How to Spot Shady Film Festivals: A Guide for Filmmakers

Film festivals are vital to the independent film world. They provide filmmakers with opportunities for exposure, networking, and potentially securing distribution for their work. And, hey, who doesn’t like to collect film festival Laurel emblems for their film posters to add credibility?

But that zeal to acquire Laurels for the sole purpose of justifying your worth to others will inevitably lead you to shady film festivals.

Here’s the hard truth: Not all festivals are created equal. While many festivals operate with integrity, some exist merely to capitalize on filmmakers’ ambitions and pocket their submission fees without offering any real value in return.

As a filmmaker, it’s crucial to learn how to identify shady film festivals to avoid wasting time, money, and energy. Here’s how you can spot red flags before committing to a festival:

1. Deceptive Festival Name

The World Film Festival of Cannes and International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema are prime examples of bogus festivals that use deceptive names to exploit the prestige associated with renowned festivals. Despite sharing the famous name Cannes, the World Film Festival of Cannes is not affiliated with the actual famous Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious and respected film festivals globally. By using a name nearly identical to the well-known festival, this scheme deliberately aims to create confusion, suckering filmmakers into spending money to submit films in hopes of ‘glory’. Filmmakers might think they’ve won something HUGE, and their friends on Facebook will likely think it’s HUGE too. But it’s not. They all become duped by the deceptive scam. And by continuing to be fooled, they keep the scheme spreading by posting on Facebook and other social media.

2. Money-Making Schemes

Bogus film festivals function as money-making schemes that exploit naive filmmakers. A major red flag is when these festivals send you a discount code to submit a film. Seriously, could a film festival scam be more obvious? This just doesn’t happen in the real world of professional film festivals. Many bogus festivals have monthly ‘awards’ and neverending or rolling submission deadlines as a gimmick to keep the entries — and revenue — flowing 365 days a year. There is no actual board of directors as found in professional festivals. Instead they are run by one person or a few people as a ‘business’. Shady festivals usually promise exposure, awards, and distribution opportunities, but don’t deliver. What they do however is hand out a monthly flow of ego-inflating Official Selection Laurel emblems that are worthless. Know this: These shady festivals will not grab the attention of a producer or distributor, because these people aren’t there. They will not get your film in front of an audience of more than a handful of other filmmakers. What they will do is line the pockets of someone who has not seen and does not care one bit about the movie you spent years making.

3. Lack of Transparency

A legitimate festival should have clear and transparent information on its website, including details about its mission, previous editions, prizes, jurors, and industry involvement. Bogus festivals never reveal the people who are part of judging panels or selection committees. Likewise, if their website looks poorly designed or incomplete it’s a dead giveaway that it’s bogus. An amateurish website doesn’t sqaure with their claims of being prestigious. On the other hand, real film festivals have professional websites and put resources into their operations.

4. Beware ‘Festivals’ with Hundreds of Categories

Hello, do we need to call Captain Obvious on this one? A dead giveaway that a festival is bogus is when it has hundreds of categories so they can give out an award to every single film. Real festivals don’t give out awards for “Best hair and makeup in a short comedy/short drama/short horror/feature comedy/feature drama…”

6. Jury Review? What Jury Review?

Credible festivals have an intense jury review process of submissions that take several months. They commonly also have categories for lengths of films (ie. Short under 15 minutes, Documentaries under 60 minutes, etc.) Shady festivals often avoid providing clear criteria for what makes a film eligible, desirable, or even selected. Look for festivals with well-defined categories and a transparent judging process. Genuine festivals often provide guidelines and offer feedback, while shady ones operate with no clear standards. Worse, shady film festivals typically accept every video or film submitted as an Official Selection so that a filmmaker unwittingly talks up their ‘award’ on social media. This only further contributes to promoting the shady festival.

7. Neverending Submission Periods

Real film festivals have time limits on entries. Shady film festivals have very long or neverending submission periods, ‘monthly awards’, and often stretch submission periods over an entire year, with the primary goal of maximizing submission fees rather than curating a quality selection of films. By keeping the submission window open for such an extended period, these festivals can accumulate a larger volume of entries, profiting from the submission fees of hopeful filmmakers without the intention of truly selecting or showcasing their work. This prolonged submission period can make filmmakers feel that they have ample time to submit their films, but in reality, it’s a strategy designed to take advantage of the large number of naive filmmakers willing to pay the fee for a shot at recognition. Legitimate festivals, on the other hand, typically have more concise submission windows to allow for proper review and planning, rather than just extending the timeline for financial gain.

