Sundance Dreams Are Cute, But Do They Fit Your Film

Send me a textWant your film to do more than collect laurels? We dig into the festival world with a practical, no-fluff blueprint that starts in development and ends with real distribution opportunities. Michelle, EP, filmmaker, and your resident Showrunher, lays out how to build a festival roadmap that actually fits your project, budget like a pro, and turn screenings into meaningful industry wins.We walk through setting clear goals, press, sales, premiere status, awards, and using them to choose the right tiers: top prestige showcases, mid-tier staples, niche identity festivals, genre-specific hubs, and regional platforms. We also unpack Oscar-qualifying festivals for shorts, the reality of theatrical qualifying runs, and when to consider a festival agency.Michelle shares runtime guidance for shorts, script alignment tips based on recent winners, and a social rollout playbook to amplify selections and premieres. Networking isn’t an afterthought here, you’ll get a plan for mixers, panels, and Q&As, plus the simple follow-ups that turn handshakes into collaborators, sales agents, and press.If you’re mapping a 2–3 year festival run, this guide will help you protect your budget, raise your odds, and position your film where it belongs, on screens in front of the right people. Subscribe, share with a filmmaker who needs a strategy boost, and leave a review to help us grow the community.Support the showwww.ShowRunHer.comShowRunHer IG