For Filmmakers Who Want to Find Professional & Financial Success Using Film Festivals
So, you want to use festivals to lead you to distribution, an agent, investors, and more. But, you don't know how...
Learn How to Increase Your Acceptance Rate,
Save Thousands $ in Fees,
& Accelerate Your Film Career
All using festivals. And it starts with a proven film & festival strategy that works. In The Professional's Guide to Film Festival Success© course, I teach and breakdown custom strategies that reveal industry secrets gatekeepers don't want you to know. And I demonstrate exactly how festivals contributed to the professional and financial success of my films. Because, let's face it: film festivals can be frustrating, expensive, and downright discouraging. And, if you aren't doing them right, they can feel like a waste of time. Even more, it's unfair to be thrown into a game that many filmmakers were never taught to play.
Using my TV marketing background and own success with festivals, I show you how to:
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Increase your film's marketability & develop a successful film strategy
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Maximize your budget & save thousands on submission fees
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Increase your visibility & get on the radar of Programmers
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Identify the right festivals that will most impact your film & career
As Featured In:
What Execs Have Said About Me
LB, VP, BET Networks
"As a television executive with over 25 years of experience, I can attest that Tamara 'understood the assignment.' Her professionalism and leadership stood out among the other candidates who were also pitching their projects. Her creativity, communication skills, and willingness to listen and quickly adapt, impressed me the most. Tamara is both a leader and team player and stood out amongst our film directors."
Patrick M, SVP, HBO
"Outside of being an incredible resource for our Operations group, Tamara was instrumental in planning and coordinating the 300+ staff move from 42nd Street to Hudson Yards (NYC) following the company merger. It was a privilege to have supported not only her career at HBO, but her work as a filmmaker, becoming a Producer for all of her short films. I am huge fan of Tamara and her work and look forward to her future acceptance speeches."
Shawn S, Director, Comcast
"Tamara has tremendous energy and is an incredible resource. She always has an efficient strategy lined up to make her projects go smoothly and is excellent in communicating her ideas to the rest of the team. Tamara’s communication skills, collaborative nature, and her proactive leadership make her a promising talent."
hey filmmaker,
What if the goal you have for your film is one resource and success strategy away?
How to Land Meetings, Increase Your Acceptance Rate, Secure Distribution & More...
the professional's guide to film festival success©
A step-by-step course to acquiring professional success for your film and career using festivals. I teach you how to choose the right festivals, land industry meetings, save on submission fees, secure representation, monetize your film, and more.
Complete with custom winning strategies, case studies, resources, action items, success tips, and bonus gems.
find success with your film
unpopular opinion
...YOUR FILM IS NOT THE PROBLEM. ...YOUR STRATEGY IS.
Here's what you will gain and learn:
1. Film Prep:
Goals, Branding & Packaging
After setting the intention for your film, you'll learn how to properly package your film for professional success and build a brand and campaign that mirrors a successful business.
You'll be provided with free strategies, case studies, resources, specs, and tips on the best assets to attract key investors, and which ones you should prioritize in your budget to maximize your specific goal.
3. Message & Marketability©
When you understand your messaging, you'll understand your marketability, and how to position your film to win. Marketability is not just important for big budget films and theaters, but for the festival circuit and streaming distribution too.
Using my custom M&M© strategy and tasks, you'll learn how to complete a thorough analysis of your film and the filmmakers behind it to extract the key themes and tools that make your film an easier "sell." You'll learn how to view festivals as your sample audience to gain access to the larger audience that matters to your film and its goal.
5. Getting on a Festival's Radar & Leveraging Your Film
Not only do I give away strategies I've personally employed to get on a festival and programmer's radar, but I provide you with various professional angles and approaches to take when employing these strategies.
From direct and indirect tactics to when the best time is to effectively deploy strategy, you'll learn how to leverage your film and navigate this task like a savvy professional. You'll also be provided with a list of overlooked resources and tools for getting on a festival's radar, and how to use them to your film's advantage.
