We never get tired of getting the email from FilmFreeway with the subject, “Congrats on your Top 100 status!”
“According to reviews from real FilmFreeway users, your festival ranks in the top 1% of more than 14,000 film festivals and creative contests around the world. No doubt, this ranking is a testament to the countless hours of hard work and care that you and your staff have devoted to creating such a wonderful event.”
The Sherman Oaks Film Festival is held at the Look Cinema in Glendale, CA. State of the art DCP projection with leather recliners, food & beverage service, and top of the line sound!
Sherman Oaks Film Festival is proud to present expert panels on subjects that matter most to our indie film community. For the 2025 festival, we held two panels, Indie Film Distribution and Music In Indie Film.
Indie Film Distribution
If you want your film to reach audiences then you need to know as much about distribution as you do about filmmaking.
Panelists – Glen Reynolds, Marc Clebanoff & Danielle Schoenecker
Glen Reynolds
With 25 years in the indie film biz, he has produced, executive produced and co-produced 20 films and sold over 500 films. He founded Circus Road Films in 2006. (circusroadfilms.com)
Marc Clebanoff
As a Sales Agent, Marc Clebanoff has sold films to clients including Lionsgate, Sony, Fox, Showtime, Shudder, Netflix, Starz, Tubi TV, Peacock, Vertical Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Well Go USA, and distribution clients in 100+ countries worldwide. (odysseymotionpictures.com)
Danielle Schoenecker
Danielle is with YOW.tv, Hollywood is consolidating, legacy studios are being swallowed whole, and streaming giants are gutting their indie divisions. To combat these shifts, a group of filmmakers and industry professionals have joined forces to launch YOW.tv, a new streaming platform where independent film finally gets the spotlight it deserves. (YOW.tv)
Music in Indie Film
“What is the one thing you would like filmmakers to know about music in film before they start their next project?” That’s the question we are asking these movie music professionals.
Panelists: Catherine Joy, Robinton Hobbs, Tim Slowikowski & Aaron Hagele, Merchandise Music
Catherine Joy & Robinton Hobbs, Joy Music House. A next-generation score production company redefining the craft of music for film, television, games and other media. Founded and led by women, we provide the expertise, resources and collaboration needed to bring musical visions to life.
Tim Slowikowski & Aaron Hagele, Merchandise Music . Our love of storytelling + sound inspired us to launch Merchandise Music—a music supervision and consulting company pairing original, underused music.
“Aaron Hagele and Tim Slowikowski delivered one of our most engaging panels at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival. Their ‘Music in Indie Film’ discussion was packed with actionable advice and insider perspective that filmmakers could use immediately. Merchandise Music continues to be an invaluable resource for the indie film world.”
— Jeff Howard, SOFF Festival Runner
Best Feature Film – Abigail Before Beatrice
Best Featurette – Focal Point
Best Short Film – How The Rose Reaches
Best In Fest – determined by the festival’s official selection committee, this category was added to pander to important organizations that demand a festival give out awards not specific to genre/category.
Sherman Oaks FIlm Festival has combined forces with its sponsor YOW.tv to create an online presentation of our Official Selections from Dec 7 to Dec 22.
Full access is $9.99 to the public and can be accessed here.
This is when we mention that if you or your friends/family/collaborators pay ten bucks to view the 29 films that Opted In, then a nonprofit charity for the arts gets a little help with its annual budget.
Please share the link https://yow.tv/studio/discover-indie-film with anyone who loves excellent indie films!
2025 Official Selection: Screenplay – Series/Pilot
After shooting a teenage robber in her father’s liquor store, a sheltered Palestinian woman’s reality fractures; awakening a supernatural entity from her bloodline that forces her to face her greatest fear: surviving on her own in the most expensive city in the world.
The SOFF 2025 screenplay awards ceremony will be held on December 6 at 6PM at the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas.
2025 Official Selection: Screenplay – Series/Pilot
In 1985 New Jersey, an offbeat Black girl tries to decode the unwritten rules of her new suburban school — where cliques, crushes, and cultural expectations collide, and fitting in might mean losing yourself.
The SOFF 2025 screenplay awards ceremony will be held on December 6 at 6PM at the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas.
2025 Official Selection: Screenplay – Series/Pilot
Upon the death of her beloved cat, a young(ish) woman pursues a near death experience in hopes of reuniting with her in an afterlife, so that she might know whether they will be together in Eternity.
The SOFF 2025 screenplay awards ceremony will be held on December 6 at 6PM at the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas.
2025 Official Selection: Screenplay – Feature Film
When the bones of several missing women are uncovered along Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, FBI consultant and former Wyoming prosecutor Mary MacIntosh is called to assist a chaotic task force. As she unravels the dark psychology of a killer hiding in plain sight, Mac must balance federal politics, media frenzy, and her own trauma to bring justice to the victims – before the killer silences her next.
The SOFF 2025 screenplay awards ceremony will be held on December 6 at 6PM at the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas.
2025 Official Selection: Screenplay – Feature Film
A self-absorbed man discovers a way for non-verbal autistic people to “speak.” Suddenly able to reveal their hidden thoughts and feelings they give him a powerful wake-up call about his own life. Inspired by a true story.
The SOFF 2025 screenplay awards ceremony will be held on December 6 at 6PM at the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas.
Music in Indie Film
