We sent out declinations this week for the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund and we know there are lots of likely disappointed and frustrated filmmakers wondering, what happens now, or how do I get my film made anyway?
To that end, we’ve compiled some resources, toolkits, interviews and opportunities that we hope will help you digest the disappointment and map out a plan for the future of your project.
On Rejection
- This toolkit on bouncing back from creative rejection, published in the resource hub Creative Lives in Progress, has lots of great tips and steps for taking the time to process, recover and reassess.
- Check out the interviews in the Creative Independent’s archive, which focus on what it means to have a creative career, and thus touches on rejection regularly. Below are just a few snippets from filmmakers, writers and actors…
“The main thing I would say is don’t be afraid of rejection. You can’t let it touch you—especially when it comes to money… You have to keep rolling and not let it make you question your work.”
– filmmaker Emma Seligman
“If we can be more honest about how the system itself operates as a system, then it’ll relieve us of some of the burden of feeling like all of the rejection letters that stack up are somehow an indication of our own personal failings.”
– filmmaker Brett Story
“There was lots of crying. It was really, really bad. But we had a little refocusing trip and got back in touch with that more brazen side of ourselves that knows what we’re doing and knows the kind of creative people we are. And we know it’s gonna be a long road for us because we don’t make things that are immediately sellable.”
– comedian, actor, writer John Early
- The Film & TV Charity has lots of resources to aid mental wellbeing, confidence-boosting and career development. You can also call their 24-hour support line, if you would like to speak to an advisor about how you are feeling.
On Redrafting
Now is a great time to ask yourself whether there’s another version of the script to be written. How can you respond to the feedback received? How can you tease out the themes with more nuance? Or tighten up the pace, the dialogue, the narrative thrust? Are there any friends or peers you can share your script with and see if the things you think are working, are actually working? Or just get their perspective on how the story feels? Is anything getting lost in translation?
- Here is some good advice from script editor Jessica Jones.
- You can also listen to an episode of our podcast Short Hand all about the writing process and the questions you can be asking yourself throughout.
Redrafting doesn’t just apply to the script! How can your answers to the questions in the application be more thorough, specific, tailored and juicy? How can you communicate that you’re excited and hungry to make this film? How can you demonstrate an appetite for creative rigour and risk? How can you show us that your cinematic voice is fresh, authentic, singular?
Some other tips that spring to our minds after the most recent round of assessments…
Keep it brief
A logline is a short(!!), enticing summary of the film, usually encompassing the main character, the set-up and the central conflict. It’s not a place to get into the topics you’re going to tackle, the camera techniques you’re going to employ or your lead actor’s credits. Keep it short and punchy. Also your protagonist should probably have a name, or an identifying feature at this point. Who are they and why do we care?
Be specific
Don’t just say ‘we haven’t seen enough stories about [insert topic] here’ as reason enough for your film to exist. What specifically are you addressing that hasn’t been represented on-screen? Have you done research as to what does already exist? Can you articulate how your characters, your vision and your perspective will shift our attention and by extension the agenda?
Have a point of view
When we spoke to Harry Lighton for our podcast Short Hand, he gave a great answer as to how a filmmaker can articulate their vision for a project, which is to start with your theme or what it is you’re exploring (e.g. body image) and then doing enough research that you form an opinion or a response to that material. Once you have that opinion you can begin to marry that with a formally interesting or innovative approach to your story.
Budget properly
Use the budget template provided! It’s there for a reason and lists the kind of things we’d expect to see included. Plus, make sure the production total in your budget and the application itself match up and if there’s a deficit between what you’re asking from the BFI and the production total, you should have a relatively robust financial plan in place for raising that additional finance!
Have the audience in mind
Try and be as specific as possible about who you feel the audience for this film is. We appreciate wanting it to be seen by as many people as possible, but a gender and an age bracket doesn’t tell us too much about a person’s interests or how you expect to target them with your outreach. What kinds of festivals would your audience attend? Where do they get cultural recommendations? Whose opinions do they trust? What kind of events do they go to? These are the kinds of questions that can help you refine your marketing, outreach and festival strategy.
Be realistic
By all means, shoot for the stars when you talk about your ambitions for the short: mention the top-tier film festivals you want to submit to, the careers of the filmmakers you want to emulate, the A-star cast you’d love to work with – these are still somewhat specific goals. But reinvigorating the UK filmmaking landscape, inventing a brand new genre of film or getting young people off TikTok and into the cinema is quite a lot to put on one short film’s shoulders. Focus on what this short can do for you, not what it can do for the entire UK film industry!
On Reapplying
There will be another round of the Short Film Fund open in January 2024 (dates TBC, sign up to our mailing list to hear once it’s launched). To apply with the same project, it must have undergone a significant change, which the guidelines define as “a change of director or a significant rewrite of the material with a different writer. In this instance, you will need to contact your local Talent Executive in advance for their approval before you apply again.”
We don’t just encourage filmmakers to reapply because it’s easier than a flat-out rejection, there are projects we have funded in recent years on their second or third submission. It’s an opportunity to show us that you can listen to and respond to feedback and that you’re serious about filmmaking – often the projects that come back to us that are successful have used the opportunity to redirect and refocus their story, or create more materials that can illustrate the creative vision.
On Redirecting (where else to apply for funding)
The Bolton Film Festival also has a very comprehensive list of organisations that have offered funding in the past.
Other sources of funding
The BAFTA Short Film Toolkit has two conversations that centre on funding, from a filmmaking and a funding perspective.
Crowdfunding
- How to run a successful crowdfunding campaign; this article in the LA Times offers good advice from filmmakers who have financed their projects through crowdfunding, including how to pick the right platform for you, how to find and mobilise your audience and how to sustain the level of self-promotion required.
- There are some equally good tips in this IndieWire article.
Private investment
Private investment can essentially come from anywhere, and boils down to someone being willing to put a certain amount of money towards your production (often in exchange for something like an executive producer credit). Finding private investment is a bit like finding gold dust, and given the private nature of this kind of money, it’s hard to point you in the direction of where to locate it.
This article from Film London sheds a little bit more light on who angel investors are and how you can win them over.
Tax relief
You can also apply for tax relief, more info about which can be found at the links below. You just have to make sure you can cash flow the amount you intend to get back…
And finally, let us leave you with this salient reminder from two incredibly successful filmmakers…
Looking for more resources on filmmaking? Check out our one-stop-shop of some of the most useful guides, toolkits, masterclasses, podcasts and websites we’ve found online.