I have discussed festival submission fees several times, a trend that continues to grow. In Europe, each year there are new festivals that use fees with different pricing strategies, both to control the number of submissions and to have an alternative funding source.
Whether we like it or not, it is an unstoppable process that you must consider in your distribution budget.
Many festivals are testing various strategies for applying these fees, especially in Europe, where we do not have a tradition of charging fees. This has resulted in a diversity of criteria between countries and between types of festivals.
I have compiled some of these strategies, which allow us to see the current situation of fees. I hope it will be useful to you, whether you are distributing your film now or managing a film festival.
#1 Multiple deadlines with increasing prices
This is the “classic” scheme used by most festivals with fees. It involves dividing the deadlines into early, regular and late. In these cases there can be three, four, five (and many more) deadlines. In each one, the fee price increases.
This strategy allows for better distribution of submissions throughout the entire submission period, since the late deadline is usually very expensive. It is one of the most profitable strategies, both in terms of economic profitability and in organizing the flow of submissions.
It is used mainly in the United States, and there are already some European festivals that are applying it (such as Vila do Conde).
#2 A first free deadline and another paid one
This is a variant of the previous one. In this case, the first deadline, which we can call early, would be free. The second, the regular, would be paid (they often do not have to have this name).
It is often used by festivals that have recently incorporated fees and want to maintain a free option. At this time, I believe this strategy is being used more to control the arrival of submissions than to obtain funding for the festival.
#3 Free for nationals and paid for internationals
There are other festivals that have deadlines with payments, depending on the nationality of the films. In this way, they charge fees only to submissions from outside the country of origin and not to films of national production.
Some variants to this option would be to charge nationals less, or not to charge local filmmakers.
It is also usually used by festivals that have recently incorporated fees, or by those that want to promote cinema from a geographical area, whether local or regional.
#4 Fee for some sections and not for others
Festivals that use this option usually combine it with the first one. That is, they can have three or four deadlines with different prices and some of them can be free. This strategy is used, above all, to support a specific type of film.
For example, student short films are free at Tribeca, although the festival uses a “classic” scheme with various prices for the competition. At Atlanta, music videos are free in the first deadlines and you only have to pay in the late deadline.
#5 Fee with a single deadline
It is simple, but not as widely used as it might seem. It involves a single deadline and a single payment.
This strategy is rarely used in the United States, but very common in our country. Festivals that use this option do so, above all, with the objective of reducing the number of submissions.
#6 Fee by volume, free up to a certain amount
In this case, it is about penalizing the submission of multiple films, especially by distributors, agencies and production companies. The first submissions are free and fees are only charged from a certain amount.
This system is used by the Krakow Festival, whereby a fee is only paid if more than 5 short films are submitted through the same company, school or agency.
#7 Discounts and special prices by volume
The opposite case to the previous one and much more common. Festivals offer discounts and special prices based on the number of submissions.
Festivals that apply this strategy usually make it clear in the regulations, with a pricing scheme by quantity. There are also cases of festivals that launch a specific offer to schools or agencies that have multiple films, such as the case of the Berlinale.
Pricing strategies are combined with each other
There may be festivals that opt for only one of these strategies, but the most common is for the same festival to use several of them at the same time. There are festivals that use multiple deadlines and different prices and at the same time have sections with a single price and others that are free.
As you can see, there are many different possibilities, which is why it is important to adapt the fee and pricing strategy to the type and needs of the festival.
Do you know of any other pricing strategy? What do you think about submission fees? Leave your comments below.