A panel at the Cannes edition of IndieWire’s “What No One Tells You” focused on the practical realities of getting short films seen—why the festival circuit still drives “life,” how runtime can affect programming, and why crowdfunding and mailing lists often m
The Cannes edition of IndieWire’s “What No One Tells You” didn’t spend its time talking in hopeful abstractions. In a room at the American Pavilion. international filmmakers and industry specialists mapped the quickest routes to getting a short film in front of the people who can actually move it forward.
At the center of the discussion were Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh—part of the duo behind the Oscar-winning short film “Two People Exchanging Saliva”—along with Grégoire Féron and Emilie Boulay from the international distribution and production company Salaud Morisset. Taylor K. Shaw-Omachonu, Kickstarter’s head of film strategy, rounded out the panel.
They agreed on one point almost immediately: streaming hasn’t erased the basics. “The festival circuit is where the film will have its life,” Singh said. “It’ll meet its first audiences. Hopefully, other programmers will see it. It’ll start to get a little buzz. Maybe you will be able to sell the film in a territory. such as in France. which still pays for films. whereas getting a U.S. streamer to buy a short film is rarer.”.
That “first life” depends on decisions that can be surprisingly mechanical—especially when it comes to what festivals will actually fit into their schedules. Musteata and Singh’s “Two People Exchanging Saliva” is 36 minutes, a length that can land it in a tough spot. Féron explained that length can change how shorts are programmed, since short films are often slotted in blocks.
“I see the difference when a film is longer, because short films are programmed in blocks of four to six films, and a 30- or 40-minute-long film might take the slot of two shorts,” Féron said.
Still, the duo’s film found a major opening at the right time. Musteata and Singh were fortunate that Barry Jenkins selected “Two People Exchanging Saliva” as one of the seven shorts shown at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival.
But “fortunate” doesn’t mean passive. The panel’s advice on timing came fast, and it wasn’t gentle: apply early. Musteata said filmmakers shouldn’t treat festival submissions like a last-minute task.
“You need to apply to film festivals when they open, not in the middle, not at the end,” Musteata said. “Because if a programmer loves your film. they will program around it. and they will create a group of films that is in response to your film. Whereas if you’re applying in the middle or in the end. you now need to be slotted into the program of a different film or a different theme.”.
From there. the conversation shifted to a gap that many short filmmakers feel in real life: the different levels of support for short filmmaking depending on where you are. In Europe. short filmmaking is described as far better supported than in the U.S. and as a step that develops future directors. That’s part of why European companies like Salaud Morisset don’t just help films get funded and sold—they also operate as a “festival distributor.”.
Boulay framed it in terms of visibility. “Our goal is to really give as much visibility as possible to short films and bring them to as many large audiences as possible.” Féron added a definition and a practical warning about how much work the circuit can demand.
“A festival distributor is the person who’s going to take care of the distribution of the film on the festival circuit. The thing is. there are a lot of festivals that require a lot of time. energy. and network-building. and they make a huge difference for a film. The strategy is very important to build.”.
In the U.S., that infrastructure is less present, and filmmakers often have to build around their work instead. Shaw-Omachonu discussed how she’s worked with short filmmakers to leverage Kickstarter—getting films made and into top U.S. Festivals. Her key message cut through the noise of attention metrics.
“For shorts, the way that you build an audience is to start with creating a mailing list,” Shaw-Omachonu said. “Your social media following does not actually matter. What matters is that you know that you have an engaged audience that includes people that know you that will support you.”
The stakes behind that advice are clear when you consider what still has to happen after a short film lands at festivals: sales and profitability. The panel also addressed the sales market for short films—who’s buying—and whether streaming has opened up new opportunities for shorts to become profitable.
For viewers, the full panel is available at the top of the page—less a victory lap than a practical handbook for anyone trying to get a short film past the hardest question in the industry: not whether it’s good, but whether it’s seen.
Cannes IndieWire What No One Tells You short film film festivals Telluride Film Festival Two People Exchanging Saliva Barry Jenkins Natalie Musteata Alexandre Singh Grégoire Féron Emilie Boulay Salaud Morisset Kickstarter Taylor K. Shaw-Omachonu mailing list short film distribution streaming sales