🏆 Festival Strategy Planner
Add your target festivals with their fees and deadlines to total the submission cost, see the average, and get your deadlines sorted soonest-first.
🏆 Plan Your Submissions
What is a Festival Strategy Planner?
It turns a festival wishlist into a plan and a budget. Enter each festival's submission fee and deadline, and it totals the full cost of your slate, reports the average fee, and lines your deadlines up soonest-first so you know exactly what to submit next.
Independent filmmakers use it to keep a submission campaign inside budget and on schedule, balancing aspirational majors against well-matched mid-tier and niche festivals. Fees and dates change by window, so always confirm the current details on each festival's official page.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How does the festival strategy planner work?
List each festival you're targeting with its submission fee and, optionally, its deadline. The planner totals what the whole submission slate will cost, counts the festivals, works out the average fee, and returns every dated festival sorted by deadline — soonest first — so you always know what's next.
How much does submitting to film festivals cost?
Fees vary widely — from free or token amounts at small or student-friendly festivals to well over a hundred dollars at major ones, and they usually rise from early-bird to regular to late windows. This tool sums whatever fees you enter so you can see the total damage of your target list before you commit.
Why sort festivals by deadline?
Because submission windows are staggered and easy to miss. Seeing your deadlines soonest-first turns a scattered wishlist into an actionable calendar, so you prioritise the festivals closing next and don't blow a submission by forgetting a date.
Should I apply to every festival I can?
Rarely. Submission fees add up fast, so a focused strategy — a mix of aspirational majors, well-matched mid-tier festivals, and niche events that fit your film — usually beats a scattergun. Use the total and average here to keep your slate within budget, and always confirm current fees and deadlines on each festival's official page.