7. Landing Meetings & Maximizing Your Attendance
Being at festivals is important, but being present and participating whether you are physically there or not is pivotal. You'll learn exactly how to do that and all the ways that you can maximize your festival participation, how to prepare, and where to actually look to find your next investor, distributor, agent, or collaborator.
You'll uncover opportunities to plant the seeds for landing your next industry meeting, and how you can take advantage of them to meet your film's goal. And yes, this is all using festivals.
2. Maximize Your Budget & Save on Fees
Using a combination of my Smart budget and Tier Formula Strategy, I show you how to strategically target festivals to stay within your budget while maintaining a high success rate, and how to effectively prioritize costs that will be most impactful for your film.
You'll learn, after setting the goal for your film, how your budget should be strategically allocated to mobilize effectively toward that goal. I break down every cost there is and the savvy techniques to save on them.
4. Winning Strategies Tailored to Your Goal & How to Build Your Own
Not only will you be guided through setting your intention and given a list of the most common professional goals for films, but in the Pro Edition, you will be provided with a free and custom success strategy for each of those goals.
From exposure & visibility, to networking and monetization, you'll be guided, step-by-step, through the process of customizing and creating your own uniquely tailored strategy. You'll also be given festival tips, tricks, and secrets to best practices when creating and adjusting as you go.
6. Getting Distribution & Monetizing Your Film
Alongside providing you with a TPF custom sample distribution strategy, you'll learn how to effectively utilize festivals as a tool for getting distribution. You'll be provided with a checklist of things to prep and ask yourself before targeting distribution, alongside a list of effective actions to take to properly utilize festivals and leverage your festival participation.
Additionally, you'll be provided with tips and strategy ideas for monetizing your film, and how you can use festivals to monetize should your film be positioned for it.
8. *How to Leverage Your Screenplay + Free Strategy
Not only can a great screenplay influence your film's festival success, but it can also be leveraged without a film to meet some of your biggest film goals. You'll learn some of the secret ways that screenplays can benefit from the festival circuit and how to effectively use them to lead your film to success.
In the PRO edition, I giveaway my entire step-by-step strategy to how we landed our deal for my film, Black Butterflies, using the screenplay, and how festivals were the key to making that happen.
...AND MORE!
Testimonials👇🏽
People need to invest
because they're losing out on having that advantage if they don't.
My two favorite things from the course would have to be the M&M Strategy™ and the Branding consultation that Tamara and I had. Being able to have the messaging for your film together is so important because you want to hit, not just a wide audience, but the right audience, and at the right time, to help you get to that next level and project.
You can target a million people but if you're not about to land a meeting from any of those connections, you're at a loss. Not only that, it teaches you the marketability of it so when you do have those meetings, when you do move on to the next project, it's now a bit easier to market because now you have champions out there for you.
Tamara and I went through a lot of my strategy, and being able to use her brain, she really helped me to figure out what things I needed to tinker to turn it up a notch. I could not ask for anything more from what she has already given me. People need to invest because they're losing out on having that advantage if they don't.
~ MELVIN TAYLOR, Filmmaker
what Melvin said
I bought the course initially
to have a film festival strategy, but the lessons have given me much more than I asked for.
The Professional's Guide is the gift that doesn’t stop giving. I feel much more aware & prepared. More than a course but an actual living resource that provides guidance on every step of the filmmaking process. The modules are very user friendly with access on both mobile and desktop, and the lessons are relayed in an easy to understand short form so you can digest and integrate the information with ease. One of my favorite aspects of the course are the audios. They make me feel connected to the teacher and centered on the lessons.
Because of this course, I am creating and implementing an entire branding and marketing plan that will create visibility and actually attract industry stakeholders. Moreover, because I already produced a film and am in the post production stage, I was able to jump right into the relevant lesson for the stage I am at for that film, while also using this course to prepare for my new film. Tamara has helped me to better plan measurable outcomes for success, and to maximize my end game at the conceptual stage. I bought the course initially to have a film festival strategy, but the lessons have given me more than I asked for.
