Paul Moxon

Here is a fun fact that might inspire any filmmakers out there bummed your film isn't getting into the festivals you had hoped for. In the last two weeks I've gotten three different messages from programmers or directors of festivals I love either offering a way for us to showcase outside the fest or asking if we'd want to submit for free this year even though the short is already online. I told them we actually got rejected last year. They had no idea we even submitted. I say this to remind you that thousands of films are submitted for a few slots and there is a solid chance your film never even made it to the main programmers. And even if it did, there are so many factors you can't control. It's not usually that your film wasn't good enough. It has to fit SO many things to make sense for that year's program, on top of the sheer amount of incredible films there literally aren't enough slots for. The Crossing Over Express was rejected by Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest, and more. It's since gotten almost 2M views and resulted in a profile in Variety and reach outs from some of my all time favorite filmmakers. Don't get me wrong, I hope our next one plays those fests as it's the dream, but don't let festival rejection effect your self worth as an artist. 99% of it is out of your control. Now, go make your thing.