Festival Update - Rejection from Cannes

I received a rejection email from the Cannes Film Festival today. Cannes was a super long shot but I would have been upset with myself if I didn't at least try.

By the way, rejections are quite pleasant in French.

I've applied to several big festivals so far. Many may not accept this kind of project (super low budget, no names, no connections etc.), but it's better to try than not to try. I've applied so far to the Mill Valley Festival (Northern California), the Hamptons Film Festival, Raindance (in London), Locarno (in Switzerland), Venice, and Vancouver. I'm also going to submit to Telluride.

These are the big ones which I'll try first. I should hear back from all of them by the end of the summer.

I'm also looking into film markets, where distributors, festival programmers, and sales agents come to see films. I was hoping to apply to the IFP Market in NYC, but they're inexplicably no longer accepting feature films, just screenplays, shorts, and documentaries.

I'll post again when I hear back from any more festivals.