Do Film Festivals Help Filmmakers Get Distribution?

This is one of the most common — and most misunderstood — questions filmmakers ask.

The honest answer is: sometimes, but not in the way film festivals used to.

Distribution has changed dramatically over the last decade, and with it, the role film festivals play in that process.

How distribution used to work

For a long time, film festivals were the primary place distributors went to discover independent films.