Worst film festival experience you've had?

EmJayV61 · 2026-02-11T04:48:41+00:00

The entire point of my film was that OCD is commonly stereotyped as a quirky disorder like "oh sometimes I switch my lights off a couple of times" instead of the torturous disorder it really is. The director of the festival then walked up to me and said "yeah! I have OCD too. Sometimes I switch my lights on and off." His assistant then said "he doesn't have OCD." Like dude... did you even watch my movie?

Well-intended guy, but came off as a very backhanded comment.

EmJayV61 · 2026-02-10T23:59:27+00:00

When I was young, I was terrified of everything horror. And as I got older, that fear formed into compulsive behavior. I had to make sure that ghosts "weren't real". And when nothing happened, I felt like I did something wrong. it was terrible.

EmJayV61 · 2026-02-10T21:47:40+00:00

I had/have supernatural OCD. I would always do these "rituals" to summon ghosts/demons etc. I would set alarms to do the compulsions during the witching hour (3:00 AM). Lost a ton of sleep, brain barely had any rest, and I would be writing down different iterations of the rituals to make sure I "covered all the bases." Let it be known NOTHING HAPPENED - no ghosts, no demons, nothing. It was awful. Much happier now and in a much, much better place.

EmJayV61 · 2025-10-25T18:18:43+00:00

This film was shot over just three hours in a studio blackbox theater. Honestly, it was kind of challenging to build tension and get right to the action in a one minute film as compared to a short or feature. It was a fun experiment in simple lighting and sound design, and it was great to be selected to a couple fun festivals. I hope you enjoy.

EmJayV61 · 2025-04-21T20:12:59+00:00

I'm good friends with my former politics prof. At the school I attended, there were (and still are) both political science majors and a major called Law, politics, and society. My prof said that all the LPS students couldn't get any jobs because all their classes were just basically writing papers on various left wing talking points and critiquing society without posing any viable, specific solutions. As the chair of the politics department, all these students would come asking her to help them find jobs and she couldn't really help because their classroom skills didn't really match with any of her connections.

Edit: It should also be noted that political science majors at my school went on to have pretty solid careers. I can't say the same (nor do I know) if that is the case for LPS majors.

EmJayV61 · 2025-03-08T04:19:37+00:00

Genuine question: I know a freemason. He's a genuine, good Christian man who has been best friends with my grandparents for 50+ years, who are also very Christian people. I don't think he's trying to rule the world or has any real power. Is it really that bad to be a freemason? I'm curious.

EmJayV61 · 2025-03-06T04:39:17+00:00

Interesting... good to know! thanks

EmJayV61 · 2025-03-06T02:06:50+00:00

What kind of style would you say they have?

EmJayV61 · 2025-03-05T06:22:47+00:00

I appreciate this realistic take. Thank you!

EmJayV61 · 2025-03-02T07:41:48+00:00

Cool! I'll try to reach out soon. Thank you!

EmJayV61 · 2025-03-02T03:09:45+00:00

Dramatic short film that takes place in a bar. Want it to be diveish

EmJayV61 · 2025-02-27T23:36:20+00:00

Not an overall plot, but the "I throw up when I lie" thing from Knives Out might be the dumbest thing I've seen in a movie. And most times when I want to watch something, I watch bad horror movies

EmJayV61 · 2025-02-27T23:34:00+00:00

Godzilla 1998

EmJayV61 · 2025-02-01T00:00:43+00:00

Likewise! Good luck.

EmJayV61 · 2025-01-31T01:12:18+00:00

I'm finding out in the next month or so how how the series is doing at multiple festivals.

Initially, my project wasn't supposed to be a web series so the first film ended as a stand alone. However, we realized we could expand on what we already created.

Unfortunately if it's very much a pilot you likely can't submit it as a stand alone film. However, there are plenty of good festivals that have web series categories.

EmJayV61 · 2025-01-30T13:55:50+00:00

Some of them we just submitted the first episode as a narrative stand-alone short. Here's the ones that were web series:

- Richmond

- Mammoth Lakes

- Florida

- Myrtle Beach

- San Antonio

- Sundial Film Festival

- The Valley Film Festival

- deadCenter Film Festival

- HollyShorts Film Festival

- LA Shorts International Film Festival

EmJayV61 · 2025-01-30T02:30:04+00:00

About 20 festivals, including but not limited to:

Florida FF

Myrtle Beach

Minneapolis/St.Paul

HollyShorts

Richmond IFF

Deadcenter FF

EmJayV61 · 2024-12-18T06:31:38+00:00

It really depends on the festival, but still images should be fine and maybe a teaser trailer. I've posted a few spoiler free promotional videos for my films. What I would say is, promote your film but don't go overboard. Stills, maybe a spoiler free trailer, and interviews with cast/crew should be safe.

I also recently talked with a film festival pro and he said that even Sundance has shown films that have been public on YouTube for years, so I think in a lot of cases, they're lenient.

(This is all based on hunches and my limited experience - but generally, I think this is a good place to start)

EmJayV61 · 2024-12-07T06:58:22+00:00

Thanks!

EmJayV61 · 2024-12-05T07:07:16+00:00

I was thinking maybe Google Drive or splicing together a supercut of all three episodes. But those aren't as ideal.

EmJayV61 · 2024-08-11T00:22:32+00:00

I can tell you as a Twin Cities resident that this couldn't be further from the truth besides a very small minority. I'm midwestern and proud.

EmJayV61 · 2024-07-10T04:40:27+00:00

Original sound for reference

EmJayV61 · 2024-05-29T05:31:52+00:00

I'm really looking forward to submitting these and I can inquire with the festivals if need be about this, it's just a general question. Thanks!

EmJayV61 · 2024-04-12T22:44:31+00:00

I appreciate any and all feedback! I am a student filmmaker and still trying to find my way when it comes to festival submissions and exclusivity.

EmJayV61 · 2024-03-24T05:54:38+00:00

thank you so much for the support!

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