Erin Brown Thomas submitted to movie festivals greater than 900 occasions earlier than she made it into the Harvard of indie cinema, AKA Sundance. Ask the multi-hyphenate “Chasers” filmmaker and inventive director of Salute Your Shorts Fest — an annual movie occasion that returned to Los Angeles this weekend (August 15-17) for its ninth yr — about her latest achievement, and she or he’ll offer you pithy recommendation like a personal tutor.
“A prophet’s going to prophet, even when there’s no revenue,” she just lately quipped of her ardour to IndieWire.
A psychologically lush episodic pilot shot as a 31-minute oner, “Chasers” sees Brown Thomas mirror on the numerous private {and professional} sacrifices she feels she needed to make to compete in leisure. The fearless filmmaker has confronted quite a lot of headwinds through the years however continues to seek out consolation within the Salute group, which balances artists with a singular POV and supporting authentically good work.
“Balancing conference with invention is without doubt one of the candy spots in our lineup at Salute,” defined Brown Thomas. “Our mantra has all the time been, ‘Movies with aftertaste.’ After we offer you a laurel, it means we consider you’ve a future. Every time somebody picks the festivals they’re submitting to, I all the time inform them they need to guarantee that that laurel they might win really means one thing. Ours completely does.”
Salute Your Shorts brings collectively a rising community of like-minded creators every summer season. Co-founded by Brown Thomas and Becky Murdoch in 2017, the small however mighty fest takes place on the Help League Theater in LA. “For eight of our 9 years, we’ve been in our present venue,” stated Brown Thomas. “Individuals would possibly realize it from ‘The Workplace,’ the TV present, as a result of Andy does a play there. But it surely’s nestled behind Dwelling Depot and Goal in Hollywood, with an exquisite projector and solely 300 seats.”
In 2025, lead organizer Brown Thomas, government director Elle Shaw, and programming director Lauren Reid Brown (Brown Thomas’ mom) obtained simply over 1,300 submissions for Salute. The workers, which additionally consists of programmers Jillian Corsie, Vincent DeLuca, and Kath Tolentino — and affiliate programmers Christopher Francis and Anna Lengthy — confirmed about 60 movies in 16 awards classes.
“Having somebody near you who actually believes in your factor, who will let you know that no matter pageant that rejected you is so silly and that they’re simply so fallacious, is important,” Brown Thomas stated of coping with rejection. “You want that. With distance, you’ll both be taught that you just weren’t prepared and also you’re bettering, or that they actually had been silly and so they had been fallacious, and hey! The individuals who love you knew that.”
The Help League Theater feels distinctly intimate and SoCal, however Salute Your Shorts pushes the boundaries of storytelling in a broader philosophical sense with its programming. IndieWire judged the style part and awarded the highest prize to Zoe Davidson’s “Clementine,” with “Two Individuals Exchanging Saliva” from Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata named as our runner-up.
Over time, acclaimed filmmakers — from the beloved Duplass brothers to the Daniels of “All the things In every single place All at As soon as” — have visited Salute. “A Lien” from government producer Adam McKay went onto the 97th Academy Awards and was on the pageant final yr. Salute goals to grow to be an Oscar-qualifying shorts fest sooner or later. Its documentary, animation, and narrative competitions are juried.
In honor of the ninth Salute Your Shorts Fest, IndieWire pays tribute to bite-sized movies with 9 important ideas for pageant submissions from Brown Thomas. Discover a full checklist of winners for SYSF 2025 beneath.
1. “Put Actual Effort into Your Profile on FilmFreeway”
As soon as you understand about FilmFreeway, your potential within the pageant world grows exponentially.
“Up till the day that I made a decision that I wished to make a movie pageant, I had solely been utilizing it as a filmmaker,” stated Brown Thomas. “Then, I did a bit of clicking round and I found out you possibly can create a movie pageant simply as simply as you possibly can create a movie profile. That’s really all it takes.”
