Learn from Crickett Rumley, award-winning filmmaker coach and festival strategist who has guided shorts to Sundance, Tribeca, the Student Academy Awards, and beyond!

Plus, receive a downloadable Short Film Monetization Guide—packed with strategies to maximize your audience, festival run, and distribution potential!

When you pour your heart, time, and resources into a short film, you want it to do more than just exist—you want it to work for you. You want it to reach people, elevate your career, and ideally, put some money back in your pocket. But in a landscape where thousands of shorts are released every year, understanding how to strategically monetize your project isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. This webinar is designed to help you see the full financial and professional potential of your short film and finally take action on opportunities you may not even realize you have.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your film is even marketable, struggled to find the right audience, or felt lost navigating festivals, platforms, or distribution options, you’re not alone. Many filmmakers hesitate because they’re unsure who will watch their film, how to engage the right viewers, or how to actually earn money during a festival run through prizes, competitions, screening fees, or high-value award opportunities. You may also be unsure how to approach online distribution—questioning what should be free, what should be paid, and whether major streamers or news outlets are even realistic targets. Add to that the complexity of rights, clearances, marketing materials, and the time and resources required, and it’s easy to see why so many filmmakers leave money—and momentum—on the table.

That’s why you’ll be learning from Crickett Rumley, a powerhouse educator and consultant who has helped filmmakers take their shorts all the way to Sundance, Tribeca, and the Student Academy Awards. With a deep background in festival strategy and filmmaker development, Crickett brings unmatched insight from both sides of the festival world—serving on the board of the Film Festival Alliance, chairing their Education Committee, and programming panels and masterclasses for Tallgrass. She’s taught and spoken at major festivals across the country, and her coaching has led to nominations and wins at the BAFTA Student Film Awards, the DGA Student Film Awards, the College Television Awards, and more. When it comes to monetizing, maximizing, and elevating your short film, you’re learning from one of the best in the industry.

In this webinar, you’ll break down exactly how to identify and engage your audience, evaluate whether your film is monetizable, and understand how to make the most of your festival run. You’ll explore online distribution options—from free platforms to SVOD and TVOD—and learn creative ways to build your own distribution paths through events, partnerships, or even merchandise. You’ll also clarify the rights, contracts, and marketing materials you need to monetize effectively. By the end, you’ll walk away with a clear, actionable roadmap for how to generate real value—financial, professional, and strategic—from your short film.

• Know Your Audience

• Is your film’s subject matter a good fit for monetization?

• How to identify who wants to watch your film and why

• How to engage your audience

• How to Monetize Your Film Festival Run 

• Prizes

• Pitch competitions 

• In-kind trades 

• Screening fees

• Awards Competitions

• How to distinguish between low value awards and high value opportunities

• For Students Only

• For Your Consideration: if your film gets Oscar-qualified

• Opportunities with Online Platforms

• Exposure vs. Monetization 

• Free public platforms

• SVOD and TVOD platforms

• Online news outlets

• Major Streamers

• Thinking Outside the Box

• Create Your Own Online Distribution

• Create Your Own Theatrical Distribution

• Alternative events, organizations, and spaces

• Merchandise 

• Do you have what you need to monetize?

• Rights and Clearances 

• Legal Considerations for Distribution Contracts

• Marketing and Social Media materials

• Time and resource management 

• Q&A with Crickett

• Filmmakers who want to earn revenue from their short films

• Students creating shorts for school programs or competitions

• Directors, writers, and producers preparing to launch a festival run

• Creatives unsure how to identify or engage the right audience

• Filmmakers exploring online distribution or self-distribution options

• Anyone considering pitching, entering awards competitions, or pursuing Oscar qualification

• Filmmakers who need clarity on rights, clearances, and legal considerations

• Creatives looking to maximize exposure without sacrificing monetization opportunities

• Anyone who wants a practical, step-by-step strategy to get real value—financial or career-building—from their short film