On the evening of September 6th 2019, I found myself somewhere in Indiana, enjoying the comforts of a modest AirBnB. I had been invited to attend the 2019 Chicago Southland International Film Festival after “I Never Picked Cotton” had been selected for the documentary competition.

Now, punctually late 76 days later, I’ve decided to recap some observations, thoughts, and kerfuffles that aspiring filmmakers may find helpful.

From my fumble to yours, here are some notes for first-time film festival attendees:

1. Read the damn schedule correctly. I missed the giant showcase of “I Never Picked Cotton” because I missed an email about the schedule change that pushed the film 30 minutes earlier, aka FML. Also, be sure to read the descriptions of the films so you can plan your festival schedule accordingly.

2. Get adequate sleep. Festivals can be really long, and watching films one after another can get pretty exhausting. You want to get enough rest so that you can get through all of the programs and films you’re interested in. Otherwise, you might find yourself desperately needing a midday nap.

3. Prep for any potential interview or Q&A panel. If you get invited to a festival, there’s always a chance that you’ll be asked to give an interview, panel, etc. It’s a lot easier to field these kinds of scenarios if you’re prepared. Otherwise, you might accidentally drop a f-bomb in the middle of a Q&A panel when the moderator asks “what are the challenges of documentary filmmaking?”

4. Be comfortable with how you present yourself. If PJs are your thing, go for it! If you want to glam it up, go for it! If you’re got a weird eyebrow cock, embrace it! What matters is that you’re ok with how you look in the event that you’re photographed. Also, wear comfortable shoes – you might end up walking more than you think.

5. Be prepared for networking opportunities. Festivals are great opportunities to meet other filmmakers, actors, producers, and so on. Having a set of personal business cards that has your name and contact information is a lot easier to deal with than awkwardly scribbling down your contact info on a stickie note or trying to figure out which phone number corresponds to who. Plus, you might make a cool new friend!

6. Don’t assume you won’t win. Likewise, don’t assume you will win! If you’re in competition, it means that a film programmer saw something in your work. Art is wonderful and also a bit of a clusterfuck because it’s obviously subjective, so assuming rejection or acceptance before the outcome isn’t helpful. Just enjoy the opportunity to be at the festival, and make sure you’re not seated too far away from the stage when they start announcing festival winners because who knows – you might end up awkwardly taking 60 seconds to get down to the stage and then blubber something incomprehensible.

With all of that said, I’d really love to thank everyone who was involved in the production of “I Never Picked Cotton”. It was an absolutely blast and amazing opportunity to attend my first film festival, eyebrow cock and all.