Making a compelling first impression anyplace on-line might be time-consuming, however Brown Thomas says it’s particularly value it for artists on FilmFreeway. Not solely does the portal can help you discover new festivals, however it could possibly additionally assist you hold observe of who you’ve already paid to display screen your quick. In case you be taught {that a} sure sort of competitors isn’t working to your undertaking, you possibly can alter the varieties of festivals you’re submitting to — or enhance the impression you’re making by altering your profile first.
“A variety of filmmakers actually don’t use their web page to their benefit,” stated Brown Thomas, strolling IndieWire by her evolving appreciation of the software. Her first suggestion? “Not sufficient individuals put money into hiring a poster designer,” she stated. “Actually. Extra individuals will see your poster over the span of your profession than your film. Whether or not they’re on FilmFreeway or IMDB, that’s a truth.”
2. “Inform Your Movie’s Story, Whereas Understanding Your Viewers”
No quantity of promoting can repair a foul film, however as a programmer, Brown Thomas has realized you can “train” festivals methods to take into account your work whereas screening. “The primary viewers you’re advertising and marketing to is programmers,” she stated. “And you’ll present us methods to see your movie by the best way you select to speak about it and within the photographs you select to accompany your software.”
After you’ve completed your undertaking (and beefed up your profile and poster for FilmFreeway), Brown Thomas recommends completely combing your software to make sure that your enthusiasm shines by. Every time potential, filmmakers ought to goal to play festivals that wish to present their motion pictures — however that’s a two-way road and it’s essential to specific your earnest want for the chance.
“Look, there are many instances with Salute the place I haven’t cared that their poster was horrible, or no matter,” she stated. “However generally, you’ve to choose and it comes all the way down to feeling like you possibly can inform how a lot this filmmaker needs it, however ‘Oh, this individual looks like they simply submitted to submit.’”
3. “Do Your Analysis — and Don’t Fall for Scams”
Festivals can use smoke and mirrors too, after all. “Rip-off is a spectrum,” defined Brown Thomas. “On one far aspect, you’ve obtained the people who find themselves not following by on their fundamental guarantees. These are sometimes on-line occasions that both don’t exist or really feel completely totally different from what was marketed.”
It can save you your self quite a lot of problem by doing all your analysis, she continued. However for those who’ve submitted to a seemingly respectable pageant, and also you’re not getting good outcomes, there might be nefarious causes for that too. “With out naming names, there are many festivals that simply don’t put sufficient care into programming,” Brown Thomas stated. “Perhaps there’s much less rhyme or purpose as to what’s getting chosen, or it may very well be, ‘Oh, wow, these persons are actually solely deciding on their mates.’ That’s a model of a rip-off.”
There are festivals within the center too. “It may also be, ‘Nicely, this pageant is doing the whole lot it says it’s going to do, nevertheless it doesn’t add quite a lot of worth,’” she stated. “You’ll assume, ‘They’re good individuals, and so they imply nicely. However that laurel simply doesn’t imply sufficient.’ All the time ask, ‘Is that this how I wish to spend my cash?’”
4. “Choose Your Festivals with Function(s)”
Very similar to recruiters at universities, pageant organizers will take into account totally different standards relying on the lineup they’re programming for, and their selections can shift based mostly on any variety of components. You must have a matrix of concerns for when and the place you apply along with your movie, as nicely.
“One class of pageant that I positively assume is value submitting to is the Tax Deductible Trip,” Brown Thomas stated, laughing. “This can be a enterprise journey the place you’re going to have a beautiful time. Consider like, the Sedona Worldwide Movie Competition or the Hawaii Movie Competition. In case you’ve by no means been mountaineering alongside these stunning vistas, and also you assume you possibly can take your movie there, take your movie there.”
One other pageant sort to think about? One thing Brown Thomas likes to name “The Artist’s Date.” Citing two beloved occasions for the filmmaker — Crested Butte Movie Competition and Ouray Worldwide Movie Competition, each in Colorado — she stated, “They really feel virtually like a residency. These are rather well curated occasions the place the surroundings is gorgeous too. Very Julia Cameron, having a date along with your internal artist.”
