Explore every episode of the podcast FestForge
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film Festivals by the Numbers: Stephen Follows on Fees, Selection and Rejection | 12 Oct 2026 | 00:55:46 | |
Film Festivals by the Numbers: Stephen Follows on Fees, Selection and Rejection What does a festival submission fee actually pay for? How is a film chosen, and what should a filmmaker take from a rejection? Film industry researcher Stephen Follows joins Brendan Cleaves and Johnny Vivash to look past the assumptions surrounding the festival circuit. They discuss how festivals are changing, the pressures behind submission fees, what happens during selection, and why programming is about more than judging films in isolation. The conversation also asks what filmmakers should reasonably expect from festivals: clearer information, better communication and greater transparency. Stephen brings a researcher's perspective to questions of curation, inclusion and success, while reminding us that a festival decision is one response to a film, not the final word on its worth. CHAPTERS LISTEN AND FOLLOW FESTFORGE GUEST HOSTS | |||
| How FrightFest Chooses Feature Films | Ian Rattray | 28 Sep 2026 | 00:46:57 | |
What gets a feature into FrightFest, and what makes a programmer take a chance on a new filmmaker? Ian Rattray, FrightFest co-founder and co-director, joins Brendan Cleaves and Johnny Vivash to talk about building the festival, programming its First Blood strand and choosing films for an audience that knows its horror. Ian discusses how submissions are assessed, why originality and ambition matter, and why rushing an unfinished cut to meet a deadline can work against you. He also talks about balancing returning filmmakers with new voices, changing audience tastes and what he would tell someone submitting to FrightFest for the first time. Listen to the FestForge Podcast: https://festforge.art/podcast-links CHAPTERS 00:00 Technical difficulties 03:36 Introduction 04:49 Ian's journey into film 07:01 The birth of FrightFest 09:08 What defines a FrightFest film? 10:09 Why First Blood exists 10:18 The politics behind First Blood 13:09 How Ian's taste has changed 15:00 Selecting films for First Blood 22:49 Loyalty and new voices 24:25 Big names and studios 25:21 Horror films at festivals 26:03 The art of programming 27:33 Difficult programming decisions 28:06 Audience engagement and revenue 30:16 Censorship and film selection 32:29 Trends versus originality 36:24 Has filmmaking improved? 42:28 Submissions and selection 50:22 The filmmaker's perspective 51:19 Ian's festival survival guide 53:11 Closing thoughts FRIGHTFEST Website: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/ Submit a film: https://frightfest.co.uk/submissions/ Team FrightFest: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/teamfrightfest/ FESTFORGE Website: https://www.festforge.art/ Podcast and listening links: https://festforge.art/podcast-links YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FestForge HOSTS Brendan Cleaves: https://www.instagram.com/brendancleaves/ Johnny Vivash: https://www.instagram.com/johnnyvivash/ | |||
| How to Get Your Short Film Into FrightFest | James Taylor | 14 Sep 2026 | 01:27:41 | |
How does FrightFest choose the horror shorts that make it onto the big screen? James Taylor, FrightFest's Shorts Programmer, joins Brendan Cleaves and Johnny Vivash to talk about the selection process, how programmers build a varied line-up, and what filmmakers can do to give their work the best chance. They get into story versus budget, premiere status, audience experience, festival feedback, rejection, the path from shorts to features, and why the right screening can open real doors for a film. Chapters 00:00 Technical Difficulties and Introductions 02:04 Becoming Part of FrightFest 03:11 The Selection Process 04:00 Horror Genre and Film Submissions 04:50 Curation and Programming 05:49 Short Film Selection and Audience Experience 06:54 Film Length and Audience Engagement 07:59 Filmmaker Advice and Submission Considerations 28:50 Film Submission Criteria 30:27 The Impact of AI in Filmmaking 36:14 The Community Experience at FrightFest 43:42 The Power of Film Festivals 46:57 The Role of Short Films in Festival Programming 55:26 Film Submission and Festival Selection 56:43 The Journey of a Film 58:53 Premiere Status and Festival Strategy 01:08:06 Rejection and Feedback 01:18:06 The Impact of Venue and Screening ABOUT FRIGHTFEST Website: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/ Films and events: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/ Team FrightFest: https://frightfest.co.uk/teamfrightfest/ Contact: https://frightfest.co.uk/contactus/ HOSTS Brendan Cleaves Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendancleaves/ Website: https://www.brendancleaves.com/ Johnny Vivash Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnyvivash/ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3131573/ FESTFORGE Website: https://www.festforge.art/ Podcast: https://www.festforge.art/podcast Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube: https://festforge.art/podcast-links YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FestForge Subscribe for honest conversations about short films, festival submissions and the realities of the festival circuit. | |||
