LAIFFA - anyone familiar?

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  • LAIFFA - anyone familiar?

    I entered this LAIFFA contest and placed in the top 3 for a screenplay, which I was surprised about, considering I have only made semi-finals in other bigger contests. It's a monthly contest so I was skeptical about how big this competition is or if anyone is familiar with it?

  • #2
    Re: LAIFFA - anyone familiar?

    I would be interested to know what your experience is with this festival. From the looks of it they seem to be set up like a money-making business with little return value for the writer or filmmaker. It has all the tell-tale signs:

    1. Always accepting submissions year-round.

    2. Fancy city in the title of festival, which might be easily confused with the almost identically titled established fests like Los Angeles Film Festival or the Los Angeles Short Film Festival.

    3. Expensive -- Why do they only have a "late deadline" option for $50?

    4. Ton of categories -- like in the most I have ever seen -- "Best Photographer Time-lapse"?

    5. Mostly online with a one-night awards gala at an easily-rented theater so they can qualify for the Film Festival with Live Screenings status.

    6. Once accepted, they charge you the winner $25 dollars per person to attend the "gala". Does one also have to pay for the trophy?

    7. It is also a tell-tale sign when a lot of people win. From their rules: "Official selection doesn’t mean that your film will be screened at the festival". Also Filmfreeway just introduced their commenting system, which you can only use if you are accepted. They already have 75 comments from grateful winners when other festivals just average 5 to 10 comments from people that actually mention having placed at other fests.

    8. They run several festivals at once. At the bottom of the page they advertise their "sister" festivals.

    9. It is really hard to find who is actually behind this festival. Filmfreeway usually lists the names of the programmers or the festival director. Not with them. And I could't find it on their web page either. Why are they hiding their identities? And who are the judges?

    In the end it is great being recognized for one's work, but I think it would mean more if it was from established contests or festivals.
    Manfred Lopez Grem
    WGA Writer - Director | Zero Gravity Management

    REEL - IMDB

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