How Many Film Festivals Should I Submit My Film To?

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When filmmakers ask how many festivals they should submit to, what they’re really asking is:

How do I do this without wasting my time and money?

The answer isn’t just a number per say, It’s a strategy.

For most independent films, a healthy target is 15 to 30 festivals.

But those 15 to 30 festivals should never be random. They should be moving you toward a specific goal.

Start with why

Before you submit anywhere, you should know what you want this film to do.

Do you want:

Genre fans to discover you?
A big audience?
Industry exposure?
Awards momentum?
Or Oscar-qualifying consideration?

Your answer changes how and where you submit your work.

If you made a genre film

If your film is horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or any strong genre, your best audience lives inside genre festivals.

That means your 15 to 30 submissions should mostly be: Horror festivals, Sci-fi festivals, Fantasy festivals, or genre-friendly festivals (like UIFF).

Those audiences are built to love what you made. Submitting a horror short to a random arts festival isn’t wrong, it’s just not where that film is most likely to get programmed.

If you want the biggest possible audience

If your goal is exposure, community, and people actually watching your film, then your list should lean toward: International festivals, Regional festivals and festivals with strong attendance and in-person screenings. These festivals may not be genre-specific, but they have real audiences.

If you’re chasing Oscar-qualifying status

If your film is built to compete at a high awards level, then your 15 to 30 should be: Oscar-qualifying festivals OR festivals that regularly feed into those Oscar-qualifying festivals (again like UIFF).

A smaller list of the right festivals beats a huge list of the wrong ones.

If you’re a screenwriter

Most screenplays get buried at festivals that focus mainly on films.

If you’re submitting a script, your 15 to 30 festivals should be ones that offer: Table reads, Screenwriter networking OR real exposure for writers. Otherwise, your script may technically be “selected”… and never really be seen.

The real goal

The festival circuit isn’t about collecting laurels. Well I guess it can be if that’s your goal. But I think it’s about putting your work in front of the right people for the right reasons. When you choose 15 to 30 festivals that align with your goals, your film festival journey has a purpose.