Submit your film
We watch everything that comes in. You'll get a reply within 2 working days either way, with a reason.
What to send
Required
- A screener link with password, valid for at least 30 days
- Logline — one or two sentences
- Synopsis — one page maximum
- Key credits: director, writer, producers, principal cast
- Runtime, country of production, completion status
- Budget, and current financing status
- Who owns the rights, and which are unencumbered
Helpful
- Festival submissions, selections or results
- Two or three comparable titles, and why
- Trailer, if there is one
- Any territories already sold, and on what terms
- What you want: worldwide, international, specified territories, estimates, testing
Please don't send
- Unfinished rough cuts without saying so
- Scripts alone, unless you're asking about estimates or packaging
- Followed-up follow-ups inside the reply window — we will get to it
What happens next
Within 2 working days — we confirm we've received it and give you a decision date.
Within 2 working days — a decision. Interested, not for us, or interested-with-conditions.
If we're interested — a call, then a written proposal covering commission, expense cap, term and territories.
If we're not — a short explanation, and where we'd suggest sending it instead.
We're taking a maximum of 5 films this year. If the slate is full we'll say so rather than keep you waiting.
If you're not ready to submit
In post and want to know how it plays — audience testing is the better first conversation. Audience testing
Not sure what you need — email joey@dawsonagents.com and describe the situation. A short honest reply is free.
Submit your film
Send your submission using the form below, or email us directly at joey@dawsonagents.com.
Two questions below matter more than the rest. Where the film is, and whether there's money in the budget for this work. Answer them honestly — a "no" doesn't disqualify you, it just changes what we'd suggest.
The calendar decides, not us
Buyers acquire in compressed windows around the markets. Working backwards from those windows is the only honest way to plan a sale.
Our cutoff is eight weeks before a market opens. That is what it takes to validate the audience, screen, recut, retest and build the campaign without rushing any part of it. For American Film Market (AFM) in November 2026, that means we need the film by September 2026. After that the next window is Ventana Sur in December 2026 — which is not a delay of a few weeks, it's a delay of a season.
| Market | Opens | We need the film by |
|---|---|---|
| American Film Market (AFM), Las Vegas | November 2026 | September 2026 |
| Ventana Sur, Buenos Aires | December 2026 | October 2026 |
| Sundance, Park City | January 2027 | November 2026 |
| European Film Market (EFM), Berlin | February 2027 | December 2026 |
| Hong Kong FILMART, Hong Kong | March 2027 | January 2027 |
| Marché du Film, Cannes | May 2027 | March 2027 |
| Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto | September 2027 | July 2027 |
Exact market dates shift from year to year, so we work in months here. Once you're talking to us we'll fix the day against that year's published dates.