Alright, so you make an indie film. Maybe, like me, you are self-distributing thus you do not care about some distrib exec watching yer film at the fest & picking it up & possibly making you rich (well, at least a tiny, tiny bit more than before) & the movie famous (at least a little). So, on that front you can ignore fests & go on with your DIY screenings. BUT, there are many, many, many, many, many festivals. And festivals are a gathering place for film enthusiasts and the press (also hot, intelligent members of the gender you like to play with who think indie filmmakers are sexy?). So, participating in a festival maybe fun (i have not been attracted enough to festivals to try to participate in them thus far with Date Number One , but i have done a few group screenings in the past with other movies, & those were fun) and you may get a cool critic at a big local paper writing a nice review about your little film out of the deal. From what I can tell most indi...