Post updated. First published on November 7, 2013. Submission platforms for short film distribution are based on a very simple, yet highly effective concept: creating a single film entry that can be submitted to multiple festivals simultaneously, without having to create a separate entry for each one. This way, the filmmaker, producer, … Read more
Last Friday, one of the most significant pieces of news in the world of festival submissions broke: IMDb and Amazon announced the closure of Withoutabox, the world’s pioneer submission platform. It began operating 18 years ago, in 2000, and was acquired by IMDb for $3 million in 2008, when it was already … Read more
This past weekend I was invited to the Elche International Independent Film Festival, where last Friday I gave a presentation on distribution. Among the topics we covered were the festival submission processes, with a special focus on platforms and the different payment models in festivals. These processes have evolved significantly with the … Read more
At the beginning of this year, 2017, we learned about the first casualty in the overcrowded submission-platform market. As of February 1, Uptofest has ceased operations. According to the platform, it has merged with Festhome, where the festivals that previously belonged to Uptofest are now open. This platform has been the first … Read more
The evolution of distribution platforms for festivals seems to be entering a new stage. After a few years in which new projects have been constantly created, in January we learned of the closure of Uptofest (effective as of February 1) following its merger with Festhome, which now, together with Movibeta, leads the … Read more
In a couple of months, it will be three years since the post on short film distribution platforms in which I analyzed the active platforms at that time. In recent years, new festival submission platforms have emerged, revitalizing the distribution market (and not just for short films). The time has come to … Read more
These last few weeks have been very intense in terms of festival updates, and in this process I come across some cases that really catch my attention. These are festivals that clearly state in their regulations that they are free, but require submission through a paid platform, that is, they do charge … Read more
The submission platform reelport has been available for several months now with a new beta version at this link: https://beta.reelport.com (the previous website is still available at reelport.com). This platform is one of the first in Europe, created in 2004 and based in Germany, practically at the same time as the French … Read more
The development of submission platforms has continued over the last two years, with changes in design and pricing, making this a good time to analyse the different pricing models that have gradually become established—”pricing”—from the filmmaker’s point of view (director or producer). The first thing we find is a clear difference between … Read more
In 2015 there were many changes to submission platforms, which I already discussed two years ago in the post https://ismaelmartin.com/plataformas-de-distribucion-de-cortometrajes/. New versions were released, pricing policies changed, sites were redesigned, etc., consolidating the trend of many festivals continuing to use these platforms to manage their submissions. Changes to platforms are always welcome, … Read more