Glass Casa, the dark murder mystery comedy now streaming everywhere, enjoyed an impressive festival run before hitting the small screen.
The movie has played eight festivals and counting, receiving numerous award nominations and wins, including Best Ensemble Cast at the San Diego Film Awards, Best Actress in a Lead Role for Harley Bronwyn at Kansas City Filmfest International, and Best Feature Film at the Boomtown Film and Music Festival.
Writer/director Laa Marcus shared the details of her festival run, as well as her best tips and tricks for fellow indie filmmakers navigating the film festival submission process and preparing for their own successful run.
On planning the film festival submission process
How many festivals did you submit to?
77 (geez! I hadn’t counted before).
What was your budget for submissions, and how did you decide where to allocate funds?
Honestly, I had a loose number in my head, somewhere around a couple grand. I knew my friend who did a crazy long festival run with a ton of laurels spent 4k, which she thought was worthwhile, and I knew I definitely didn’t want to spend more than that.
How long ago did you start Glass Casa’s film festival submission process?
It looks like I submitted to the first festival back in July 2023 and my final round of submissions were in November 2024.
Did you have a festival submission strategy?
Yes, I used FilmFreeway and got the Gold membership for a year which saved a lot of money on submissions.
I tried to submit as early as possible to save money with early bird submission prices.
I had a couple of producer friends that had done or were actively doing the festival circuit and I got a list of festival recommendations from them. In retrospect, that might not have been the best strategy because some of their submissions were particular to their film and not necessarily a good fit for mine.
It’s tough because it feels like the wild wild West out there sometimes, with no real rules or straight-forward direction. A lot of it sometimes comes down to having a contact at the festival. During one round of submissions I took the advice of “The Festival Doctor” (a fest consultant I met at the Boomtown Film Festival), who suggested I only submit to genre festivals. So I Googled the best genre festivals and submitted to the top 20 or so and I don’t think we ended up getting into a single of those genre festivals after all. So even professional advice doesn’t add up sometimes!
Did anything surprise you about the festival submission process?
It was surprising when I got a call from the director of a festival we were not selected to play who said that they loved my film but were overflowing with submissions this year and wanted instead to screen my film at two other festivals he runs – one in Las Vegas and one in LA that I had already submitted to actually.
Did you have any previous connections with any festivals that helped in your process?
Unfortunately not. The fest contacts that I have are more for shorts since that is what I had done before.
On attending and winning awards at festivals
How many festivals did you get to attend in person?
I attended four in person.
How many awards did Glass Casa end up winning?
Five awards including Best Picture, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Ensemble Cast.
What were the best parts about attending festivals?
I love to travel and see new places! Meeting fellow filmmakers and watching other indie films is awesome, but seeing my own film on the big screen and getting to see/hear the audience reactions is priceless!
Did audiences react in any unexpected ways to the film at screenings? What types of reactions?
There was a lot of laughter! Also everyone was surprised by the ending.
Did you have a favorite festival?
Aw man, that’s tough, I enjoyed them all!
How did you approach networking at festivals?
Honestly it was a bit tough at the first two fests I flew out for–one in Texas and one in Missouri–because I had my baby (three months and then five months old) with me. I guess having a baby strapped to my chest was a good conversation starter.
I would always approach the filmmakers from the films that I would see and praise them on their achievement and we’d swap contact info.
Did playing at festivals help with distribution or other opportunities?
Not at all (at least yet) unfortunately. I got distribution on my own.
Laa’s top advice for other indie filmmakers
If you could do the festival run over again, what (if anything) would you do differently?
I would spend a lot more time doing my own research and being more selective, maybe trying to make contacts with festival directors in advance.
What tips do you have for other indie filmmakers submitting to festivals?
Be selective, do your research, find the specific festivals that would want to screen your film, research by checking out what other films they’ve screened and if it’s similar to yours, and definitely be ready for a lot of rejections – it’s just part of the process.
Glass Casa’s Film Festival awards and nominations:
Boomtown Film and Music Festival 2024 – Winner: 1st Place Narrative Feature Film.
Erie International Film Festival 2024 – Official Selection.
Indie Vegas Film Festival 2025 – Winner: Best Supporting Actor: Anthony de la Cruz
Kansas City Filmfest International 2024 – Winner: Best Actress in a Lead Role – Harley Bronwyn.
San Diego Film Awards 2024 – Winner: Best Ensemble Cast; Nominee: Best Editing in a Narrative Feature Film, Best Supporting Actor in a Narrative Feature Film (Justin Michael Terry), Best Supporting Actress in a Narrative Feature Film (Nicole Clifford), Best Narrative Feature Film.
San Diego Independent Filmmakers Festival 2024 – Official Selection.
San Diego Movie Awards 2024
The Women’s Film Festival 2024 – Official Selection.