~ MICHELLE COKER, Filmmaker
what Michelle said
Tamara is a true pioneer! This course directly addresses a deficit within the entertainment industry.
For starters, Tamara is a true pioneer! This product explores a deficit within the entertainment industry from the perspective of film success and advocacy, which is especially important for underrepresented creators.
As an avid investor in continual learning, I have come across several products that have over-promised the true value of the product, even after application. Therefore, I needed to know that the content read clearly and concisely, along with providing a plethora of experiential information. Through the purchase of this course, not only did it provide me with this notion, but it also rendered the confidence to shamelessly promote myself authentically.
What I gravitated to the most were the strategies of how to treat your film like a business. Oftentimes, it is difficult to tackle art and business as an independent artist; however, the course does a great job of implementing various perspectives and showing both how and why you need to integrate the two to be successful.
~ BRAHEEM RANDALL, MSHI | Actor
what Braheem said
As a film festival programmer, I can say with confidence that her program stands out for its blend of passion, hands-on experience, and practical strategies that cater to both seasoned filmmakers and newcomers alike.
what Carlita, a
festival programmer
said
Tamara's "The Professional's Guide to Film Festival Success" course is an essential resource for any filmmaker seeking to navigate the film festival circuit and elevate their creative journey. As a film festival programmer, I can say with confidence that her program stands out for its blend of passion, hands-on experience, and practical strategies that cater to both seasoned filmmakers and newcomers alike.
The course is unique and intentional in every detail, with firsthand insights and a focus on the goals and business of filmmaking. Tamara has meticulously structured her modules with well-researched, quantifiable strategies, enabling filmmakers to optimize their festival submissions and stand out to programmers like myself.
Her insights on marketing and branding with various budgets are invaluable for filmmakers looking to tell their stories with both artistry and professionalism. The video tutorials and audio learnings provide an accessible yet thorough breakdown of every step, from goal setting to festival finances, making it easier to turn filmmaking dreams into actionable plans.
~ CARLITA JOHNSON, Film Festival Programmer & Professional | ABFF, HBO, Disney+
We provide the strategies, tools, and resources, but it's on you to do the work.
This is for you if
You are motivated and ready to put in the work required to take your film and career to the next level.
You are at any stage of your film journey, whether you are developing your script or just got your first festival acceptance, this course will benefit you.
You are ready to take your career into your own hands & not rely on gatekeepers to give you access to opportunities.
You are willing to stay positive, committed, and see both your film and strategy through.
Is this for me?
This is not for you if
You are not willing to invest the time and effort to fully commit to prepping your film & strategy to meet your film goal(s).
You are looking for a magic solution and someone to "do" the work for you.
You are looking for a guaranteed or "one size fits all" result. Results will vary and depend on your film, strategy execution, commitment, and professionalism.
You lead with a negative mindset or attitude that can hinder your relationship building & opportunities.
If you remain focus, committed, properly prepare your film and implement the action items + strategies provided to prepare your film's packaging and its custom-built strategy, your festival journey will be rewarding. The earlier you plan and implement the strategies, the better your results.
