste cleanly, and where smaller audiences pay more attention
Add geographic spread: if you are UK-based, do not submit only to UK festivals. If you are LA-based, do not submit only to US festivals. Films that play multiple regions accumulate more sustained press.
The festivals you can attend in person are worth more
A selection you cannot attend is a laurel and a screening, full stop. A selection you can attend is a laurel, a screening, a Q and A, multiple networking events, possible press, and the chance to meet a distributor in a hotel lobby. The ROI gap is enormous.
Plan your campaign around two or three festivals you will physically attend. Build the rest of the submissions around those geographic anchors.
The festivals you should not submit to
- Festivals where your film does not fit the programming taste (read the last three years before paying)
- Festivals you have never heard of with no industry presence and a $40 fee
- Monthly editions ("April 2026 Online Festival") that exist only to sell laurels
- Festivals you cannot find a real address or programming team for
- Festivals that ask you to pay for "consideration" beyond a standard entry fee
Track everything in a spreadsheet
For each festival you submit to, log: festival name, fee paid, submission date, deadline, notification date, premiere requirement, result. The spreadsheet is what stops you from submitting to a festival twice, submitting to a festival you cannot premiere at, or losing track of which festivals replied.
Frequently asked questions
How many film festivals should you submit to?
The honest target is usually 15 to 20 carefully chosen festivals, not 50 or 100. Submitting to more festivals does not increase your hit rate; it just spreads your fee budget across festivals that were never going to programme your film. Programmers select based on fit, not on volume of effort.
Is it better to submit to more or fewer festivals?
Fewer, better-targeted submissions are usually the stronger choice. A scattergun campaign produces the same selections as a focused one, for three times the cost. A workable mix is 3 to 5 tier 1 festivals, 5 to 8 tier 2 regional or themed festivals, and 5 to 10 niche, genre, or identity festivals where your film fits cleanly.
How much should you budget for festival submissions?
There is no official industry percentage for festival-fee budgeting. A practical starting point is to set a fixed campaign cap before you submit anywhere. For a short film made for 8,000 pounds, a focused submission-fee budget might be 250 to 400 pounds, while an 80,000 pound feature might run 2,000 to 4,000 pounds if you set limits.
Which festivals should you avoid submitting to?
Avoid festivals where your film does not fit the programming taste, festivals with no industry presence, and monthly online editions that exist only to sell laurels. Skip any festival you cannot find a real address or programming team for, or that asks you to pay for consideration beyond a standard entry fee.
RelatedReplace the spreadsheet
Circkit tracks every submission, fee, deadline, and notification date in one place. Free on every plan.
