How To Write A Cover Letter For Alternative Film/Video (And Other Film Festivals As Well)

As a filmmaker, you need to make sure that people are interested in watching your works. Ensuring that your film is shown as festivals can make a big difference. While you may have the greatest film known to man, it won’t matter if people don’t watch it. With that being said, you need to go above and beyond to make sure that film festivals are willing to screen your movies. This is why you need to craft the perfect film festival cover letter to get the organizer interested in your film. There is a myth that nobody reads cover letters, but this isn’t the case.

 

We read a lot of cover letters at Alternative Film/Video festival every year. We see common mistakes made by filmmakers. These easy to fix errors sometimes make a bad first impression on your films. So why not fix them? In our opinion, getting a better cover letter will not only benefit you but us as well. Below, you’re going to find tips for creating a fascinating cover letter that will encourage organizers to screen your movie without hesitation. We hope to see great cover letters being sent to Alternative Film/Video next year!

 

Understand The Purpose

 

First and foremost, you need to understand the purpose of the cover letter. You may think it is about presenting your film to the reader, but it is not. Instead, you should use the letter to market yourself. You need to use the letter to convince the reader that you’re someone who needs to be connected to the festival. Festival directors want to make sure that the audience can connect with the films and presenters.

So, they’re going to pay close attention to the films and filmmakers that they choose. So, you should use the letter to tell the director something about you. Let them know why they need you to be a part of their festival.

 

Always Be Honest

 

Most directors have experience working with independent filmmakers. They know what to expect from and how to handle these individuals. So, if you are not honest, the director will catch on pretty quickly. Being honest is the best policy, even if you are feeling a little desperate at this point. Of course, you do not want to show your desperation in your cover letter either because this would be a major turnoff for the direction.

 

Just be honest with yourself and the director. This will secure your film a position at the upcoming film festival.

 

Be Expressive

 

A significant mistake that many filmmakers make when writing a cover letter is not practicing expressive writing. What exactly is expressive writing? It is a type of writing that allows the author to express themselves about different topics. In this case, the cover letter will be utilized to show the director how you feel about your film.

 

Don’t Drag It Out

 

While you can guarantee that someone is going to read your letter, they’re not going to read it for hours on end. So, you can’t write an essay. You need to keep the cover letter concise and straight to the point. Write the letter as short as you can. Then, it would help if you let a friend read it and make it shorter.

 

You should be considerate and avoid overusing the director’s time. Get your point across as quickly as possible, and you’ll gain points with the director.

 

Keep It Personal

 

Again, you should use the film festival cover letter to tell the reader about you and your story. Furthermore, you’ll want to connect with the reader. You likely know something about the festival director, the festival, and its history. So, you’ll want to use this information to your advantage. When writing your letter, you should touch on these things.

 

Write about things that prove you’re interested and know a lot about the festival. Address the director using his or her name and tell them why you’re a good fit. Prove that you’re familiar with the festival, and it’ll show that you’re not haphazardly submitting cover letters to countless festivals.

 

Persuade the reader that your primary goal is to play the festival in question, and they’ll likely screen your film.

 

Write It Down

 

Once you’ve assembled everything you need, it is time to write it down. This will be your first draft, so it doesn’t need to be perfect. Address the director by their name and immediately show that you’re genuinely interested in the festival. Then, you should introduce yourself and your film. Try to connect your film to previous movies screened at the festival.

 

This will show the director that your film will likely be a hit with the audience. Finally, it is wise to thank the director for taking the time to read your letter before signing your name at the bottom. Keep it short, and be grateful that the director is reading your message.

 

What Not To Do

 

Ultimately, your cover letter will either make or break your chances. If you use the wrong techniques, you’re going to ruin your chances immediately. It is vital to avoid making critical mistakes along the way. Below, you’ll learn more about things you should avoid when writing a film festival cover letter.

 

Don’t Boast

 

While you should tell the director about prior experiences, you shouldn’t boast. Don’t say that your film is the best thing ever or that you’re better than everyone else. If you’re too arrogant, the director will know it and leave you out of the festival.

 

Don’t Ramble

 

Again, it is vital to keep your cover letter short and straight to the point. If you begin rambling, there is a good chance that the director will stop reading and move on. Don’t add anything considered unnecessary.

 

Don’t Be Random

 

Finally, you should be careful when submitting cover letters. You should be strategic and careful. If you submit to too many festivals, you’re going to be wasting your time. Find festivals that are a good match for you and your film. Ensure that the audience works for you and that your film falls into the festival’s genre of choice.

 

Do You Want To Use As An Ad?

 

While it is not always good to utilize a cover letter as an advertisement, some filmmakers like to step out of the norm. If this is something you are interested in, you will need to take precautions when writing your cover letter. It is crucial not to be blatant when going this route. Utilizing the right terminology while avoiding anything representing an advertisement is the only way to pull this off. Fortunately, it does not require special skills or experience. But, you need to show the director that you know the ends and outs, as well as all of the fine details of your film.

Alternative Film/Video Festival 2018 Application Form

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION:

ONLY FILMS AND VIDEOS UP TO 20 MINUTES WILL BE CONSIDERED.

ALL FILMS IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH MUST BE SUBTITLED IN ENGLISH DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: AUGUST 1ST 2018.

