I am very much of the opinion Film Freeway is both a waste of time and money. Since covid I've been tracking the ratio of submissions to shows between Film Freeway festivaks versus non-ff fests. The rejection rate on ff is about 90%, often with zero actual completions of the submitted link on vimeo. If the ff screeners watch more than 20 seconds it is a surprise, even when the movie is only 2 minutes long. In contrast, the non-ff screeners are usually watched 85-90% (nobody watches end titles) and the acceptance rate for the same movie is closer to 75% . It's hard not to say that ff is not only harmful, but that it is designed to collect fees with minimal return to experimental work.
While ff does resukt in greater access and allows more works to arrive as submissions, they also have a program called "gold" where sumbmitters are given priority in the review cue, creating what is fundamentally a pay-for-access ecosystem on top of what is already biased towards wealth. Add to that the lack of actual screening of submissions, an issue that Dominic Angerame has talked about before, and we as a community have a serious problem that ff is only making worse. One day there should be a debate within Frameworks about the existence of FilmFreeway. About whether it benefits or harms filmmakers, and whether it is beneficial or a waste of time in relation to experimental cinema.
Hi Eric,
No worries, thanks for the links!
Best, Luke
Hi Luke,
Yes, sorry that was omitted from my original post!
Very best,
Hi Eric,
Do you have a submission link for people submitting for the first time?
Best, Luke
Dear Frameworks, The
Early Deadline for submitting your projects to the 2026 Mimesis
Documentary Festival is now open. Scheduled for August 11-16 in Boulder,
Colorado, Mimesis is an artist-focused, community oriented celebration
of documentary media. At least 80% of Mimesis is programmed from the open submission process, and all submissions are reviewed by our programming team. All submitting artists are eligible for a complimentary virtual festival pass regardless of selection status. 50%
discounts on submission fees will be provided to previously selected
Mimesis Artists upon request. To do so, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/ZgzK5FNeJ93UNdfG7 Full
submission fee waivers will be granted to all current students upon
request. Student codes can only be used for the Student/Emerging
submission category and if selected, the projects are only eligible for
the Best Emerging Artist award. To request a code, please fill out this
form: https://forms.gle/hRqLubENdfJH6oCz7
Mimesis is made possible by support from the
submitting artist community. We also understand that artists around the
world are struggling with political or financial difficulties, and that
these challenges may be a barrier for submitting important work. If you
are facing such challenges, please get in touch with festival organizers
at [email protected]. In solidarity,
Eric Coombs Esmail
Mimesis Organizer Center for Documentary Media
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