Your All Access Pass to Launching Your Film on the Festival Circuit

The first step-by-step “How To” guide to film festivals, offering filmmakers a bird’s eye view of what it takes to have a successful festival experience. Practical, hands-on information with examples and exercises to help the filmmaker include:

Targeting the right festivals;

Creating a press kit;

Promoting and branding your film;

Promoting and branding yourself;

Filling out entry forms;

Creating a logline;

And much more.

About the Author

Rona Edwards. Graduating from California Institute of the Arts, Rona Edwards became Vice President of Creative Affairs for multiple Emmy-winner John Larroquette (Night Court), Academy-Award Winner Michael Phillips Productions (The Sting, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Taxi Driver), and Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated Producer, Fern Field (Monk, Heartsounds), before she was dragged kicking and screaming into the world of independent producing. As a Producer, she co-produced and/or executive produced One Special Victory (NBC) starring John Larroquette, The Companion (USA/SCI FI CHANNEL) directed by Gary Fleder, I Know What You Did (ABC) starring Rosanna Arquette, Out of Sync (VH1) starring Gail O’Grady, and Der Morder Meiner Mutter (Sat.1/Studio Hamburg) for German television.

Monika Skerbelis. Monika Skerbelis started her industry career as an assistant in the Story Department for Paramount Pictures, then moved over to 20th Century-Fox as an assistant story editor, later promoted to story editor. At the same time Universal Pictures offered her the opportunity to run their story department where she worked for ten years and was promoted from an executive story editor to a vice president. She developed a number of screenplays including Black Dog starring Patrick Swayze. In addition to her story department duties at Universal, she scoured film festivals, student film screenings, and screenwriting competitions in search of new filmmakers. Since its inception in 2000, Monika has been programming films for the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, and has been the programming director of The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival since 2008.