ONLINE PREVIEWS ARE MANDATORY

Please note that it is essential to submit an online preview of your work (on a platform such as Vimeo). We do not accept DVDs or USBs.

Please fill out the fields as fully as possible.

Those marked with an asterisk (*) are obligatory.

Attach an image of your film in a .jpeg format and send it together with this submission form to the following email: alternativefilmvideo@gmail.com

TITLE* :

ARTIST* :

DESCRIPTION* :

YEAR OF PRODUCTION* :

LENGTH* : _____HH_____MM_____SS

SCREENING FORMAT* (mark): 16mm, 35mm, DVD, Blu-ray, digital files

ORIGINAL FORMAT:

COUNTRY* :

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE*:

PRODUCER :

OTHER DISTRIBUTOR :

E-MAIL* :

TEL. :

PREVIEW LINK* :

PASSWORD (IF NECESSARY):

Alternative Film/Video Festival 2018 Regulations

Alternative Film Video Festival 2018

THEME

Collective (lat. collectivum) is a collective noun that in the singular form denotes a multitude of individuality, that is, a set of people associated with common work and interests. Collective efforts in the era of modernism in the form of collectivisation of artistic roles, functions and personalities were the first real attempt to develop a viable alternative to consumer social life. These collective voices and speech in the name of a nation, class or mankind had one goal – to shape a kind of group existence and to erase boundaries between subject and subjectivity, to diminish the role of an individual author and to emphasise the synergy of the totality of all the constituent parts. From artistic groups through cinema clubs to neo-avantgarde movements, collectivism after the Second World War marks a shift in the practice of artists with a focus on art as institution towards an active involvement in the field of mass culture. The ideal of collectivism was no longer to be realized in the social plan, but within the framework of cultural exchange. The pursuit of collectivism no longer rested on finding the unique avant-garde representative of social effort but formed into displaced and changeable identities. The most important feature of the collective phenomenon is that it always raises issues of wider social and economic conditions of production that are always collective regardless of the external phenomenon, thereby collectivism shows the ability to connect the past and the present.

What do we understand under the collective today, in the dawn of a new historical era, whose signifiers are technological and informational imperative, global networking and facilitated communication, ecological disaster, mass migrations, “invisible” war areas, rising class and racial stratification? Does today’s collectivism represent only a nostalgic collective memory of a collective event like that of ’68 or decentralised collective action that is spread by all means: stories, rumours, provisional and occasional social movements, mass media, the Internet? Are the forms of today’s collectivism – from the informally networked community of technologically educated artists and political activists, collectivism of public opinion, collectivism of mass consumerism, entrepreneurial collectivism of multinational corporations to the multitude such as the creative workers, local activists and environmentalists, urban gardeners or those dealing with home affairs, mothers – expressions and consequences of collective endeavour or just the need for a kind of collective identity and the experience of the collective body? At the end, what would be the idea of ​​a collective in a contemporary context – an imaginative vision of a future social ideal through the language of dystopia / utopia or dealing with social life as a production and means of expression?

We are looking for works that deal with the phenomenon of the collective and its manifestations critically and in a reflexive manner, productively and deconstructively, works that represent a collectively produced image* and / or that intervene in the image of the collective, while re-examining social, cultural and political narratives in which the phenomenon of the collective participates and representing a different insight into the current audiovisual and production codes of collectivism.

RULES

Innovative experimental, exploratory, avant-garde, personal and political works can be submitted to the competition. Single-channel videos and films up to 20 minutes are welcomed. All works in a language other than English should have English subtitles.

SCREENING FORMAT: 16mm, 35mm, digital file, blu-ray, DVD

ALTERNATIVE FILM/VIDEO EXTENDED

By participating in the Festival works become part of ALTERNATIVE FILM ARCHIVE and are accessible for research work in the Archive and for presentation of the Festival in different venues both in Serbia and internationally (with artist consent). Films and videos which are selected for the List of Significant Achievements will be screened at non-commercial screenings in Serbia and abroad as festival promotion.

ALTERNATIVE FILM/VIDEO is an international Festival established in 1982. As a meeting place for artists, theorists, critics and the audience, the Festival’s goal is to record and theoretically define movements, promote constructive values and support new creative possibilities in visual media. The idea of “Alternative” is about work that does not fall into easy categorizations, and that operates counter to dominant commercial and aesthetic trends. The Festival provides a glimpse of the current state of new film and video tendencies in the region and the world. The founder and the organizer of the festival is Academic Film Center of Students’ City Cultural Center.

* Serge Daney distinguished a true, complex art of the image (painting, cinema) from the indifference of the audiovisual (TV, advertising in all forms, digital media).

Alternative Film/Video Festival 2017 CALL FOR ENTRIES

Alternative Film/Video Festival 2017

ALTERNATIVE FILM/VIDEO 2017
Festival of New Film and Video
from 13th till 17th of December 2017
Call for entries is open. Festival Alternative Film/Video will be held from 13th till 17th of December 2017 in Cultural Centre „Studentski grad“ in Belgrade. Before you fill in on line entry form please read regulations first.

Deadline for sending us your works is 29th of October 2017.

Address for sending us preview DVD is (unless you decide to send us preview link):
Festival Alternative Film/Video
Students City Cultural Center
Bulevar Zorana Đinđića 179
11070 Novi Beograd
Serbia