FilmFreeway Reviews 75

Some festivals are legitimate and have value, and some are scams. You have to be careful. I find that the festivals in India and similar countries are mostly scams. For example, I "won" the best comedy award from the "JhaJha International Film Festival". Soon after, they texted me with an offer to buy a trophy for the award for $49. When I said I would consider it, they told me I had also "won" 3 other awards that I didn't even submit to, including a "Critics Choice Award". So, they wanted me to pay $196 for meaningless trophies I didn't even deserve. When I asked for a complete list of winners, they couldn't provide it. All they do is text people, claim they won, and offer trophies.
The worst part is that FilmFreeway Support didn't do a thing to address this, and actually defended it, which encorages more people to set up scam festivals.

We're organizing a festival and we're using filmfreeway. The setting of the account is pretty easy, but at the first issue we tried to contact the customer center. 3 days, no response. This is not a good sign.

Edit: After a week they answered and the problem is resolved. So 3 stars is fair on our case.
For 100 dollars fee, I think they should have better documentations to handle profile and faster customer service.

BUYER BEWARE!!!!!! I was just cheated out of $156.45, a so-called "submission fee" by FILMFREEWAY. I believe it to be a total SCAM. I attempted to submit a script for review, including a 1-page reply from the reader, with notes or comments. I DID NOT SUBMIT FOR A FESTIVAL, but ASHTON, the FILMFREEWAY rep who corresponded with me for hours, and after I no longer felt this was a Reputable Company, I requested he CANCEL my "incomplete" submission and credit my card. He then told me they DO NOT ISSUE CREDIT, that it was upto the FESTIVAL!!!! Here we go with FESTIVAL again....I DID NOT SUBMIT FOR A FESTIVAL. Unfortunately, I had already filled out all the info, including my payment info, and submitted it. I received a PAID IN FULL THANK YOU EMAIL stating (your submission is complete, and we will email you a confirmation shortly), BUT at the same time, in very small print, it says (your submission requires further action). HOW CAN THE SUBMISSION BE BOTH? COMPLETE SUBMISSION and oooopppps it needs further actions????? But they took my money REGARDLESS of whether the submission was incomplete and needed further action or not!!!? A SCAM.....THAT'S HOW. After hours of disputing with ASHTON, and he refused to issue a refund, I advised him that I would contact my bank and dispute the charge. At that point, ASHTON emailed me a veiled threat that if I called my bank, I would NEVER be able to submit in the future. PERIOD!!!!
I got this referral via my IMDB ProMembership and FINAL DRAFT - both outlets I have trusted for many years....but after this, I FEEL THEY MUST KNOW ABOUT THIS SCAM FROM FILFREEWAY. I am going to file an official complaint with the State and the Consumer Protection Agency, BBB, etc. WHEN YOU GET SCAMMED YOU MUST WARN OTHERS. IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. BUYER BEWARE!!!!!

Awful system on the site and no customer service of any value.

I went to log in to site on my account. For no reason I was told to reset password which was totally unnecessary.

When I did press to reset password I never got an email to reset it like I was told I would.

I wrote to the customer service email and over 2 whole days they still haven't resolved things. Instead a dumb reply telling me to check Junk mail. Duh, I went to check it as soon as I said to reset password.

Then a reply saying there are special procedures I have to go through just to simply reset a password which I shouldn't have to do in the first place.

After that I sent a reply but I never got a response. They take way too long to contact me and right now I am still waiting hours for their next reply.

There is no one to complain too for how bad they treated me, their responses are ignorant and idiotic and right now they are leaving me in the dark and in the void all over a stupid problem of just a password reset leaving me locked out of my own account that has all my history of films and their submissions over 6 years old and no interest to help me further.

Im looking at some governing bodies to report FilmFreeway to. As right now with just a geographical address I have to go to their offices in person with my lawyer just to speak to someone just to do a simple action of activating my password.

But now I need to report and sue FilmFreeway.

We should introduce more films shoot by phone

I am a film festival organizer and would like to share my experience.

Our festival hosted a public screening on July 15, which took place as planned. The event was attended by guests and winners, and complete documentation was submitted to the platform, including event photos and an official venue rental invoice. At the time, support confirmed that everything was in order.

Approximately six months later, the festival was set to non-public following an allegation that the listed venue was falsified. Despite repeatedly providing evidence from my side (photos, invoice, and email correspondence) and requesting clarification, this documentation was not accepted, and no specific evidence supporting the allegation was provided.

I am sharing this experience to highlight the importance of clear communication and transparent verification processes for festival organizers.

I’m new to producing short films. I was recommended Filmfreeway.com by a fellow student in my masters documentary course. I entered a short fictional film in to some festivals and a short documentary into other festivals. So far three festival notification dates have come and gone without any response from any of the festivals. My films are still “under consideration” for three festivals despite one of them apparently taking place in three days. It feels like filmfreeway.com don’t take any responsibility for scam or pseudo festivals being on their website. Are they getting a cut from the fees struggling film makers pay to these rip off festivals? If so I find that despicable.

Perhaps it was okay when it started out but now it's stuffed to the gills with scammers and spammers.
Opportunists make a killing here from desperate filmmakers and nobody checks their bona fides.

Film Freeway should shut down. They don't bother filtering out even the obviously dishonest ones like, for eg. /mnicff and they provide no way for people to report these chancers and rent-seekers preying on first-time filmmakers.

Short Film Depot and others charge a small extra fee but at least take their job seriously. The sooner FF goes out of business the better, but, like its festivals, will probably just re-brand and pop up again elsewhere...!