8. Every Film Gets Declared an ‘Official Selection’

Shady film festivals often engage in the deceptive practice of designating every single film submitted as an “Official Selection.” This is an advertising tactic to lure in more filmmakers. By offering this title to all entrants, regardless of the quality or relevance of the films, these festivals create a false sense of prestige, leading filmmakers to believe they’ve achieved something noteworthy. This “Official Selection” label is then used by the filmmaker in promotional materials, website listings, and social media posts to make themselves appear even more important. This also helps the bogus festival appear legitimate and impressive, attracting even more submissions. However, the reality is that the honour holds no real value, as the festival is not curating films based on merit or artistic quality, but merely exploiting the concept of being “selected” to boost their own visibility and revenue. This tactic preys on filmmakers’ dreams of recognition, ultimately offering little in terms of real exposure or meaningful opportunities.

9. Unclear or Nonexistent Screening Location

Be cautious if a festival does not specify where the screenings will take place, or worse, if the screenings are being held in an obscure, low-capacity, or non-traditional venue. Film festivals typically occur in theaters or venues that are easily recognizable and have a proper setup for showcasing films. If the festival is vague about its screening location or provides inconsistent answers, it could be an attempt to cut corners or avoid scrutiny.

10. Quantity Over Quality

The urge to acquire film laurels at any cost, particularly from low-credibility festivals, can ultimately harm a filmmaker’s career in the long run. While having laurels on your film might seem like a way to boost its legitimacy and appeal, being associated with questionable festivals can tarnish your reputation and credibility within the industry. Discerning distributors, agents, and potential collaborators can easily spot low-quality festivals that offer nothing beyond a shiny sticker, leading them to question the value of your film. Additionally, filmmakers who chase laurels from such festivals may end up neglecting more reputable events that offer genuine networking opportunities, industry exposure, and meaningful connections. Focusing on quantity over quality in this regard can send the wrong message about your commitment to the craft and the professionalism of your work, ultimately detracting from your career prospects in a competitive and industry-savvy environment.

11. Unclear victory criteria

Professional film festival will disclose the line-up of judges that will evaluate the filmmakers’ works. To choose a victor, they will give their reasons and criteria that influenced their decisions. On the other hand, bogus festivals will only announce Official Selection winners via email without any clear elaboration. And it never fails that those cookie-cutter emails to winners are always sent surprising fast after an entry is received. Hmmm. Bogus. Yep!

12. Worthless Laurels

As long as you pay, you get a Winner Laurel. Scam festivals are really just a kind of “competition” that exist purely so that people can easily put laurels on their film marketing because they’re not actually competing against anything. Every filmmaker receives an email declaring them a “winner.” But there are no details of the films, no images, no videos. But the festivals do make it really really easy to download your winning Laurel so you can post it on social media and tell all your friends who will then flood your comments with praise and reshare it to their friends. If there ever was a brilliant and deceptive marketing scheme, this is it!

13. Amateurish Spammy Social Media Accounts

Dead Giveaway #2,987 that a festival is bogus is if you look at the festivals’ social media accounts. Take one look at the World Film Festival of Cannes’ social media accounts and they scream SCAM SPAM! Instagram and Facebook accounts are spam-filled feeds of amateurish cookie-cutter graphics announcing endless monthly winners (and not surprising, zero reasons why they are monthly winners! P.S. That’s Dead Giveaway #2988 if you’re counting). Real film festival have real photos of real people from the actual festival, real in-depth interviews with winners and why a film won, and everyday real-life behind the scenes of running a professional festival, etc.

Pro Tip: Trust Your Instincts

Don’t fill your imdb page up with embarrassing nothing awards. You’ll regret it later in your career and imdb won’t take them off.

While it’s true that some festivals start small and may not yet have the same resources as major events, even legit small festivals will still show clear signs of professionalism, transparency, and dedication to filmmakers. It’s how festivals gain credibility within the film industry. Always do your due diligence before submitting, and never feel pressured into paying high submission fees or entering a festival that doesn’t feel right.

At the end of the day, trust your instincts and remember that the festival circuit is about much more than just the prize. A good festival can help you build a network, gain exposure, and make valuable industry connections. Don’t settle for one that’s simply looking to take advantage of your work. By being proactive and vigilant, you can avoid the shady ones and focus your energy on events that truly support independent filmmakers.