Festival Strategy. Inside GSFF with Ming Chen

I sat down with Ming Chen at the Garden State Film Festival for a live podcast conversation about what actually moves the needle on the festival circuit, and why so many filmmakers waste money before they ever build momentum.

Ming has a way of making industry conversations feel fun and human, while still getting to the point. We covered the core festival fundamentals that determine whether a submission gets traction. How to choose the right festivals, how programmers actually evaluate submissions, why positioning can outperform “quality” in a competitive slate, and how Festival Fixr was built to remove the most expensive friction points in a festival run.

Watch the full interview HERE. 

The setting: GSFF energy, real filmmaker rooms

This conversation happened live at the Garden State Film Festival, with the kind of festival-day buzz that’s hard to replicate anywhere else. I’ve programmed with GSFF for over a decade, and the thing I love about this festival is that it feels like a moving ecosystem. People bounce from screenings to panels to breakfast events to live podcasts, and the whole town becomes part of the experience.

That’s the magic of a festival that’s filmmaker-forward. You’re not just screening a film. You’re entering a room.

Why I built Festival Fixr

Ming asked about my newer venture and the origin story is simple.

I started Film Festival Insider as a consultancy because I kept seeing the same patterns repeat, from both sides of the table. As a filmmaker, I made costly mistakes early. As a programmer, I watched strong work get rejected because the submission was misaligned, incomplete, or positioned like an afterthought.

Then a client joked that I should clone myself.

That joke stuck.

I started exploring custom AI, not because it’s trendy, but because indie filmmakers are scrappy and stretched. We wear too many hats, and festival strategy is one of those hidden workload monsters that eats time, money, and confidence.

Festival Fixr became my way of putting my consulting frameworks into a tool filmmakers can access on demand. Not generic advice. Not “ChatGPT with a festival name.” The actual decision-making process I use with clients, built into a strategist you can use at midnight when the deadline is tomorrow.

The FilmFreeway truth that filmmakers need to hear

One of the strongest moments in the conversation was the FilmFreeway reality check.

FilmFreeway is a tool. It’s useful. But it’s not the definitive tool, and it’s not designed to protect filmmakers. It has no incentive to tell you which festivals to avoid. Its job is to facilitate submissions.

If your entire strategy is “scroll FilmFreeway and submit,” you’re going to burn money long before you find traction.

That doesn’t mean you don’t use FilmFreeway. It means you use it as a portal, not as your plan.

The biggest mistake filmmakers make when submitting

Ming asked what I see most often, and the answer is painfully simple.

Filmmakers submit to festivals that are not right for their film.

They don’t read the rules closely. They miss runtime requirements. They blow premiere status without realizing it. They submit a 40-minute “short” to a festival that caps shorts at 20 minutes. They treat submission fees like lottery tickets instead of strategic decisions.

Those are avoidable mistakes. And they are expensive.

Positioning matters more than most filmmakers want to admit

This is the part that can sting, but it’s real.

Sometimes the films that do best are not simply the “best” films. They’re the films positioned best. The submission materials are tight. The narrative is clear. The project page communicates professionalism. The filmmaker understands fit and can articulate it.

Programmers are human. We watch hundreds of films. We advocate for the ones that land. The more your materials help us understand your film quickly and remember it later, the more oxygen your submission has in the room.

Festivals as leverage, not just laurels

We also talked about the in-person value of festivals.

A film is like an expensive business card. If you’re not there to hand it out, you’re dropping it into a fishbowl and hoping someone pulls it out later.

Not every festival requires your presence, but if you can attend, you become more memorable. Your film becomes more memorable. You build relationships, fans, and future collaborators.

The question to keep asking is simple.

What is my goal, and how does this festival help me get there.

The mindset shift I want filmmakers to adopt

Toward the end, we hit something I come back to with clients all the time.

Do not treat a festival run like a series of random submissions. Treat it like a campaign.

Know what you’re working on next. Know what you want this run to do for you. Know what rooms are aligned with your film’s identity. Then submit with intention.

Watch the full conversation

If you’re an indie filmmaker planning a run this year, this interview will give you a clearer mental model for how to approach festivals with less waste and more precision.

Watch it HERE.

 And if you want to explore Festival Fixr, you can find it HERE.