We start Year 3 of IndieWorks next week and are so excited to begin a new year of celebrating and showcasing indie shorts by local filmmakers. Getting to do this and meet so many wonderful filmmakers and film lovers over the past two years has been such a pleasure and a true honor.
We just decided to put together this quick update to let people know about some changes regarding submissions. Originally, submissions were 100% free. However, in the past year, most notably the last few months, we've been getting an overwhelming number of submissions. Since opening up submissions for Year 3 in April alone we've received over 200 submissions (and that's not including automatically disqualified films that are out of state or country). We feel at this time that it's best to no longer take free submissions. We, as filmmakers ourselves, know how expensive submitting to film festivals can be and by no means want to add to or exploit that. However, we're completely not-for-profit at IndieWorks, everyone volunteers; and reviewing submissions fully and fairly while building lineups each month has become a little overwhelming. We feel a lot of filmmakers submit everything they've ever made to us since submitting is free. This leaves us sending out multiple non-acceptances to the same filmmaker in a short amount of time (something we're not happy to do), and unnecessarily inundates us with submissions that are clearly not the level of quality we make an effort to showcase each month.
We feel that just a $5 submission fee (with no late fees or any additional costs) will make a filmmaker really think about the film they're submitting and whether or not it's worth the submission fee, and if they truly want an audience for this particular film as opposed to just any audience for any film. That said, we are also offering a discount to alumni where submissions are only $2. So, if you've screened with us before, be sure to send us a message when you're ready to submit your new film so we can pass along the promo code. In any case, we can be found directly on FilmFreeway.com or by going through our site submission page (which takes you to FilmFreeway).
We hope you'll continue attending IndieWorks each month, starting with the June screening next week on Wednesday, the 10th. It is, of course, free to attend, and will always be so! Our commitment to creating a welcoming atmosphere with no pressure to fill a headcount and make your aunt come out to yet another screening of your film remains intact. We aim to continue building our screening series as an environment filled with your peers and true indie film enthusiasts who will hopefully go on to follow, support and maybe even become part of your future work.
Thanks for being part of our community these past two years, we look forward to growing with you in this new one!
*If you have already submitted a film for this year & have not heard back, please do not resubmit. We probably have not reviewed your submission yet, but it is very much in consideration.