Explore every episode of the podcast FestForge
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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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