Since starting the course, I have applied to many Festivals. To begin with I was looking at festivals who call out for short 7-10 second clips. Since completing Easy Peelers for unit 2 of this course, I created a FilmFreeway account and submitted to many festivals. To give context, here’s a screenshot from FilmFreeway showing the status of my LIAF trailer that I directed, Easy Peelers:
My AR Poster from Brighton International Animation Festival, 2025
My AR Poster from Brighton International Animation Festival, 2026
Me on stage for Easy Peelers at the ‘You’ve got to laugh’ screening, Brighton 2026
I have participated in the Brighton Festival on 2 consecutive years. Both years I made an AR piece for the festival, with this year I had success in getting ‘Easy Peelers’ into the main programme. I networked in both years, but was more confident in doing so on the second year. A years’ more experience has helped me feel able to speak to other filmmakers, and I came armed with stickers that I had made to promote my film.
I concentrated on targeted smaller pieces of work which enabled me “to get my foot in the door”. I also participated in Shcha7sec at the Berlin International Festival and a London-based festival called FlatWorld and Friends. My work was shown on a screen in all venues. I also participated in a group exhibition in Peckham with designers that I had worked with in my internship over the summer. It is exhilarating to know that my work is being shown in a festival. It is also a test of resilience because you must deal with rejection. I came to realise festivals are not a job-guarantee but may get me noticed. I feel that travel excited me and my intention is to market me films in other countries.
Pictures of my work in GRIST: a group exhibition of designers in Peckham, April 2026
In this process I have learnt a few things:
- Festivals are a good place to showcase work, network and be inspired by other work.
- The platform called FilmFreeway where you can apply to festivals by submitting a film.
- A film has a shelf life of 2 years and after this it will not get shown.
- In order to operate on a tight budget, I need to be selective about which festivals I apply to, researching carefully to see if it’s worth applying.
- The selection process can be brutal
Having submitted my film, “Easy Peelers” I am now more knowledgeable in the process of submitting films, for example, what needs considering if I am selected, how to devise a poster and stickers which enabled me to market my work and be more visible etc. But so far I’m feeling positive – when I spoke with the directors of Goldenwolf at Brighton Festival, they happily accepted my sticker and said they’d put it on their laptop.
One of the stickers I made to pass around for ‘Easy Peelers’
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