Open Is the Festival Circuit Dead? The Rise of "Direct-to-Community" Distribution

[admin]

Let’s have a hard conversation about FilmFreeway and the current state of film festivals. In 2026, the "Submission Industrial Complex" has reached a breaking point. I know filmmakers who have spent $10,000 on submission fees this year and have nothing to show for it but a handful of "Semi-Finalist" laurels that mean nothing to distributors.

The prestige of the "B-Tier" festival is evaporating. Unless you get into Sundance, Cannes, TIFF, or SXSW, the ROI on a festival run is often negative. Why? Because distributors are no longer scouting at mid-sized regional festivals. They are scouting on TikTok, YouTube, and specialized platforms like FilmPlatforms.com. They are looking for "Verified Audience Engagement," not the opinion of a three-person jury in a small town.

The new model is "Surgical Premieres." Instead of the shotgun approach of 50 festivals, smart filmmakers are doing one high-impact premiere in a hub like NYC or LA to get the trade reviews (Variety, Hollywood Reporter), and then immediately pivoting to a self-distributed "Theatrical-on-Demand" model. Tools like Gathr and Letterboxd-integrated ticket sales are becoming more powerful than a "Best Narrative Feature" award at a festival nobody attends. Are we witnessing the death of the festival circuit as a discovery tool? Or is there still value in the "networking" aspect that justifies the $80 submission fee?

 

[Michael]

Finally, someone said it! I’ve been calling the festival circuit a "vanity tax" for years. Last year, our short film got into 12 festivals, and we didn't meet a single useful contact. This year, we skipped the festivals, spent that $5k on a targeted Meta/TikTok ad campaign for our own streaming link, and made back our production costs in three months. The "gatekeepers" are losing their keys, and the "community" is the new king

 

[MICA]

I don’t think festivals are “dead” but the idea that they automatically lead to discovery definitely is.

FilmFreeway didn’t break the system, it just exposed it. When submission fees become the main business model, most festivals stop being about opportunity and start being about volume.
What’s clearly changed is what distributors value. Laurels don’t move the needle anymore. Proof of audience does. If people are buying tickets, watching, sharing, and talking, that matters more than a jury quote.
The “surgical premiere” approach makes sense to me. One focused event for press or credibility, then straight into a release you actually control. Anything beyond that needs a very clear reason to justify the cost.
Real question: if a festival can’t offer press, access, or a real audience what are we paying for?
Curious if anyone here has had a mid-tier festival actually lead to something concrete recently.