We see a lot of films every year. Hundreds, actually. Some come to us through submissions. Others come through recommendations, festival buzz, distributor lists, or word of mouth from programmers we trust.And sometimes… we go looking.We read festival lineups. We scan reviews. We follow filmmakers whose work feels aligned with our tone. When a title keeps popping up, we want to see it. When a film feels like it might belong in our festival, we actively try to track it down.Here is the problem.Too often, we simply cannot find the film or the filmmaker.No contact info. No clear trail. No obvious way to say, “Hey, we want to watch this.”And if we cannot find your film, we cannot program it.

This is one of the quietest reasons films miss out on festivals. Not because of quality, but because of invisibility.

How festivals actually search for films

When we are actively curating, we do not always start on a submission platform. We start with curiosity.A title. A director’s name. A mention in a review. A recommendation from another programmer.From there, we search.We try Google. We try IMDb. We try YouTube. We try Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. Sometimes all of them.And you would be surprised how often that search leads nowhere.Many films are still in their festival run, so they are not publicly available. That’s normal. But there still needs to be a footprint. Some indication that the film exists, and who made it.If all we have is a common title and no digital presence, the trail ends quickly.We simply do not have the time to hunt endlessly.

What “being findable” actually means

Being findable does not mean oversharing your film or putting it fully online.It means creating clear signposts.At a minimum, we should be able to answer these questions within a few clicks:Who made this film? How do we contact them? Is there a trailer or description we can reference?Here are practical ways to do that.Create a YouTube trailer, even a simple one. Make sure your channel clearly lists your name or production company, with contact enabled.Have an IMDb page for the film, even if it is minimal. Credits help us trace real people.Maintain an Instagram presence for the film or yourself as the filmmaker. A single pinned post with contact info goes a long way.Use a Linktree or simple landing page that connects everything. One link that leads to many doors.If you have a website, make sure it is indexed by Google and searchable by the film’s title.Yes, it sounds like extra work. It is.But this is how films are discovered outside formal submissions.

The distributor myth

Many filmmakers rely entirely on distributors, especially in Europe and international markets. The thinking is understandable. You sign the film, it goes out into the circuit, and you focus on the next project.Here is the reality.Distributors submit a lot of films. Festivals receive a lot of lists. Not every title gets personal attention.We absolutely work with distributors. We value them. But relying on them alone makes your film passive.Your film should also be able to stand on its own digitally.Out of sight becomes out of mind very quickly.

Why we sometimes move on

We have had situations where we truly wanted to see a film. We dug through credits. We searched crew members. We tried less obvious names in hopes of finding a trail.That effort costs time. And time is the one thing we never have enough of.When the search becomes too difficult, we move on. Not because the film isn’t worthy, but because the process stalled.

Curation requires momentum. Films that slow the process often fall away.

The simplest takeaway

Make it easy for festivals to say yes.Make it easy for us to find you. Make it easy for us to contact you. Make it easy for us to learn what your film is.If we can see your film, and it fits our festival, there is a real chance it gets programmed.If we cannot find it, the conversation ends before it begins.