Movie Maker - USA (2020 - Spring)

COURTESY OF SCAD

41

ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

/ SEPTEMBER 17-27, 2020 /

ATLANTAFILMFESTIVAL.COM

Once considered a major festival of

the South, with 8,500 submissions

this year, it’s now just a major festi-

val. It offers help on airfare, lodging,

transportation, and other perks, and

boasts a who’s-who list of distribu-

tors in attendance. A top publicity

team assists moviemakers, and

there’s a long list of events where

you can show off your Southern

(or non-Southern) charm, including

parties, hangouts, a screenwriters

summit, brunches, parties, and

pretty much any kind of social event

you can imagine. The sponsored

prizes are especially generous: The

festival cites a camera and post-

production services package from

Light Iron and Panasonic “valued

at $90,000.” And it celebrates the

cultural richness of Atlanta. “We

champion diversity and have for

a long time, says associate director

Cameron McAllister. “Women have

directed at least 50 percent of our

program for the last several years,

and filmmakers of color direct

40 percent. Additionally, we cherish

local voices with an average of

20 percent of our annual program-

ming having Georgia ties.”

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL

& WRITERS CONFERENCE

AUSTIN, TEXAS / OCTOBER 22-29,

2020 / AUSTINFILMFESTIVAL.COM

This festival is so loaded with top-tier

attendees that just listing them feels

like name-dropping. It’s one of the

best possible places to network and

publicize your work. The centerpiece

is the Writers Conference, the larg-

est gathering of screenwriters and

media storytellers in the world. The

fest is also a magnet for distribu-

tors, including A24, Sony Pictures,

and Neon. And accepted filmmakers

work with AFF’s PR team, land-

ing coverage in top entertainment

publications. Austin generously helps

accepted filmmakers with travel and

lodging, in one of the fun capitals of

the world. (And the actual capital of

U.S. & CANADAU.S. & CANADA

(^) SCAD SAVANNAH