Last week, #doclifer Josh Davidsburg took advantage of the TDL Hotline and left a message with us asking about advice for a film festival strategy. Not only did we answer his question and offer up some suggestions, but we took it a step further and decided to make a full-blown episode on the topic!

I don’t want you to make the same mistakes that I made when I released my first documentary Journey to Kathmandu. While I certainly learned a bit about the film festival thing from that experience, I probably learned more from my inexperience! And the various docs that I’ve worked on since J2K coupled with my research and connection to Melbourne Documentary Film Festival and their director, Lyndon Stone, I’ve certainly broadened my knowledge on the topic of film festivals. And I’m happy to share that not only with Josh, but all of you #doclifers, who should be forming your strategies from the moment you embark upon your amazing doc idea/project!

5 Tips for Your Film Festival Strategy

In this episode, we discuss 5 tips for your film festival strategy.

• Form Your Strategy Early On
• Build a Festival Database
• Find the Festivals For Your Film
• Get the Word Out
• Be Smart About Your Premiere

Related Sources

Want a great supportive doc filmmaking community to be a part of? Consider the TDL Community facebook Group page! It’s free and it’s a wonderfully connected group of like-minded individuals all working on their passion of doc filmmaking.

° Trailer to #DocLifer Josh Davidsburg’s documentary film, Queen of the Capital

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7G128nlbzA

Journey to Kathmandu

If you are interested in watching TDL host, Chris G. Parkhurst’s personal documentary, you can check out Journey to Kathmandu, a film that follows the once-in-a-lifetime journey that goats make from their farmland lives of goats in Tibet to their sacrificial deaths in Kathmandu, during the Nepalese holiday, Dashain.

Purchase of the Deluxe Director’s & Goat’s Edition comes loaded with behind-the-scenes footage, director’s commentary, shorts, and deleted scenes. Regardless if you’re simply looking for more info on the making of J2K’or you’re a budding independent filmmaker (or just a fan of goats!), this is a must-have for anyone who enjoys gaining insight into what goes into the making of an independent documentary in a developing country.

Sponsors & Thank Yous

° Episode #86 is brought to you by BlackBox Global, creators of one of the easiest way to turn your filmmaking skills into passive income!

Go to BlackBox, Create a Free Account, and start selling your footage today!

° Free Music Archive – Special Thank You to recording artist, Dlay who supplied music for this week’s episode of TDL. You too can download his music or other artist’s music by going to Free Music Archive today!

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