Updated Sept. 30, 2019. This article includes excerpts. Find more, Express Writers, also here. Check out these free resources! For the past couple of years, Infinite Perimeter Films has hosted activist-theme film festivals. You can learn more about our film festivals here, here, here, here. We’re now submitting for Cannabis & Hemp, #CICHFF2020 and Activism, #CIAFF2020. Tickets are now available for our SciFi & Fantasy film festival being held Oct. 20, 2019, #CISFFF2019.
This year, while reviewing submissions for #CIAFF2019, which was held Sun., July 28th, 3-9 PM at The Bug, we had the opportunity to encounter a few well-written press releases. Take a look at this press release, PDF, for the film Little Milo by Drago Lazetich, produced by Marianne Kaulima.
Recently, while reviewing submissions for #CISFFF2019, we came across this well-written press release for Steven Kerr’s short dramatic film, Spiral, PDF.
While our team really loves checking out films and stories, and discussing them as part of our film festival activities, we’re not really great writers, ourselves. Well…O.K., some of us are better writers than others! Nevertheless, for the benefit of our gentle readers, judges, volunteers, submitters, and interested peeps, we thought it might be informative to post a few thoughts about what makes a great press release.
First of all, according to The Symposium, Press Releases are released by marketing/PR teams to disseminate information. Syndicated Media can be photographs, comic strips or articles from Reuters, Associated Press, Telegraph Media Group “…as well as a slew of other news agencies who have given permission for other publications to print their articles…” Read more.
Check out How to Write a Press Release, Wikihow. “In addition to making great movies, to be a filmmaking success you also need an audience of rabid fans. And you can’t really attract an audience unless people know about your movie. One aspect of movie promotion worth leveraging is getting press.
“Hiring an awesome publicist can help you spread word about your movie. This is because a good publicist has solid relationships with press at various media outlets. Assuming your movie is awesome and newsworthy, these influencers can then put your project in front of thousands of people.
“In the event you can’t hire a publicist, you will need to become your own publicist. And you will need to create a press kit.” Read more, How to Create a Press Kit for Your Indie Movie by Jason Brubaker, FilmMaking Stuff. Also, Talented Ladies Club has this to say on the topic: “Getting media coverage can be great free publicity. And if you want to spread the word about your products, services or business, writing and sending out a press release is a must. But like most things in life, it’s not quite that easy.
“In fact, getting the attention of a journalist and convincing them that your news would make a good story is much harder than you may think. Journalists may receive dozens of press releases every day, and to give yours a chance of standing out (or even being read) you need to make sure it’s written using the right formula.” Read the entire article here. Check out these ideas from Express Writers:
“….Remember to be especially creative, original and clever when deciding on the press release’s title. The first few sentences should also deliver your message in a way that readily catches viewer attention and entices readers to wait for the film’s theatrical release in eager anticipation. If you are new in the trade, it’s a great idea to snoop around the Internet for excellent press releases for films that you can use as models.”
This article continues here. Also, Garden Media Group has this to say on the topic: “… anyone can write a press release. But, there is a difference between writing a great press release …and getting it placed.” Check out Tips for Writing a Killer Press Release, here. Hmmm… Is the press release dead? “One of the most challenging aspects of being an independent filmmaker is promoting your film. Standing out amongst your peers is an enormous challenge, even for seasoned indie filmmakers.” Read more from Brett Welcher at Raindance.
Also, FilmSourcing has this to say on the topic: “Film productions have many potentially newsworthy moments, but how can you get through in the media? Here we take a closer look at the tricky business of sending out press releases.” “Whether a certain channel or journalist takes interest in your production depends on things like your budget, genre, subject matter, filming location, cast members, awards or other related things such as a unique production method….” This article continues here.