A fun “infographic” from the BBC. (In quotes because the graphic really doesn’t contribute much to the info that an article couldn’t have communicated equally well.)

My favorite number: 10, the cost in Euros of a beer in a Cannes nightclub. (That’s about $13 US for those of you who don’t convert in your head.)

Read all the way to the bottom for the number 0.

Are you looking for ways to save money on festival submissions fees? With fees starting at $20 and ranging as high as $100 per submission, those fees can add up quickly. One popular way of reducing these costs is to ask festivals directly for fee waivers.

I’m starting my second season working with filmmakers at the Atlanta Film Festival and I’m re-learning a lot of forgotten lessons about the do’s and don’ts of festival submissions. Here are a few insights for requesting fee waivers and increasing your chances of actually getting to “yes.”

Don’t plead poverty.

While your instinct might be to explain that you’re a poor student or that you maxed out your credit cards making your film, a lack of money will not score you sympathy points from festival programmers. Many film festivals are struggling non-profits with expenses of their own – the implication that you need the money more than the festival does could be construed as an insult.

What do you have to offer the festival?

Some things are more important to a programmer than your submission fee – a movie that fits into a particular niche, for example, or a film that has a proven track record. Festivals are always on the hunt for good content, so if you can tempt them with the promise of a film that serves an important audience segment or has already been accepted by other festivals, lead with that. A programmer desperate to fill out a sci-fi shorts block may be primed for your robot comedy, or simply curious about the fact that four other festivals deemed your film worthy of inclusion.

Say it with pictures.

An arresting still image that gets a reaction is like catnip to someone who works in film. If your film has one of those amazing images that pulls people in, use it. Try to embed it in the body of the email, though – you can’t trust that your reader will be bothered to download and view an attachment. 

Don’t swamp the reader with too much information…

So many of the waiver requests I see are hundreds of words long (cast lists, overly lengthy synopses, director’s statements) with several files attached. Guess what? Festival programmers file them in the TLDR folder. 

…but make sure relevant info is available.

At the other end of the spectrum are those filmmakers who want to submit “a film” without providing any information at all. When I go looking for information on the web about the film, there’s no web site, no Facebook page, nothing. If you’re not prepared to build an audience for your film, why should the festival be interested enough to waive the fee?

Why are you asking ME?

When I bring up the subject of fee waivers with other festival staffers, one of the most common answers I get is that fee waiver emails are just generic requests shotgunned to dozens of festivals. If you have a reason for submitting to a particular festival (and you should), try to include that reason with your waiver request and do your best to build a rapport with the reader.

Include a private online screener link and password in the email with your request.

If a programmer is really curious about your film and excited that it might be a film she could program, nothing is more frustrating than having to wait to see it. Seeing the first few minutes of the film may be all that’s needed to deem your film worthy of the fee waiver.

Got some favorite techniques of your own for asking for fee waivers? Send them my way and I’ll consider them for inclusion in a follow-up article.

The festival, now known as AFI Docs presented by Audi, will have a new presence in Washington, its director, Sky Sitney, announced Thursday. In addition to gala screenings at the Newseum, the festival will present films at other D.C. venues, including the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American History.

It’s always risky for a festival to expand to new venues and new audiences, but it sounds like the right time and the right reasons for the festival formerly known as Silverdocs.

Hot Docs staffers Charlotte Cook, Elizabeth Radshaw, Sarafina DiFelice, Stephanie McArthur, Chloe Sosa-Sims, Ellen Tang and Dorota Lech will help us kick off our annual Hot Docs topic, which continues through the festival (April 25 to May 5) and beyond.”

The D-Word is a great site for doc filmmakers, and this “virtual lounge” concept looks like an interesting way to get direct access to festival programmers and staff. If you’ve got a question, post it now before they get too busy to answer.

Following up on last year’s video on surviving SXSW, this year’s installment includes Top Chef winner and local restauranteur Paul Qui with recommendations on what to eat in Austin.

Filmmakers deserve more money for their hard work on making their films. It’s time to look at who’s really benefiting from, and piggybacking on, their success. Analyze the budgets – are there any people in the budget earning fees for hard-to-define roles? Is all film funding going directly to the filmmakers? If not, where is it getting stuck along the way? Analyze the contracts – who gets what in the back end, so to speak?

Film festivals are a business to showcase outstanding films to established audiences, attract new audiences, and provide a solid platform for filmmakers to meet and connect with these audiences and one another. That’s a lot of planets to align, and sometimes the math just may not work in your favor. It really is that simple.

Jon has written a really excellent book of interviews with festival programmers – this article is just a taste of the wisdom that lies therein.

First Lady Michelle Obama today welcomed 80 middle and high school students to an interactive workshop with the cast and crew of the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, in the State Dining Room. The students, who were from Washington, DC and New Orleans, LA, got to talk with director Benh Zeitlin, actor Dwight Henry and the movie’s 9-year-old star, Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis, who stars as Hushpuppy.

You can see the entire workshop, moderated by Rachel Goslins, Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, on YouTube.

…a reality check seems in order; in almost all cases, there is no profit to share and the loss of revenue from ticketing would create another economic disadvantage in an already difficult environment. That said, festivals must work with filmmakers to help create real value for their films, value that capitalizes on the rapidly changing marketplace without repeating the failed models of the past.

I didn’t link to Farnel’s original piece because, frankly, it is an argument which surfaces all the time. “Festivals spend all that money on plane tickets and parties,” goes the thinking, “so why can’t they kick some of that ticketing revenue back to the filmmakers?” I’ve written rebuttals before (here’s one from 2008), but the bottom line is, as Hall points out, that there is very little revenue to share. (Never mind that the accounting would be nightmarish.)

I like Hall’s attempt to shift the focus from potential monetary compensation to the value that festivals should bring to filmmakers and their films in other ways. Hopefully we can put this idea to rest for another few months.

One particularly surprising point of confusion is the concept of a film’s category. When submitting your film to a festival, it’s important to tick the right box so your film will be routed to the correct programming department. Otherwise you run the risk of delaying your film’s evaluation or even its disqualification from consideration. Here’s a quick guide to the different categories you’ll encounter as your submit your film.

Feature vs short

Traditionally, anything over 60 minutes is considered a feature film, and anything under is a short. Different festivals draw the line in different places, however, so pay attention to each festival’s definition. If you have a film that falls into that weird gray area between 30 and 60 minutes, be aware that your film faces greater challenges in being programmed than more traditional shorts (under 20 minutes) and features (over 70).

Narrative

Narrative = fiction. In general, if there’s an element of fiction to your work, it belongs in this category. Don’t get cute by submitting your documentary-style fiction film in the doc category.

Documentary

Documentary films, while inherently biased through editing, purport to represent their subjects in a factual way. There can be a lot of blurring of this line, but if you have a doc on your hands you tend to know it.

Animated

Animated features and shorts get lumped into the animated category regardless of content.

Experimental

Experimental is kind of a catch-all category for films that push the envelope of filmmaking: the weird, the off-kilter, the not-quite-narrative. Many festivals include a category for experimental shorts where they showcase films at the cinematic frontier.

Music video

If it’s about 3 minutes long and it’s set to a song, it’s a music video.

Student

These are generally narrative shorts, sequestered in their own category to allow for the “emerging” nature of the filmmakers. Each festival has its own definition of “student film” – some insist on films from students at film schools, others simply accept films made by students of all kinds. Consult the festival’s policy.

You should now be able to place your film in the correct category when you submit. Good luck.