I am thinking about doing a short. Does anyone have advice on festivals, financing or other words of wisdom?

Thanks in advance.

Never sure if anything I say could get filed under the heading 'wisdom' - but here's my take on it.

Shorts...
I guess the main thing you have to ask yourself is "why" are you thinking of making a short?
You'll make no money. You make no money as crew on a short. You make no - or precious little - as an owner of a short.
So if your reason is to make some money then you're better off looking at something else.

Which then begs the question, if there's no money to be made... why do people make shorts and why should I?
The usual answer is to either showcase their talent(s) or to learn.

Which then moves the question onto... what're you gonna showcase through a short?

I've been a Line producer and 1st AD longer than I care to remember... and no matter how good or bad the job you do... few to no one looks at what it takes to do any job except director, writer, DP or cast...

Now... as this is a forum for Line Producers... seems to me that a short wouldn't necessarily be of much benefit unless you're just starting out and trying to learn the ropes or maybe move from one discipline to another.

The other big piece of advice I'd give on making a short is this - spend as close to zero as it's humanly possible to get the job done.
Like i said at the beginning, there's about zero chance of making any money at all from a short (I know people can... and do... but we're talking the overwhelming general truth not spurious exceptions). So with there being little or no chance of a financial return... you need to invest accordingly.