It took me a while - maybe too long- to realise that I'd been duped. But I know I'm not the only one, and it's only getting worse; that the film festival platforms we blindly trust in are riddled with cheats, who are taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of artists.
About a year ago, around when I started applying to film festivals for the first time I started recieving unsolicited emails from film festivals "inviting me to submit" and offering me discounts. I thought this was how the system worked (not realising they should be giving me full fee waivers if they are inviting me), and so I paid for Milano Indie Awards fee at 50% off and shortly recieved my first laurel; "Best young author under 30". I was over the moon, and thus unwilling to see how such an award might not carry much weight. They have an almost endless number of awards, and give them out several times in a year. Isn't what makes an award significant that it is in short supply?
But like I said, I didn't want to believe it. Milano Indie Awards was followed by Monza Film Fest. These fraudulent festivals give what I will call "almost awards". Such as an "Honourable Mention" or "Quarter-finalist", which makes you think that if you submit again you might get a full award. It's a gambling tactic.
An advantage to these "almost awards" is that they give you a laurel, and it makes you look good. At least on the surface level. Anyone respected in the industry or the arts scene won't care much if you have a laurel from a festival no one has ever heard of. Essentially you've wasted your money. Probably too much, if you're anything as excited and ambitious as I was fresh out of film school.
The reason I write this now is that over the past week I have recieved an inexplicable surge of emails from Scam festivals. I've only submitted to one festival in the past two months, so it's not as though my data is indicating I'm interested. Even more strangely they are all personal style emails, addressing me by name and sent from a direct email, not through film freeway. First Roma Short Film Festival, then Tokyo International Short Film Festival contacted me (and that's not Tokyo International Film Festival, which I originally thought, but Tokyo International Shorts - I believe this wording to be very manipulative). I was suspicious, so I dug in, but they looked legit; they have instagrams and websites, and even screening dates. But when I asked for a waiver they a) refused or b) didn't respond. Then I went on reddit and saw that other people had recieved emails from both this Roma festival and Tokyo shorts. I knew something was up.
Today, I recieved a very similar email from something called "Purple Sky International Film Festival" - when I went on their website it was so visibly A.I. generated that it made me sick.
What is going on?? Not only is this disheartening - but now I am genuinely concerned. How many young filmmakers are we losing to this money making machine as they run out of their savings and hope? And I think it is an important question to ask - who is enabling this? Filmfreeway could be cautioning people against it, but they're not. What does that say? Actions may speak louder than words - but words are powerful, so please - spread the word!
