So if you upload a video to your feed and it’s longer than the max length allowed in an Instagram video, a button that says “continue watching on IGTV” will now appear, letting your viewers watch the full film.
Instagram has also recently allowed linking to IGTV from video posts in your feed. People had their doubts about IGTV at first, and as filmmakers it’s safe to say we all hate vertical video, but you can now upload videos in landscape to the platform. If you want to build an online audience for your film, you need to be posting to Instagram. Film ShortageĪnother notable online film curation website, Film Shortage’s “Daily Picks” page describes itself as “All the films that deserve to be seen.”Īccording to SEMrush, Film Shortage gets over 40,000 visits each month. Keep in mind, though, that your film must not have been posted anywhere else for it to be selected. Nowness Picks is an online short film curation website that showcases highly polished, artistic films with “uncompromising aesthetics.” According to SEMrush, Nowness gets over 200,000 web visits per month, so it can be a great distribution option for your film. It can be a great distribution channel to get eyes on your project. Vimeo Staff Picks has over one million followers on the Vimeo platform. We’ve spoken to some filmmakers who desire a Vimeo Staff Pick badge more than festival laurels. The Vimeo Staff pick icon is recognized as a badge of honor in the indie filmmaking community. Short of The Week Vimeo Short Films and Staff Picks With an audience of millions on and our YouTube channel, we have built a network of 30,000 filmmakers and featured over 2,000 short films across every genre from 50+ countries. They preach the “Be Everywhere All At Once” strategy, encouraging filmmakers to post their films online as soon as they’re ready for release–not waiting to end a physical festival run. Short of The Week posts emerging short films on their website - and no longer just once per week. We’ve gathered some of the best short film websites below where you can see short films.
There’s no secret to getting your short film into festivals or curation sites, but it all starts with creating a great film and getting it out there online.
Many prominent traditional film festivals, including Sundance, have waived this requirement as online film festivals and curation websites become more and more important for independent filmmakers to showcase their work. Independent film distribution is moving online, and “premiere status” is largely becoming a thing of the past when it comes to short films. In fact, some online short film websites get MILLIONS of views each month, and they have active subscribers. Just because big-name distributors aren’t snatching up short films doesn’t mean there’s no audience for them. They’re used as “calling cards” to show off filmmakers’ experience, and they allow filmmakers to experiment creatively. By and large, short films do not make money - as we know. It’s unlikely a traditional distributor will want to buy a short film, and film marketing firms generally specialize in feature films. But how do you approach short film distribution, and how do you promote your short film? Where do you submit your short film?