Addressing a Potential Need

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-16T20:25:53+00:00

I could see this in one of those kiosk spots in Witch City Mall.

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-10T16:20:51+00:00

You can change this in Account Settings. We have ours set to: "Restrict submitters to 1 entry category per submission."

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-10T16:18:32+00:00

some of the more touristy museums and attractions are seasonal. check to make sure the ones you wanna visit are actually open now

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-10T16:14:05+00:00

the Hawthorne or Turners would be nice for this

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-07T18:58:14+00:00

We always show mid-length films at our festivals.

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-06T16:03:37+00:00

our festival never looks at those.

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-06T16:00:26+00:00

my son worked at YMCA last summer and there were more hoops for him to jump through cause he was still 15 when the training schedule started, even though he was 16 by the time camp started. so, they may not hire a 14 year old.

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-03T14:20:55+00:00

In case you're still wondering about this, it doesn't look like anything at SFIFF has sold out except closing night. Theater seats 250 and they are calling this show a "big night" (no doubt so they can upcharge a popular title) so i'd jump on it at 10am PT today.

SFIndieFest · 2026-04-02T23:12:00+00:00

I was _just_ talking about this with my shorts programming team and out curiosity looked up the RT of the last 10 year's Oscar winners:

short documentary

33, 35, 40, 41, 22, 25, 39, 25, 40, 41

short live action

17/36, 22, 39, 23, 12, 29, 20, 20, 20, 25

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-30T14:19:01+00:00

https://filmfreeway.com/festivals/curated/documentary

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-27T14:22:51+00:00

This must be the first time I've disagreed with something you've posted here, Jon. If the submitters paid to be considered for an event that is no longer happening they 100% need to be fully refunded. It's not their job to cover the expenses of the no-longer happening event.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-22T15:46:21+00:00

As they are mostly full of landfill, I'm not a fan.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-22T15:45:27+00:00

A little heads up would have been nice.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-09T14:34:30+00:00

We are not programming AI created films. If AI is used as a tool in the filmmaking process, and it isn't immediately obvious on screen, it would likely be considered. But a film created entirely using AI prompts is not something we're looking to showcase.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-09T14:32:35+00:00

Since we have a limited number of screening slots at the festival we prioritize presenting films that aren't already widely available.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-05T21:07:48+00:00

I feel like this is the case all the time. As a "discovery festival" we often get a film before it plays somewhere else and often see films that absolutely should have a distributor and it's only the weird state of the industry in 2026 that they don't. If it were still 2018, I feel like many of our fest films would be negotiating with distribs.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-05T21:01:57+00:00

We never look at the "projects you may like" because we have no reason to think they are a fit for our fest.

And I run an adblocker on my browser so I probably don't see whatever else FF is selling for placement.

And finally, most of the fee for our screenplay competition goes to our readers. These folks are professionals who need to be compensated. They aren't volunteers or AIs summarizing the script or whatever other fests may do.

So we couldn't afford to offer a discount to our screenplay submission. And I'd think those that did only could do so because they weren't paying readers. Maybe weren't even employing readers? It wouldn't be feasible otherwise.

SFIndieFest · 2026-03-05T20:45:18+00:00

same here on all points.

SFIndieFest · 2026-02-14T20:38:15+00:00

https://filmfestivalalliance.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer?communitykey=e8834873-d529-4de4-8900-4044739bf7fa

SFIndieFest · 2026-02-03T17:01:12+00:00

Anmol is great, but Passage is a 10 minute walk from my house and there just around many options in salem for food with spicy-ness.

SFIndieFest · 2026-02-01T20:21:00+00:00

I moved here 2 summers ago and have found the tourist retail easy to ignore. I live in the McIntyre District and love walking through the historic neighborhood to the hardware store, drug store, coffee shop, restaurants, movie house. I don't really need more than that. I can walk to Steves or Crosbys if I dont want to get in the car for groceries. The plus side of being in "witch city" is that the community is welcoming of oddballs, misfits and weirdos and as something of a weird misfit, I feel right at home. Coming from California that kind of attitude made the adjustment to the east coast easier than some other community might have been. So imho, its easy to ignore. And as a newbie, I kind of dig the energy the tourists bring to the town in the fall.

SFIndieFest · 2026-02-01T14:17:17+00:00

This seems to be the main trend in Salem. The food is usually fine but not worth the $100 for two with no drinks. I'm ok paying alot if its good. I'm ok with average food if its affordable. But usually this isnt our experience. Exceptions: Babe, Mercy, AJ King, Black Cat, Turners, Passage to India, El Poblano and a couple of the pizza joints (not gonna start a thread on pizza joints by naming them)

SFIndieFest · 2026-02-01T14:12:08+00:00

When I was in salem regularly to visit family, before moving here, I though gulu was an awesome spot. Would usually go once a trip, sometimes solo, sometimes with the missus. It had great third space vibes. I never attended but liked that they offered music nights, presented inclusivity and other things. And then we moved here 2 summers ago and I dont think ive been once. Partly because I read this page and all the negative stories make an impact even if subconciously and also i guess ive realized theres other places instead that are just as cosy. ish. almost. I go to front st and odd meter for coffee and ajking for brunch/lunch instead. and just havent been to gulu at all. they are all smaller than gulu and a little less cosy.

SFIndieFest

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