Filmmakers must also hunt down the Better of the Finest Networking. Rubbing elbows with of us at Sundance helped achieve “Chasers” status, however Brown Thomas is aware of higher than most that you will discover crucial connections in every kind of locations. “Nice networking is often horizontal,” she stated. “You wish to play alongside actually good movies so the friends that you just meet are individuals you’ll really join with.”
5. “Programming Will Educate You What Sort of Filmmaker You Are”
Smaller fests are sometimes geared towards fostering native expertise, and that may be an excellent place to begin for those who’re simply getting began. (Heck, take a web page out of Brown Thomas’ e-book, and begin your personal occasion!) However based mostly in Los Angeles, Salute Your Shorts presents a singular problem to its programming workforce.
“My native viewers is individuals who make motion pictures,” stated Brown Thomas. “So, they’re going to be a lot tougher on sure issues. They’re going to be far more unforgiving about dangerous performing, for instance, the place as somebody in center America is likely to be OK with a extra novice efficiency if it’s for the story.”
Programmers see the world by a cinematic lens, and filmmakers do too. It was combining these skillsets that made Brown Thomas succeed, she stated. Honing the Salute schedule for almost a decade was important to her work on “Chasers,” and watching motion pictures will assist you determine what to make.
“What you select to champion again and again is revealing and teaches you one thing about your self,” stated Brown Thomas. “I actually suggest getting on the opposite aspect for those who love festivals.”
6. “Being Memorable Is Extra Vital Than Being Excellent”
Having been on a number of movie pageant juries, I can promise you individuals like Brown Thomas really like to stump for underdogs. For all her recommendation to remain bold and engaged with the movie group, the director is equally fast to emphasise not letting perfectionism get in your approach.
“At Salute, we’re extra involved with voice than polish,” the programmer stated. “Being memorable is extra essential than being excellent. As a result of there may very well be a movie that didn’t fairly work — but when what they had been making an attempt to do was fascinating, and it’s like 90 % there, and I can’t cease enthusiastic about it, then I wish to discover a solution to program it and I wish to discover a solution to present it.”
Requested for a few of her favourite pageant submissions, Brown Thomas listed “I’m Joyful, I Promise,” “The Burden,” “Starfuckers,” “Little Gray Bubbles,” and “The Theft” as standouts all through the years.
7. “Most Shorts Are Too Lengthy, however There’s a Candy Spot”
A brief doesn’t all the time need to pave the best way to a function, however length can significantly influence how smaller initiatives do on the pageant circuit. You’ll discover totally different recommendation on the market, and as all the time, there’s no accounting for style. However Brown Thomas provided distinctive perception into what works at Salute.
“I’ve all the time had a smooth spot for the longer ones, and I let you know, I discover that something over 22 minutes in our system typically doesn’t really feel too lengthy,” she stated. “I discover that issues continually really feel too lengthy between 15 and 22 minutes. Anybody who’s doing one thing over 22 minutes is aware of that their quick is freaking lengthy, however they often have some extent and so they’re doing the whole lot they will to maintain it as tight as potential.”
Sure, artists have a tough time killing their darlings — however that’s what makes movie aggressive.
“Pacing and understanding what to go away out are the biggest parts of craft that folks overlook,” Brown Thomas stated. “A variety of filmmakers don’t wish to reduce issues as a result of they will’t discover something that’s dangerous, particularly in comedy. However it’s a must to ask your self, ‘How lengthy does this idea deserve to be?’”
That stated, extra continues to be extra in terms of social media. After “Chasers” was accepted at Sundance, Brown Thomas went semi-viral on Instagram calling her solid and crew to inform them the nice information.
“Once I obtained the decision that we obtained in, I used to be hysterical and actually wished instantly that I had seen my reactions,” stated the director. “I turned to my husband and my mother who had been with me on the time, and I used to be like, ‘Begin recording me. I’m going to name all people.’ I made a reel out of everybody’s’s reactions that obtained quite a lot of consideration on-line. I known as a minimum of 40 individuals. We had three hours of footage.”
