Life Without Sundance

Friday is the notification date for the Sundance Film Festival, and for most of the 13,000+ indie filmmakers who submitted this year, it’s going to be a tough day. Yes, this is still the most important film festival in the US for American indies. Yes, most of the biggest acquisitions tend to come from Park City. And yes, a rejection letter can cause filmmakers to doubt the quality of their work. I was one of them, in 1994, when my film didn’t get into Sundance (and I know my film wasn’t good enough). But with the help of a few other scrappy filmmakers, we started Slamdance, and charted our own festival journey. Among many others, we proved there is life without Sundance.

Good News, Bad News

First the bad, always. Filmmakers submitting to Sundance have less than a 1% of getting invited. If you’re an alum, came through a Sundance lab, or have Oscar-caliber talent, the chances go up. You can see real numbers in our other article (No Sundance, No Problem).

There is a lot more good news. Yes, it’s still a bit of the wild, wild west out there, but there are more opportunities than ever before to find your audience. If you are committed to the festival path, there are over 5,000 to ponder and several hundred that are worthy of consideration. There are plenty of lists out there, or you can watch a free webinar at Film Festival Mastery.

If distribution is your primary goal, whether it’s theatrical, community screenings or streaming platforms (or some combination), there are approachable players who can lend a hand. You can use a producer’s rep, an aggregator, or reach out to a number of platforms directly. And depending on whether you succeed on the festival circuit, land a distributor, or self-distribute, the right marketing strategy can attract an audience.

Elevating Your Career

There are many paths to a successful career, with or without Sundance. Play other festivals. Meet future collaborators. Develop your next project. Keep knocking on doors. Perseverance is the key.

Here are a handful of famous examples of filmmakers with distinguished careers who had their first films rejected from Sundance, starting with Ava DuVarnay.

“I was rejected from Sundance six times,” she wrote. “For the festival in three different years. The labs in four different seasons. It is what it is. Keep making your stuff. Stay focused on what you want to say and make it and keep going. You’re okay. Keep going.” Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay - This is the Life was rejected

Selected Credits: Middle of Nowhere, Selma, 13th

Damien Chazelle Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench was rejected

Selected Credits: Whiplash, La La Land, Babylon

Doug Liman - Swingers was rejected

Selected Credits: The Bourne Identify, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Edge of Tomorrow

Chris Nolan -  The Following was rejected

Selected Credits: The Dark Night, Inception, Dunkirk

Russo Brothers - Pieces was rejected

Selected Credits: You, Me and Dupree, Avengers: Endgame, The Gray Man

Whether you just pivot to plan B with your festival run, go directly to distributor candidates, or put together an alternative distribution model, you have many options. Sundance has done great things for emerging talent, but there are many more filmmakers who did not premiere there and went on to have thriving careers.

The Mine was created by the iGEMS team. To subscribe to our iGEMSpro Weekly Report with industry updates and resources, click here. To receive our Weekly iGEMStv Guide, with newly curated picks to stream, click here.

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Header Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay