Making the Most of Film Festivals: From Acceptance to Opportunities

So your film got into a festival—now what?

This workshop will guide filmmakers through the crucial next steps after being accepted into a film festival. We’ll cover how to prepare your film for screenings, how to promote yourself and your work, and strategies for making the most of the festival experience. Learn who to connect with—from programmers to press to fellow filmmakers—and how to start meaningful conversations with distributors. Whether it’s your first festival or your tenth, you’ll leave with practical tools to maximize exposure, build relationships, and turn festival screenings into future opportunities.

The workshop will be led by Raul Benitez, who has been a film programmer in Chicago for over 16 years. Raul currently is the Senior Programmer at the . Raul has also programmed for , , and the . Raul has been named a Chicago Film Gem by New City Chicago for 2015, 2017, 2019. In 2023 Raul was inducted to the Film Gem Hall of Fame. Raul was also named an Esteemed Artist by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and received a DCASE grant for his Chicago/Mexico City Filmmaker exchange program.

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