How Much Does it Cost to Enter a Film Festival?

Submitting a project to a film festival is a big deal and it’s super exciting, but if you’re new to the idea, you’re probably wondering, “How much does it cost to enter a film festival?” Because there are many different festivals some of which specialize in specific genres there are a number of possible scenarios and answers to go along with this question. While there is not a set rate for all film festivals, team Beverly Boy is providing you with information regarding film festival fees and what to expect. 

Essentially, the cost to enter a film festival will depend largely on the festival itself and various other factors. Some film festival entrance fees can run under $20 and some can be substantially more. We’re breaking down the economics of film festival entry fees and what you need to know.

When you ask, “how much does it cost to enter a film festival,” you’re asking a question that can stand to have several answers depending on which festival you enter. The average cost to enter a short film into a film festival is around $27. Entrance fees for of a feature film into a film festival will generally cost an average of $40. As you will see in the list we provide below, rates can and do vary significantly based on the individual film festival. The lowest cost to enter that we found was $15 and this goes all the way up to $500.

Entering a Film Festival

Before you consider entering a film festival, you’ve probably created a budget for your film and this should include some cost allocation for film festival entrance fees. Most film festivals charge submission fees but these are only a small fraction of how the festival is funded. Additional funding comes from things like commercial sponsorships, outside audience members purchasing tickets, grants, and various other sources.

It’s important though, that if you’re producing a film that you want to hit the big screen, that you budget in appropriate costs for entrance into film festivals. Often times, filmmakers find that they spend too much creating the film and do not have enough funds allocated to entrance fees which leaves them unable to enter their works into the festivals that could potentially hold the key to their work reaching the audience eyes that could truly make a difference in their distribution.

Top Film Festivals & Their Costs

In the United States, there are tons of different film festivals to consider entering your film into but you’ll need to have a budget set aside for this type of campaign. Let’s take a look at the potential costs involved in film festival entrance fees for some of the most popular U.S. film festivals taking place in 2020 (or have already taken place recently), they include:

• The Sundance Film Festival – Entry Fee is $40-$110
• The Tribeca Film Festival – Entry Fee is $60-$500
• The Austin Film Festival – Entry Fee is $50-$85
• The New York Film Festival – Entry Fee is $25-$85
• The Atlanta Film Festival – Entry Fee is $15-$90
• The Chicago International Film Festival – Entry Fee is $20-$200
• The Nantucket Film Festival – Entry Fee is $25-$75
• The Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Entry Fee is $35-$100

The real question though should not be, “how much does it cost to enter a film festival?” But is the cost worth it? For the above-listed film festivals, we really believe that filmmakers seeking publicity for their work have a lot to gain from entering these worthy U.S. film festivals and you could also benefit from entering some smaller, local film festivals in your area depending on the cost to enter.

As you can see, the cost to enter some of the United States’s largest, most prominent film festivals is moderately low priced so if you find that a local festival has rates higher than the above-listed prices for entry, you may want to reconsider entrance — you’ll certainly gain more exposure at some of the larger, above listed, events.

Need help figuring out if you should enter your film into a nearby or upcoming film festival? Give Beverly Boy Productions a call, we’ll be happy to help you decide what steps to take next with your film project.