| How to Get Into a BIFA-Qualifying Film Festival | Kino London | 31 Aug 2026 | 01:26:11 | |
How do you get a short film into a BIFA-qualifying festival? Kino London Short Film Festival’s Festival Director, Dustin Curtis Murphy, and Senior Programmer, Gillian Harker, join Brendan Cleaves and Johnny Vivash to discuss what makes a submission stand out, Kino’s budget-based categories, transparency, accreditation, programmer feedback and common festival-submission mistakes. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Meet Dustin Curtis Murphy and Gillian Harker 02:46 Kino London and the filmmaking journey 07:10 Kino’s budget-based category system 11:31 Does budget disclosure change filmmaking? 18:52 Transparency around film budgets 22:28 Guaranteed feedback for filmmakers 26:52 The challenge of giving useful feedback 31:18 Kino’s pre-selection process 40:17 Transparency and filmmaker trust 48:51 The BIFA-qualifying process 50:06 Film festival accreditation 53:10 The challenges of accreditation 54:15 How accreditation affects programming 57:28 Kino’s talent-focused approach 01:03:26 Industry sessions and workshops 01:16:41 Toxicity in the film industry 01:19:27 Carving your own path 01:26:26 The illusion of authority 01:31:04 Common festival-submission mistakes 01:33:43 Challenging the status quo Listen to the FestForge Podcast: https://festforge.art/podcast-links KINO LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Website: https://www.kinoshortfilm.com/klsff Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinolondon/ GUESTS Dustin Curtis Murphy: http://www.instagram.com/dcmfilmmaker Gillian Harker: https://www.instagram.com/gillian.harker/ HOSTS Brendan Cleaves: https://www.instagram.com/brendancleaves/ Johnny Vivash: https://www.instagram.com/johnnyvivash/ FESTFORGE https://www.youtube.com/@FestForge Subscribe for candid conversations about short films, festival submissions and the reality of the festival circuit. | |||
| Ben S Hyland - How to rule the festival circuit with your short film | 17 Aug 2026 | 01:16:51 | |
The conversation delves into discussion about the festival strategy, the impact of festival selections, the premiere strategy, and the festival experience, highlighting the importance of festival relationships and the value of festival laurels. The conversation covers the filmmaker's experience with festival opportunities, the Oscars, and the impact of winning awards. It also delves into the challenges of networking at festivals, the differences between European and American festivals, and the significance of casting in filmmaking. The conversation delves into the passion for filmmaking, the engagement with material, and the career benefits. It also explores the journey of a film, the festival circuit, financial rewards, and distribution platforms. Additionally, it discusses the craft of filmmaking, life experiences, handling rejection, and festival survival. Takeaways
Chapters
Looking for the right festival strategy for your film? FestForge creates bespoke festival strategies and provides professional film hosting, helping you target the right festivals, avoid wasted submission fees and get more from your festival run. Build your custom strategy today at festforge.art. FestForge links https://www.instagram.com/festforge.art/ https://www.instagram.com/brendancleaves/ https://www.instagram.com/johnnyvivash/ Ben's links | |||
| Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival + Quarxx | 03 Aug 2026 | 01:01:46 | |
The first episode of the Festival Podcast features an interview with Marko Men, the head programmer of the Grossman Fantastic Film Online Festival. The conversation covers the festival's history, unique aspects, film selection process, guest experiences, and survival guide for filmmakers. It also delves into the positioning of the festival in the context of the film festival circuit and its community-building activities. The conversation covers insights from Marco Metzen, the film 'The Ones Who Grieve', the affliction of the Black Veil, the Tesla Tower and electricity, revisited zombie and new wave zombie, period setting and cinematography, the filmmaking journey, handling rejection, festival advice, and the Grossman Fantastic Film and Wine Festival experience. Takeaways
Chapters
http://www.festforge.art | |||
| Introduction | 01 Aug 2026 | 00:07:00 | |
The Fest Forge Podcast is introduced by Brendan Cleaves and Johnny Vivash, who aim to provide insights and knowledge about the film festival experience. They discuss the purpose of the podcast, insider knowledge of festivals, the festival experience, the filmmaking journey, the Fest Forge platform, and the filmmaker's festival journey. Takeaways
Chapters
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