You finished the film. That was the hard part, and it is also the point where most coverage stops paying attention.

Most outlets will not watch an independent feature without a publicist attached. Aggregators want a critic count you will never reach from a festival run. Festival submission portals charge you forty dollars a time to be read by a screener who may stop at eight minutes. And the places that will write about anything tend to produce writing that reads like it.

I read every submission myself, and I watch the films I take on start to finish, in one sitting. It is free, it stays free, and that is the whole proposition.

What a free review actually gets you

  • A published review on CineCinnati — your title, year, director and poster on a real, indexable page that turns up when someone searches your film.
  • Criticism about craft, not plot summary. Direction, performance, editing, sound: what the film is reaching for, and whether it gets there.
  • A pull-quote you can use. If the review is positive, put it on the poster, in the festival deck, in the distributor pitch. Just credit CineCinnati.
  • A straight answer either way, within 14 days, so you can plan a festival run or a release around it.
  • No invoice, ever. Nothing is charged to submit, nothing is charged to be read, and nothing is charged if I publish.

Free review or festival submission?

They do different jobs, and most filmmakers I speak to end up doing both. A festival gives you a screening, a room and a deadline. A review gives you a permanent page, a citable verdict and a quote. The difference worth knowing is what each one costs you to find out.

  • Cost. A festival submission runs roughly $25 to $75 per entry, per festival. This is free.
  • Deadline. Festivals close on fixed dates and charge more the later you leave it. This is open all year at the same price, which is nothing.
  • Reply. Festival rejections are often silent, or arrive four months later as a form email. You hear from me within 14 days, either way.
  • What you keep. A festival laurel is a logo. A review is a written argument about your film that stays online and can be quoted in the next application.

If you are mid-way through a submission season and the fees are adding up, this is the part that costs nothing to try.

What I am looking for

International and independent cinema is the beat. That is not a polite way of saying "anything", and the order below is roughly the order of my appetite.

  1. European cinema. Arthouse and independent features from across Europe: French, Italian, Spanish, German, Nordic, Greek, Portuguese, and the Central and Eastern European festival circuit. First features especially. This is where most of my viewing already goes.
  2. American independents. Films made outside the studio system — festival-circuit US indies, self-distributed features, regional American cinema, the ones with no marketing spend behind them. Being American is not a disqualifier; having a studio press office is.
  3. Asian cinema. Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Chinese-language work, plus Southeast Asian features and series. Genre and arthouse both, and series as readily as features.
  4. Everywhere else. Latin American independents, Middle Eastern and North African cinema, African features, Australian and New Zealand independents, and independent Indian cinema in any language.

Across all four: features, shorts, documentaries and experimental work are read on the same terms. A first feature shot for very little money and a fourth film with a proper crew are equally welcome. Budget has never been the interesting variable.

What I am probably not the right home for

Worth saying plainly, because it saves us both time:

  • Studio releases with a full press campaign already behind them. You do not need me.
  • Films sent purely to harvest a quote, where the work is not really the point.
  • Anything conditional on a guaranteed rating, or on copy approval before publication.

Note the first line carefully: it excludes studio press campaigns, not American films. An unfunded indie shot in Ohio is exactly what I want.

How to submit your film

  1. Send it. The form above takes about two minutes. A private screener link and the basics is all I need. There is no fee at any stage.
  2. I watch it. Properly. The whole thing, one sitting, phone in another room.
  3. You hear back within 14 days. If I am covering it, I will tell you roughly when it publishes.

Screener links are never shared, forwarded or redistributed.

What this costs, in full

Nothing. Reviews are free and always have been, and I would rather say why than leave it looking like a catch. Reviewing independent films is the reason the site exists and I am not willing to put a price on being read. Separately, and clearly labelled, there are paid promotional placements — inclusion in a themed list, a feature slot — which are how the hosting gets paid for. Those are never reviews, they are never sold as reviews, and buying one has no effect on whether or how I review your film. If that is of interest, ask me and I will explain it honestly. If it is not, submit anyway. Nothing about the free path is worse for not paying.

Not sure whether your film is a fit? Send it anyway and say so, or write to me directly at manish32112@gmail.com. If you are working to a festival date, a distributor deadline or a wider campaign, tell me what you are planning and we can work out the right way to cover it. I would always rather have the conversation than have you decide for me.