Bias in Film Festival Judging

Filmmaking Contest Biases

I’ve joined two filmmaking contests recently, and honestly, I can't accept the outcomes. Because these competitions come with prizes, it seems most organizers are focused on spreading the rewards around rather than genuinely evaluating the work. As someone who’s passionate about the craft and wants to be challenged on skill—not prizes—I work to create films that follow the rules and showcase my simplest and best.

I wouldn't be as frustrated if I saw entries winning that were genuinely better than mine in terms of execution. But let’s be real—when you look closely, it’s painfully obvious they’re just trying to even out the awards. Some of these so-called "winning" entries have sloppy production, weak storytelling, and lack that polished edge. Yet they still walk away with the major prizes. I find it insulting when the organizers try to defend these choices as fair. It’s laughably clear at times.

I get it—they want to appear impartial and inclusive. But in bending over backward to "be fair," they’re actually creating bias and cheapening the competition. Real talent and true filmmaking expertise are overlooked, and those of us who pour our passion and skill into our work get devalued because of these absurd decisions. Sure, filmmaking is subjective, but sometimes you can see the “cooking” behind the scenes.

Anyway, it’s done now. It happened. Screw it.