Payment Plans Available 👇🏽
$497
originally $997
$697
originally $1497
📌 Setting Your Intention For Your Film
📌 Film Branding & Packaging for Success
📌 How to Properly Allocate Your Budget & Ways to Save
📌 Fee Waivers and Saving on Submissions
📌 Message and Marketability (M&M)
📌 Developing a “Business-like” Film Festival Strategy
📌 Tamara’s Tier Strategy
📌 Tamara’s M&M Strategy
📌 Customizing Your Own Strategy - Tips & Tricks
📌 Leveraging Your Film’s Timeline
📌 Film Festival Types & Who Should Submit
📌 Festivals for Screenplays & How to Use Them to Land a Deal
📌 How to Get on a Programmer’s Radar
- When to Employ Strategy
- Direct & Indirect Strategies
- Overlooked Tools to Use to Your Advantage
📌 Press, Publicity, & How to Successfully Tackle It Yourself
📌 Distribution & Using Festivals to Get It
📌 How to Make Money Using Festivals
📌 How to Maximize Your Attendance & Land Meetings
📌 How to Leverage Your Presence Without Being There
📌 Tools to Use + Bring at Every Film Festival
📌 Post Festival Strategies & Why the Work Isn’t Done
📌 Festival FAQs, Myths & Avoiding Scams
📌 BONUS Gems & Mini Strategies
📌 Action Items & Exercises
📌 Worksheet
📌 BONUS Festival Ready Checklist
📌 BONUS Waiver Template
EVERYTHING IN THE STANDARD COURSE PLUS:
📌 PRO - Built-for-You Proven Success Strategies Tailored to Your Goal, Step-by-Step:
- Exposure & Visibility Strategy
- Networking Strategy
- Audience Feedback Strategy
- Professional Rep Strategy
- Distribution Strategy
- Monetization Strategy
📌 PRO - Black Butterflies Step-by-Step Screenplay + Distribution Strategy©
📌 PRO - Black Butterflies One Sheet Pitch & Strategy©
📌 PRO - BONUS Outreach Tracker, Worksheets, & Supplementals
📌 PRO - Proven Social Strategies
📌 PRO - Festival Strategy Planner & Course Action Guide Based on Goal (included with FREE 30-minute consultation)
📌 PRO - FREE Film Branding, Packaging, & Marketing Session ($349 Value)
📌 PRO - BONUS Extra Strategies & Industry Insider Tips
Purchase issues or concerns? Contact: support@theprofessionalfilm.com
About me
My name is Tamara S. Hall and I'm a Professional Filmmaker with 10+ years in TV business, and I have acquired distribution, representation, investors, and landed pitch meetings... all using film festivals.
It's true. The success I've acquired using film festivals put me in a peculiar position. I never went to film school. I never, before 2018, directed a film. I also never, prior to that time, was a part of a film that made it into a film festival, despite being a trained actor who landed a few roles. But, I "outperformed" everyone around me who had been independently producing films for much longer, and I landed my first network TV deal for my first short film, which came in first place for that deal.
But... how?! How does a new filmmaker, with little to no film experience, achieve that type of success with their film? Most people would call this "luck" or having a film at the right place, at the right time. Except, here's the thing: I was able to repeat that success multiple times. And I was able to get every major film I produced on television. And I was able to do this with the help of film festivals.
If I still have your attention, keep reading. I realized, unlike so many other filmmakers who had equally as good, if not greater films than I had, at the time, that there were many other parts of both the craft and the business I had mastered outside of film that would become instrumental to my success. From landing industry meetings as a corporate professional, to majoring in Journalism + English and studying the world of pitching & TV writing late at night, I was, unbeknownst to me, preparing myself for the success that was bound to come. But, it could not have happened without this myriad of unique experiences and skills, most of which are sadly not taught in any one "school." And those who want to gate-keep this information for themselves are definitely not passing it around to others.
But I've decided, I'm going to help change that.
And, I'm going to start by showing you how film festivals are an effective tool to be used and wielded in helping to create this exact kind of success. And how I used them to help create mine.
Want to Book Me 1-on-1?
Sometimes, we just need a little extra support or feedback. Let me help.
"Tamara is a powerhouse! I had the pleasure of working with her during my Junior & Senior year of college. Tamara supported me during the making of my senior thesis project, has connected me with other filmmakers in the industry and has been there to provide feedback on personal projects. I cannot thank her enough for all the help she has provided. It has been an honor to learn from and work with her." -- Antreise Lacey, Filmmaker
"Tamara has been providing me with advice and coaching as I navigate the entertainment industry, and she has been phenomenal. She has a keen eye for talent, and she is able to provide clear and concise feedback that is both helpful and constructive. Tamara is also a great listener, and she is always willing to go the extra mile to help her clients succeed." -- Greg Hammons, Filmmaker