Kurt Patino says the Burbank Film Festival would be “Sundance but to the west of Utah.”
The 2023 Burbank Film Festival was held this year in California from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24 at the AMC 16. As the organization’s president, Patino is hoping that indie filmmakers get more network and studio support for diverse storytelling.
The Burbank Film Festival does its part to showcase what Patino calls, “true indie cinema.”
He spoke to rolling out to discuss filmmaking tips for those navigating the industry and other topics.
What are some qualifications filmmakers need to submit their work to the Burbank Film Festival?
For student filmmakers, we have three categories. Sending their current school ID is a requirement and submitting a film that is not older than the last couple of years. We are open otherwise.
We open up submissions on Nov. 1. of this year, and people can go to filmfreeway.com/burbankinternationalfilmfestival to see the page and submit movies there.
Is anything missing from the indie film industry?
Everyone is trying to raise money. Everyone is trying to figure out what kind of film will help them make money.
What’s great about indie films now is that they are truly the indie films of what we were experiencing in the 1970s and 1980s with Scorsese, Coppola and Spike Lee. They were creating true indie cinema with unique voices. Back then, studios and networks were backing those kinds of stories. I think they don’t do that as much or as well as they could.
What film festivals do is bring you back to that old school, indie voice where people are telling their own stories and people are showing audiences what their experiences are like. People who accepted awards this year shared how their movie is about a true experience that they had. That’s what true indie cinema is to me and our film festival showcases that.
What are some tips you have for people who are in the film industry?
You have to be working at your craft all the time. If you’re not acting in film or TV, you should be on stage. You should be finding some sort of format where you’re constantly performing. Don’t wait for something to come to you.
For young people, I tell them that even if they’re working a day job to pay the bills, you have to be in the industry somewhere. If you’re interning on weekends or working with someone who is in the industry, that’s how you get discovered or recognized. If you’re working a regular job where there’s no industry there, then no one has seen you. You have to be in that environment in some way. It’s about being in an environment where you can create more contacts. You constantly have to be learning because there’s a reason people are more successful and some aren’t. You have to figure out how to tweak yourself in some way creatively, that’ll help you break through that door that’s not opening right now.
You have to constantly be working on yourself as well. That’s what I’m finding out as president. I’m learning a lot and meeting new people, which is exciting, but I’m constantly working on how to make the festival better.
