View source for FilmFreeway

{{Short description|Website for film festival submissions}}
{{Infobox website
| name = FilmFreeway
| logo = FilmFreewayLogo.jpg
| parent = Backstage
| url = {{URL|https://filmfreeway.com}}
| commercial = Yes
| type = [[Film]]
| language = English
| founded = 2014
| country = US
| area_served = Worldwide
| current_status = Active
}}
'''FilmFreeway''' is a website platform for [[filmmaker]]s to submit their films to [[film festival]]s globally for selection consideration.

== History ==
Started in Canada in 2014 as a four-person startup, FilmFreeway steadily grew in competition to the much larger [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]]-owned company, [[Withoutabox]]. Until that time, Withoutabox had a virtual monopoly on the digital film festival submission process. With the closing in September 2019 of Withoutabox, FilmFreeway became the most popular film submission platform, followed closely by [[Festhome]] and [[Shortfilmdepot]].<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Flat |first=Chris |date=22 October 2018 |title=FilmFreeway Defeated Amazon's Withoutabox Monopoly, and Film Festival Submissions Will Never Be the Same |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/10/film-festival-submission-filmfreeway-withoutabox-amazon-1202014229/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623063528/https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/film-festival-submission-filmfreeway-withoutabox-amazon-1202014229/ |archive-date=23 June 2023 |access-date=7 October 2023 |work=[[IndieWire]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson-Moore |first=Oakley |date=24 August 2014 |title=With Free Online Screeners, Is FilmFreeway Braced to Become Withoutabox's Serious Competition? |language=en |work=No Film School |url=https://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/free-online-screeners-filmfreeway-withoutabox-competition |url-status=live |access-date=7 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715044126/https://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/free-online-screeners-filmfreeway-withoutabox-competition |archive-date=15 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 May 2017 |title=Freestyle Submission: FilmFreeway Seeks to Box Out Competitors With User-Friendly Features |language=en |work=[[MovieMaker]] |url=https://www.moviemaker.com/filmfreeway/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321174328/https://www.moviemaker.com/filmfreeway/ |archive-date=21 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ferrari |first=Alex |date=31 May 2016 |title=Decoding WithoutaBox & Film Freeway – Film Festival Hacks Podcast: 002 |language=en |work=Indie Film Hustle |url=https://indiefilmhustle.com/withoutabox-film-freeway-film-festival-hacks/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614120337/https://indiefilmhustle.com/withoutabox-film-freeway-film-festival-hacks/ |archive-date=14 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-22 |title=Here Are 9 Tips to Tell If a Film Festival Is Worth the Entry Fee |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/film-festival-submissions-advice-74766/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=www.backstage.com |language=en}}</ref>

FilmFreeway was acquired by the [[Backstage (magazine)|Backstage]] publication and entertainment-industry portal in September 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FilmFreeway |date=14 September 2021 |title=FilmFreeway Acquired by Backstage |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/filmfreeway-acquired-by-backstage-301376568.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104092317/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/filmfreeway-acquired-by-backstage-301376568.html |archive-date=4 November 2021 |access-date=7 October 2023 |website=[[PR Newswire]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
FilmFreeway has been criticized in the past for not addressing fraudulent, scam and pseudo film festivals on their platform.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FilmFreeway Addressing Fraudulent Film Festivals |url=https://www.submittingtofilmfestivals.com/filmfreeway/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=Submitting to Film Festivals |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ritman |first=Katie Kilkenny,Alex |date=2019-10-31 |title=“People Can Be Exploited”: How Below-the-Radar Film Festivals Prey on Struggling Moviemakers |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/how-below-radar-film-festivals-can-prey-struggling-filmmakers-1250714/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

FilmFreeway has since invested significantly in auditing existing festivals and adding additional screening measure to prevent fraudulent festivals from signing up and receiving submissions from Filmmakers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Toigo |first1=Matt |title=Our Commitment to Ensuring a Safe and Trusted Platform |url=https://filmfreeway.com/help/article/16095/our-commitment-to-ensuring-a-safe-and-trusted-platform |website=FilmFreeway |access-date=5 June 2025}}</ref>
== See also ==

* [[Festhome]]
* [[Shortfilmdepot]] 
* [[Withoutabox]] (defunct) 
* [[Film festival]] 
* [[List of film festivals]] 
* [[List of fantastic and horror film festivals]]
* [[List of documentary film festivals]]
* [[List of short film festivals]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://filmfreeway.com}}

[[Category:2014 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:2021 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2014]]
[[Category:Canadian film websites]]