Bonus episode - Kristjan Knigge talks about his experiences with his first feature film

Brad Wilke (@jbwilke) is an award-winning filmmaker, produced feature-length screenwriter, and film programmer for the Seattle International Film Festival. At his company Smarthouse Creative, Brad designs and executes digital and social media strategies for films and filmmakers, as well as film festivals and brands. In this episode I talk with Brad about about his passion for discovering new talent and we answer some burning filmmaker questions about the film selection process at the Seattle International Film Festival. Find the show notes at http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/podcast

Veteran filmmaker, teacher, and fundraiser Mark Stolaroff takes a pause in the middle of the Kickstarter campaign for his new film “DriverX” to reflect on his filmmaking career and the psychology of asking friends and strangers for money. Mark is the creator of the "No Budget Film School” seminars and a role model to many indie filmmakers. See the show notes here: http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/ffs/podcast-36

Are you being offered the "festival rights" to the music in your film at a discount? It's a trap! Find out why the deal you're being offered might not be the best option for you.

Jen West and James Martin are partners in life, partners in filmmaking (they alternate between directing and producing on each film), and partners in a string of successful crowdfunding projects. Now they face a new challenge -- distributing their most recent completed film (a doc short about a famous New Orleans cocktail) online and on the festival circuit while raising funds for the next film. The new project is their first feature, a musical fantasy called “Electric Bleau.” Listen in as they reveal their secrets to keeping all these balls in the air at once.

Excerpted from their online course “Film Festival Hacks,” Alex Ferrari (Indie Film Hustle) and host Chris Holland talk about the career building and networking opportunities to be found at film festivals. http://filmfestivalhacks.com

In this episode: Chris Holland talks about the legwork of creating a festival strategy, in particular the research you should be doing about the festivals you think you want to submit to. Things like: * What things can tell me if the festival I'm looking at is legit or not? * How can I tell if this festival is appropriate for my film? * How can I make the most of my time on the web? * What are the red flags that might make me think about spending my money elsewhere? If you find this podcast useful please review the show on iTunes, your ratings and reviews really do help. Also be on the lookout for my new online course, Film Festival Hacks - learn more at filmfestivalsecrets.com/hacks

After several hours of recording lectures for our new online course (more details in the show), filmmaker Alex Ferrari and I had a more casual conversation about his personal experience with festivals around the country and in industry towns like Los Angeles.

Sometimes filmmakers face the classic "bird in the hand" problem. Case in point: my friend Amy's short film "Pickle" was accepted by one festival, but her "dream date" festival is still on the fence. That's a problem, because showing at the first festival to extend an offer might lessen the dream festival's interest. Should she go ahead with the sure thing, or wait for her dream festival to make up its mind? See http://filmfestivalsecrets.com/ffs/2015/12/podcast-30 for show notes.

This episode I'm joined by Richard Gale, creator of the short film "The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon," which is on its way to becoming a feature film thanks to a healthy festival run and a rabid YouTube fan base. Learn how Gale turned festival success into a cottage industry and a budget for a feature-length horror comedy. For show notes see http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/podcast/29

Some quick tips on narrowing the field of possible festival choices down to the film fests that are right for your film. See http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/identity for more on this topic.