Hi, my name is Dr. Rebekah Louisa Smith and I’m based in the heart of Oak Cliff, Dallas. I moved to the City at the end of 2021 as I was keen to relocate the headquarters of my business to the USA. At the time when I created my company, I was completing my PhD in Film and Audience Research. I was very close to becoming a Doctor, so as a good omen that I would pass, I decided to call my company The Film Festival Doctor. This name also strongly resonated with what my company does – helping filmmakers solve their problems so they can get their films seen on the international film festival circuit.
Myself and my hard-working team behind my brand are committed to nurturing filmmakers in order to help them secure film festival screenings, win awards, and cultivate a positive recognition within the film industry. Currently, my company has helped win more than 2,500 awards for my clients and three clients have had Oscar success stories (1 nomination, 1 shortlist and 1 film representing South Africa for the Best International Feature category). I have supported over 850 creatives across the world, enlightening and inspiring their journey towards achieving their goals and following their filmmaking dreams. My mission has always been to help filmmakers get their films seen in festivals around the world so they can gain visibility, get their films sold, win awards and create more opportunities for their careers.
I’d like to share a couple of success stories with you.
GEORGE MICHAEL FREEDOM – DIRECTOR’S CUT
I had the honour and responsibility of representing the Grammy Award Winning Artist George Michael’s last work on the festival circuit in 2018. This film is a documentary feature of his life which he co-directed with his collaborative partner David Austin. The film concentrates on the formative period in his life and career, leading up to and following the making of his acclaimed, best-selling album “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1” and his subsequent, infamous High Court battle with his record label Sony that followed, while also becoming poignantly personal about the death of his first love, Anselmo Feleppa.
Filmed before Michael’s untimely passing, the documentary is narrated by the singer, who was heavily involved in the making of the film that serves as his final work. I managed to secure 26 festival screenings for the film, including official selections at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Krakow, all of the prestigious LGBTQ Film Festivals and 1 Special Gala screening; the Raindance Film Festival’s Gay Times London Premiere Gala Screening event. The film screened in 17 different countries and 5 of the screenings were programmed as the opening night film, myself and my team secured the film 12 award nominations and 5 wins.
THE CUNNING MAN
THE CUNNING MAN Directed by Zoe Dobson, tells the story of an elderly and mysterious farmer who drifts through the Welsh valleys collecting dead animals. Refusing the services of the local abattoir’s collector, what he has in store for these creatures is beyond anyone’s imagination. Originally THE CUNNING MAN was designed to be part of the Directors U.K. Arri Alexa 48 hour short film challenge project and after it had its cast and crew screening it would then go straight on to YouTube.
However, myself and the creative team behind this film knew that they had a film which was something more than a film just for a competition and was instead a film which could make waves on the festival circuit. And so it did. THE CUNNING MAN screened at over 75 international film festivals (including FrightFest, the Oscar qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival, the Oscar qualifying Cinequest, the BAFTA & BIFA qualifying Norwich Film Festival, the BAFTA qualifying Underwire Festival, Morbido, the BAFTA qualifying Aesthetica Festival, the Oscar Qualifying In The Palace International Film Festival, and the BAFTA qualifying Carmarthen Bay International Film Festival). It won over 30 awards and was BAFTA long-listed in 2019. The moral to this story is always try film festivals first before putting your film up on-line as you never know what type of response it might get!
KANARIE
I have built up a strong client base in South Africa and have worked on a lot of projects from this country which have gone on to win SAFTA awards (their equivalent to the BAFTAs) and also qualify for the Oscars which included short film FATHER’S DAY in 2024 and OLD RIGHTEOUS BLUES which was selected to represent South Africa for the 2025 Academy Awards Best International Feature Film category.
KANARIE was a South African cinematic gem. It’s a coming of age musical war drama set in 1985 during the height of the infamous apartheid regime in South Africa starring up and coming actor Schalk Bezuidenhout. The story line revolves around a small-town boy who gets called up and is chosen to serve his compulsory two-year military training in the South African defence force choir as a member of the concert group known as the ‘Canaries’. The KANARIE creative team and myself knew that they had a very original and groundbreaking film that the LGBTQ audience had never seen before and were very keen for it to screen outside of Africa and get international appeal.
KANARIE launched at the Inside Out Toronto Film Festival and went on to dominate the North American LGBTQ festival circuit including center piece gala screenings and closing night film slots at Outfest, Chicago Reeling LGBTQ Film Festival, Out on Film Atlanta, Twist Seattle Queer Film Festival, Image Out and Outshine. It screened at over 45 film festivals and won 16 awards including a SAFTA award for Best Screenplay.
I love supporting filmmakers all over the world and would love to connect with you further via the web or in person.
I love supporting filmmakers all over the world and would love to connect with you further via the web or in person.
Follow me on Instagram: @rebekahfilmdr and check out my website here – https://www.thefilmfestivaldoctor.com/
For further reading, check out these articles featured recently in MovieMaker Magazine –
Read Rebekah’s MovieMaker Magazine interview ‘How to Handle Film Festival Rejection’
Read Rebekah’s MovieMaker Magazine Article ‘6 Reasons Your Film Is Getting Rejected from Festivals’