Sharing that pleasure with the web has allowed numerous followers, together with IndieWire, to comply with together with “Chasers” because it premiered at Sundance. Brown Thomas says she chooses to embrace social media as a method of “future-proofing” her profession and thinks different younger artists ought to do the sane. She posts successes as a lot as failures in an effort to all the time convey her audiences “alongside for the journey.”
“The creator economic system is probably the most foolproof approach that we now have of charting a path ahead,” Brown Thomas stated. It’s the one place we now have probably the most company. The wins, the losses, the educational alternatives, the, ‘Holy shit, I obtained fortunate!’s — your viewers needs to be invited into that.” And they’re your viewers.
“Actually, you might be assembling an viewers each time you will get over placing your face on digicam,” she stated. “That is one thing you might be in control of. As I’m going into my subsequent function, I do know I wish to share the whole lot that occurs to me on set as a result of it would hold me enthusiastic about tomorrow.”
9. “Salute Your Shorts!”
A palpable love of storytelling makes Brown Thomas virtually militantly optimistic about cinematic training and inventive chance. (Definitely, she’s as intense as anybody who co-founded an occasion known as Salute Your Shorts ought to be.) Nonetheless, the organizer recommends discovering time to chill out and benefit from the movie group. In case you’re championing the quick movie artwork type — even in your solution to a function! — then you must wish to perceive it and search individuals out who will help you soar.
“In 2026, I’d positively like to see an uptick in submissions as a result of it signifies that much more persons are discovering us,” stated Brown Thomas.” “We’re a very small workforce and we work actually arduous to make this occur. It’s finished by quite a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. It’s quite a lot of love that pulls us collectively.”
Under discover the entire checklist of winners for Salute Your Shorts Fest 2025.
Programmers Selection Award: “The Music Retailer” (dir. Joe Gillette)
- Honorable Point out, Programmers Selection: “The Life We Have” (dir. Sam Worth-Waldman)
Viewers Selection Award: “The Singers” (dir. Sam Davis)
- Runner-up: “Mildred 4 a Million” (dir. Kim Callaway)
Narrative Better of Fest: “Dwell” (dir. Mara Tamkovich)
- Honorable Point out: “The Singers” (dir. Sam Davis)
Finest Native Movie: “RAT!” (dir. Neal Suresh Mulani)
- Honorable Point out, Native Movie: “Public Freakout” (dir. Julia Bales)
Finest Comedy: “Bulldozer” (created by Joanna Leeds)
- Honorable Point out, Comedy: “Blueberry” (dirs. Emil Brulin & Hampus Hallberg)
Finest Drama: “Contours” (dir. Aisha Amin)
- Honorable Point out, Drama: “Corpse Fishing” (dir. Jean Liu)
Finest Style Movie: “Clementine” (dir. Zoe Davidson)
- Honorable Point out, Style: “Two Individuals Exchanging Saliva” (dirs. Alexandre Singh & Natalie Musteata)
Finest Tremendous Brief — Below 5 Minutes: “Candy Talkin’ Man” (dirs. Dylan & Spencer Wardwell)
- Honorable Point out, Tremendous Brief: “Quota” (dirs. Joris & Marieke Job)
Finest Animation: “Flower Present” (dir. Elli Vuorinen)
- Honorable Point out, Animation: “Dragfox” (dir. Lisa Ott)
Finest Documentary: “Monster Slayer” (dir. Catie Skipp)
- Honorable Point out, Documentary: “Pee Shy” (dir. Steven Brokaw Jackson)
Finest Experimental: “Kamikaze” (dir. Ray Smiling)
- Honorable Point out, Experimental: “On a Sunday at Eleven” (dir. Alicia Ok. Harris)
Particular Jury Award for Excellence in Directing: “Daly Metropolis” (dir. Nick Hartanto)
Finest Cinematography – Lighting and Temper: “The Singers” — cinematography by Sam Davis
Finest Cinematography – Creativity and Threat Taking: “Kamikaze” — cinematography by Timothy S. Jensen
Finest Cinematography – Motion and Perspective: “RAT!” — cinematography by Emerson Duggan
Finest Cinematography – Integration with Narrative: “Daly Metropolis” — cinematography by Guido Raimondo