So many fake or fraudulent festivals. One for example, had us selected as Semi-Finalists. I sent them an email asking what does it mean and if we are going to be screened. After sending it, I see they changed the status to our film Not Selected. I complained about this to FilmFreeway (also several times in the past about festivals not respecting their terms or notification dates - one for example demanded Spanish subtitles afterwards even if their official rules, this wasn't mentioned) and they said that there is nothing they can do. They don't have any enforcement system except to send an email to the festival which of course, didn't help at all. I wasted so much money over the years on this platform and only this year I realize how much of a scam it all is. You have no way to verify what the fee is for, if anybody even watched your movie, let alone actually receive feedback. All you get are automatic e-mails.

Very disappointing experience with FilmFreeway. I was charged unexpected fees which was due to their website /operations bug. When I raised this with support, I received no support - their response was arrogant, insistent on their policy without even trying to understand the situation and the bug I reported, no apology and no solution.

Besides this fee, there were also lots of spam emails without respect for customer privacy and data, lots of scam festivals, and FilmFreeway should really treat customers with more respect.

I really hope the market gets more competition, as right now it seems that they are monopoly and this has clearly fostered bad behaviour. I would really limit my use of this site in the future wherever I can.

I paid in July 2025 to submit my film on filmfreeway.com to the New York Film & Female Actress Award film festival. Yesterday, August 10, 2025, was the reported Notification Date and Event Date from the New York Film & Female Actress Award film festival. Nothing! No notification or response from the New York Film & Female Actress Award film festival or from FilmFreeway support! I emailed them on August 10 and 11. Nothing! Is this a scam?! Terrible! Beware!

Low quality website with lots of scam festivals.

Too many Fraudulent Film Festivals. They say you are in consideration (sometimes even offical selection) but then like 'Keyser Söze' in Usual Suspects says - poof and just like that your money and effort is gone!

Beware, stick to the trusted festivals, many of them offer submissions without getting on FilmFreeway with no processing fee.

I learned my lesson. You have been warned!

We were excited to launch our first film festival — Zimt Festival — and chose FilmFreeway believing it was the standard platform to connect with filmmakers. Unfortunately, our experience was deeply frustrating and ultimately damaging.

Despite fulfilling every requirement they set, including securing a prestigious physical venue in Rome, we were denied a public listing without explanation. We submitted official confirmation from the venue and remained polite, responsive, and cooperative throughout months of email exchanges. Yet, their replies were increasingly abrupt, vague, and non-transparent. They ultimately refused to clarify why our listing was rejected, while hundreds of far less legitimate "first-year" festivals (some clearly low-effort or even suspicious) were approved and remain visible on their site.

To make matters worse, we were charged an activation fee despite never being listed publicly — meaning we had zero visibility and received no submissions. It's hard not to see this as predatory behavior: taking money from new festivals while denying them access to the very visibility the platform promises. The fee was ultimately refunded but the whole process was excruciating.

We dedicated months to trying to meet their expectations. We even adjusted internal structures and chased venue administrators to satisfy every shifting demand. But we were met not with guidance or partnership — only dismissal and a final note telling us they would "not respond to any further inquiries." At no point were we treated like valued customers or creative professionals. On the contrary, we were made to feel like we were trying to game the system — despite having a registered company, a clear curatorial vision, and a hybrid model designed to support and distribute independent work.

We built our festival not just as an event, but as a platform to nurture community and empower filmmakers. It's disheartening that FilmFreeway, instead of supporting genuine initiatives, appears more focused on gatekeeping, obfuscating policies, and enabling established or shallow listings while penalizing thoughtful, grassroots efforts.

In short: we were gaslit, ignored, and treated as if we didn’t matter.

In the end, we moved our call for entries to Festhome, which, while smaller and less well-known, approved our listing and provided exactly the kind of fair, responsive service we had hoped for from FilmFreeway.

It’s time to democratize the film industry and seek out platforms and models that offer truly inclusive, transparent opportunities for diverse voices—without subjecting creatives to the arbitrary gatekeeping of outdated and ill-intentioned entities. We urge fellow organizers and filmmakers to look elsewhere.

Submitted for festivals a very good short movie. Paid like $80…didn’t get selected, no explanation why. And most important $80 for what? It’s unclear.
Tried to contact them….no response.
ROI is worthless. I hope others have a better experience. Not worth the money.

It's a well run film site with everything you could need to enter all the festivals around the world. This is the 5 star bit that reflects the actual film festival website. The overall low score on Trustpilot, accumulated from people saying this site is a fraud, are actually mostly talking about individual festivals, some of which are genuinely fraudulent. Could Film Freeway do more to signpost or block problem festivals? I genuinely don't know, but my two tips for anyone submitting to festivals is to avoid online only festivals (i.e. no live event component) and doubly avoid festivals that are only available from a link - i.e. they can't be found in a search from the browse festivals section. They are labelled as "non-public listings" on their film freeway page. All bets are off with these festivals, so enter at your own risk.

FRAUD! Avoid subscribing - it's completely deceptive and I'm baffled why this site remains operational when it's clear they're collecting HUGE sums from customers without providing any actual film promotion services whatsoever.

The best experience I had from using Filmfreeway was the day I deleted my account. If you are an independent filmmaker who is just looking for exposure, go any other route than these 'film' festivals. Unless you are already a part of that ecosystem, these festivals only want your money.

Rejected our new festival for no reason despite us having a strong track record of other such film festivals in other cities.