Sundance, SXSW and Cannes: Film festival strategy for independent filmmakers
This one's a little different.
No guest this week - just me and my producer Jacob Cagle, flipping the mic and doing a proper debrief on the last six months. We're talking Sundance, South by Southwest, and Cannes. What worked, what didn't, and what I'd tell anyone who's scared to walk into a room full of people who seem like they belong there more than you do.
We also get into something I don't talk about enough — the real reason I started going to film festivals in the first place, what jealousy actually taught me about what I want, and why fear isn't a stop sign, it's a map.
Plus: a little state of the pod. It's almost been a year. I have feelings about it.
Topics covered:
- Fuck, Marry, Kill: Sundance, South by Southwest, and Cannes (yes we went there)
- Chicago International, Chicago Latino Film Festival, and Midwest Film Festival — where it all started
- How to go to Sundance without a badge and not miss a thing
- South by Southwest: the honest review — badge worth it or not?
- Cannes: why it tripled my contacts and why I'm completely biased
- How to sneak into parties at Cannes and why it's basically required
- International film festivals that will actually pay for you to go
- Jealousy as a compass — what it's really telling you
- "You belong in that room" — and what that actually means when you grew up broke
- The monopoly board theory for your life and career
- One year of Ilse Will Say: what I know now that I wish I knew then
Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias
Mentioned in this episode:
Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com
