What is this?
A filmmaker spotlight series geared towards lifting up and championing filmmakers doing a lot with a little.
What do I get?
Submitting a film for consideration in the spotlight series means the following things:
I (Josh Folan) will watch your film within 45 days (I make movies too, so sometimes my schedule is fucked) but hopefully sooner. I don’t have a staff, I won’t have a staff, I don’t want a staff. I’ve made a LOT of films with no money, I relate to and enjoy films well-made with no money and the creativity required to execute them, and I hope to discover films of that ilk that I otherwise would not by hosting (or whatever verb I’m verbing here) this film/filmmaker spotlight series.
If I do think your film fits what I aim for this collection of filmmaker’s work to stand for, I will:
- Email you directly with what I loved about your film and laurels you are free to emblazon unto any and all marketing in conjunction with the film as you see fit.
- Invite you to do an interview that I will distribute as an episode of the Filmmaking, the Hard Way Podcast — where I’ve historically sat down and bullshitted over coffee with filmmakers I’ve admired the work of at festivals and pried at how the hell they pulled off their film with no money — in conjunction with your film’s release.
- Release your film on the NYEH Entertainment YouTube channel on a mutually agreed upon date (optional, if you prefer to release from your own platform/channel that is fine), where it will remain indefinitely (or until you elect to have it removed).
- Post the film or trailer (filmmaker’s choice) on both the FtHWFS and NYEH Entertainment socials – Instagram/Facebook/Reddit at minimum, and probably some of my personals as well considering these will be the kinds of films I already scream from the rooftops about on Twitter/Reddit/Letterboxd as is.
Eligibility & Submission
Short (15 minutes or less), festival programming limbo-length (between 15 and 70 minutes), and feature-length (70+ minutes) films are accepted. The idea here is, again, accomplishing a lot with a little, so the production budget constraints I am going with for eligibility and submission pricing for the three tiers are as follows:
Short Films: A budget of $10,000 USD or less, submission price is $25
Limbo Films: A budget of $25,000 USD or less, submission price is $35
Feature Films: A budget of $40,000 USD or less, submission price is $45
Given my experience level with movie makin’ in limited resource situations, I am confident I will rather easily be able to call bullshit on projects that exceed the budget criteria I am imposing on submissions. I pray to the film gods I don’t have to do much of this, but in fairness to the spirit of the venture and the filmmaker ecosystem I am creating here, I reserve the right to request a production budget if I have interest in programming a film but question the feasibility of execution under the stated financial constraints. One upside to any situations where I feel the need to be a budget cop, should you convince me it does indeed qualify I fully expect our pod interview to be an absolute banger.
FAQ
What if, in your self-perceived budgetary omnipotence, you determine a film does not meet the necessary criteria for eligibility?
That further scrutiny will only occur after the selection stage, and after a budget is requested, so we’ll be in discussion about my questioning how the hell you pulled it off. Should that discussion result in my not buying what you’re selling, I will return your submission fee.
What will I need if my film is selected?
A 16x9 textless (no title, no tagline, no laurels, no nuthin’) horizontal key art image for the film, a 9x16 textless vertical key art image, a list of the key filmmakers, a 1-2 sentence logline for the film, and a 1080p+ MP4 of your preferred video component (trailer/excerpt/film). An optional filmmaker statement is also welcome, however long you’d like that to be. I will request these elements in more detail via email if I’d like to move forward with programming your film.
What kinds of films tickle your fancy, Josh?
Ones that I want to relentlessly annoy all my film nerd friends about watching. I once sat and made a list of ten things I value in a film, maybe that’s also helpful - you can read that @ https://nyehentertainment.com/what-i-value-in-a-movie/
