FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

QUESTION: Why are you only accepting movies created outside of the Hollywood system?
SHORT ANSWER: Because “IndieWood” does not need our help.
LONG ANSWER

QUESTION: My movie has stars, production value, and/or has screened at one of the major film festivals.
Can I still submit?
SHORT ANSWER: Yes.
LONG ANSWER

QUESTION: Then how do you define, “...outside of the Hollywood system”?
SHORT ANSWER: As any movie made without the aid of the Hollywood machine.
LONG ANSWER

QUESTION: Why should I submit my movie to the Maverick Movie Awards?
SHORT ANSWER: Because even though we’re setting boundaries, our goal is to eliminate yours.
LONG ANSWER

QUESTION: Why did you change your identity from the New Haven Underground Film Festival to
the Maverick Movie Awards?
SHORT ANSWER: To better help moviemakers gain exposure and distribution.
LONG ANSWER

QUESTION: And why no screening events?
SHORT ANSWER: So we won’t blow your premiere status for festivals that officially or unofficially require the distinction of unveiling your movie to the world.
LONG ANSWER

Q: Why are you only accepting movies created outside of the Hollywood system?

A: Because the vast majority of movies that screen at the top domestic and foreign festivals are not true independent movies and our goal is to help you, real independent and underground moviemakers. You can argue the powerfully flawed concept that “independent film” is defined as any movie that is financed or produced outside of the major studio system if you’d like but that definition is about as outdated as the concept of a major studio system. If you need proof, just look at what’s screening at the big festivals and what the so-called independent distributors are releasing. Need more proof: consider the sad truth that the early films of the moviemakers that helped build these “independent” festival juggernauts and distribution behemoths would never even make it past the first guard of interns who decide if your movie even gets seen by the actual decision-makers. If you think that David Lynch’s “Eraserhead,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Loveless,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger than Paradise,” Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” Richard Linklater’s “Slacker,” or Kevin Smith’s “Clerks,” would get into Cannes, Sundance, or Toronto today, then we have just one question for you: Where do you get your crack?


Q: My movie has stars, production value, and/or has screened at one of the major film festivals. Can I still submit?

A: Look, we may be challenging the system here but we’re not idiots; we know that there are legitimately independent/underground movies that have stars and/or respectable budgets made outside of the Hollywood system that manage to muscle their way through the politics, nepotism, and favoritism of the major film festivals and markets so, yes, we want to see your movie, too.


Q: Then how do you define, “...outside of the Hollywood system”?

A: The only moviemakers who need not submit to the Maverick Movie Awards are those financed directly by or through a Hollywood studio, production company, distributor, agency, and/or management company. You know as well as we do that you don’t need our help anyway. And you can’t fool us so don’t even try. You’ll just be wasting our time and your money.


Q: Why should I submit my movie to the Maverick Movie Awards?

A: Face it: you’re not going to run into many distribution reps anywhere other than the top ten domestic or international film festivals. So why do you submit to all the other film festivals? Because you want to win an award to slap on your DVD screener and post at your website. But do these awards really mean anything to distributors? Well, go to your local multiplex or Blockbuster and you’ll find that most of the film fest honors on the posters, trailers, and DVDs are not from Cannes, Sundance, or Toronto; they’re touting film fest screenings and awards from all the rest. Chances are you’ve never even heard of most of the film festivals you’ll see plastered on any given movie’s promotional materials so you can bet that your average movie-watcher hasn’t heard of them either. Then why do distributors include those fancy little laurel wreath icons on everything from the trailer, to the poster, to the DVD wraparound art? They do it for the same reason you use ’em to promote your own movies: because it sells the promise of quality and, in the case of movies without big stars, it serves to promote the movie’s validity. The Maverick Movie Awards exists to help deserving moviemakers achieve that same recognition by giving forty-two (42) awards and anywhere between one-hundred-twenty-six (126) and four-hundred-twenty (420) nominations.


Q: Why did you change your identity from the New Haven Underground Film Festival to the Maverick Movie Awards?

A: As NHUFF, our second primary objective was to expose new audiences to new movies and moviemakers. Even with two sold out years and consistently greater attendance than any other Connecticut film festival we still did not achieve this goal. After five years of screenings, we came to the unavoidable conclusion that our audience was rarely new. Yes, we had built a loyal following but, seeing mostly the same faces every year, we had to admit that we were preaching to the choir. Getting caught up in the warm fuzzies we helped to create by coordinating an event for so many cool, talented moviemakers to interface directly with intelligent, receptive audiences, it was easy to miss that we weren’t effectively achieving our first primary objective either: to help moviemakers gain exposure and distribution. We decided that what started as a response to the ultra-lameness of the long-since defunct New Haven Film Festival needed a drastic overhaul to best serve the needs of moviemakers. By shedding the festival, we are no longer constrained by the time limitations imposed by venues and screening schedules that forced us to choose one deserving movie over another. By reinventing ourselves as the Maverick Movie Awards we significantly increase the number of movies and moviemakers we can honor with an award or nomination to promote in their quest for exposure and distribution; hence, finally achieving our primary objective.


Q: And why no screening events?

A: Since we no longer host movie screenings, we cannot and will not blow your premier status for the festivals that either officially or unofficially require the distinction of “breaking your movie.” Many festivals will not select your movie if they cannot be the first to screen it. And the festivals that claim they don’t factor premier status into their decision to select someone else’s movie over yours are lying. True, not all festivals have an official rule that states worldwide, national, coastline, or regional premiere requirements but many do. We respect the festivals bold enough impose this self-serving regulation. Well, we don’t “respect” them but at least they’re giving you the information you need to make an informed decision. Heck, even we did it at NHUFF so, to be fair, we can’t vilify all film festivals with this written or unwritten policy. Many have to do it for the same reason we did: if it was a choice between a great movie that had not screened anywhere and another great movie that had already screened at several film festivals, chances are we’d pick the former over the latter in order to help a moviemaker whose film deserved to be screened and celebrated that opportunity. Sadly, many of the more high-profile film festivals require your premiere simply for bragging rights. Makes you wonder who these festivals exist to serve, doesn’t it...the moviemakers or the festival founders and directors. Don’t wonder. They’re doing it for their greater glory, not yours. The other reason why we decided to shed our screening events is because the incredible amount of time spent coordinating staff, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, concessions, equipment, venues, as well as promoting the screenings locally to increase attendance is time that we deemed way, way better used in pursuit of promoting your movies on a national and international level. We have many goals for how to best achieve publicity and recognition for winners and nominees of the Maverick Movie Awards: some grass roots, some dependent on the kindness of others, some dependent on if we can afford ad space in the various trades. Help us help you by submitting your movie and we promise not to let you down.