Festival or online hosting – What’s the best way to get your short film seen?

Directing duo Us talk CR through the benefits and challenges of screening their short film Cautionary Tales on the festival circuit and online

Luke Taylor and Christopher Barrett’s short film Cautionary Tales has notched up nearly 54k views on Vimeo since it was posted there three weeks ago. It’s a superb piece of work that offers a brief glimpse into the life of Aaron, a young man with a strange facial condition.

Surreal and yet heartwarming, it has already won over a legion of fans – but how did the pair go about getting the film in front of an audience? Is submitting work to film festivals worth the trouble if a video-hosting site can distribute your work to a potential audience of millions?

We talked to Us about taking the traditional festival route (Cautionary Tales has been awarded ‘Best Film’ at Liechtenstein Film Festival, ‘Best Script’ at Maniatic Film Festival and received a special mention for ‘Outstanding UK Short’ at Manchester Film Festival) and how they worked with Vimeo to ensure even more people could enjoy their work.