Film Festival Research & Fee‑Waiver Outreach

We are seeking a volunteer to help us secure student fee waivers for two short films created by BIPOC teens in our program. Over 6–8 weeks, the volunteer will:

Research U.S. and international film festivals that either offer student fee waivers or are likely to consider them for youth‑made work.

Build a prioritized list (e.g., top 30–40 festivals) with key details: links, deadlines, categories, fees, waiver policy/notes, and contact info in a simple tracker.

Draft 2–3 outreach email templates and a short phone script tailored to festival organizers, emphasizing the educational and nonprofit nature of the project.

Either conduct outreach directly (if comfortable) or coach our team on sending waiver requests and tracking responses in the spreadsheet.

Our goal is to have a ready‑to‑use festival list, polished outreach language, and a basic tracking system by the end of the project.

Ineffable Films exists to nurture and showcase BIPOC youth filmmakers, and festival submission fees are a major barrier for our students. Securing fee waivers will allow us to submit their work to more festivals without diverting scarce program funds. Increased festival exposure will amplify our teens’ voices, help them build confidence and professional networks, and attract new partners who care about youth storytelling and equity in film. A volunteer’s research and outreach support will directly expand opportunities for these young filmmakers to be seen and celebrated.

We already have basic festival targets and film information (synopses, run times, loglines, student bios, and links to private screeners) ready to share. During week 1, we will confirm goals and agree on the priority criteria for the festival list, then meet weekly or bi‑weekly for quick check‑ins. Our small team is committed to fast turnaround on reviewing outreach drafts, approving messaging, and sending or supporting outreach. We will own implementation: sending final waiver requests, updating the tracker, and submitting to festivals once waivers are granted or discounts are confirmed.