Festivals


UPCOMING FILM FESTIVALS

Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival

January 9-11, 2008

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the largest environmental film festical in the United States. This festival sits apart from the hundreds of festivals around the world by leaving you feeling INSPIRED and MOTIVATED to go out and make a difference in your community and the world. At the festival, you’ll LEARN new ideas from a selection of inspiring environmental films with hardhitting topics including bioengineering, water issues, wilderness preservation, citizen activism, and more. You’ll EXPERIENCE the adrenalin of kayaking the wildest rivers, climbing the highest peaks, and trekking across the globe with adventure films around the world. You’ll EXPLORE the issues and movements with leading environmental activists and professionals, filmmakers, and celebrities. And you’ll CELEBRATE the natural and wild world with 9+ venues of films and workshops, children's Saturday morning cartoons, art shows, wine tastings, VIP parties, and awards ceremony.

The main festival takes place in January and then begins touring. On September 26-28, 2008 the festival will be stopping in Bozeman, Montana. For more information about the festival tours click here.

15th Annual Slamdance Film Festival

January 15-23

The 15th Annual Slamdance Film Festival will be held January 15-23, 2009. The Slamdance Film Festival is the preeminent festival whose sole mission is to nurture, support and showcase truly independent works. Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering new films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Slamdance’s goal is to strengthen its year-round efforts in support of these artists and to leverage its name and reputation for the further development of other Slamdance media components.

As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new independent artists and their cinematic vision. Slamdance is now accepting submissions for the 2009 festival.

Early Submission Deadline: August 25th
Final Submission Deadline: October 10th

Visit www.slamdance.com for more information.


Sundance Film Festival

Park City, UT | January 15-25

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. The festival is the premier showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the Sundance Online Film Festival.

Early Submission Deadline:
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS
Monday, August 18th, 2008 - $35 Entry Fee
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES
Monday, August 18th, 2008 - $45 Entry Fee

Official Submission Deadline:
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS
Friday, September 5th, 2008 - $50 Entry Fee
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES
Monday, September 8th, 2008 - $75 Entry Fee

Late Submission Deadline:
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS
Friday, September 19th, 2008 - $75 Entry Fee
U.S. & INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES
Monday, September 22nd, 2008 - $100 Entry Fee

Please note that the above dates are not postmark deadlines-- they are the dates by which your film MUST be received. If your film does not arrive by the deadline for which you have registered, you will be prompted to make an additional payment in order to bring your account up to date. For more information on eligibility requirements and how to submit visit www.sundance.org/submissions.

Spokane International Film Festival

February 5-15, 2009

The Spokane International Film Festival, now in its eleventh year, is a small, selective festival of world-class films. They are chosen from the very best features, documentaries and shorts that have been made around the world during the past two years but have not yet been commercially released for wide distribution. In fact they are the same films as those seen each year at the Cannes, New York or Toronto film festivals, and our programmers travel widely to screen and select them.

A major attraction of the festival is the presence of the filmmakers and stars themselves as our guests. They meet the audiences, share their own stories and anecdotes about the making of their films, and answer questions from audience members. The discussions are lively and educational and a favorite part of the festival for both filmmaker and audience. To learn more about this festival visit www.spokanefilmfestival.org.

Earlybird Deadline – September 1, 2008
Regular Deadline – October 1, 2008
Late Deadline – November 1, 2008
Extended Deadline - November 15, 2008




Boulder International Film Festival

February 12-15, 2009

The Boulder International Film Festival will be celebrating four days of controversy, spice, color, laughter, outrage, adventure, ideas, culture and community February 12 – 15, 2009. This festival is sponsored by the Colorado Film Society, is held annually on President's Day Weekend in Boulder, Colorado, and has developed a reputation as one of the most influential young film festivals in the U.S., with an extraordinary number of new-but-unknown feature films, documentaries and shorts that have gone on from early screenings at BIFF to significant box-office success and multiple Oscar nominations. Over 13,000 filmmakers, national media, special guests and film enthusiasts attended the four-day BIFF 2008. Fore more information visit www.biff1.com/Index.html.


2009 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

February 13-22, 2009 | Missoula, Montana

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West. From February 13-22, 2009 the festival will screen 100 films, including world and U.S. premieres, classics, rare and experimental works on Montana's largest screen at the historic Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula, Montana. In addition to ten days of screenings, the event will feature many public and VIP events including panel discussions, galas, receptions and networking round-tables.The competitive event is open to non-fiction films and videos of all genres, subject matter, lengths and production dates. Awards and cash prizes will be given for Best Documentary Feature (over 50 minutes), Best Documentary Short (15-50 minutes), Best Mini-Doc (under 15 minutes) and best documentary about the American West (the "Big Sky Award"). For more information visit www.bigskyfilmfest.org.

The entry deadlines are as follows:
Early Deadline - July 1, 2008
Regular Deadline - September 1, 2008
Final Deadline - October 20, 2008

We hope to see you at this year's Big Sky Documentary Film Festival!

Doug Hawes-Davis, Festival Programmer
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
131 South Higgins Avenue, Suite 307
Missoula, Montana 59802
(406) 541- FILM (3456)

Los Angeles Italian Film Festival

February 15-21, 2009

The Los Angeles Italian Film Festival includes daily screening, art and photo exhibition, fashion exhibits and much more.The Festival, celebrating the Italian Cinema, Fashion and Art in America, is produced by the Capri in the World Institute in association with Cim Group-USA.Under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italian Embassy in the USA and the Campania Region of Italy. Visit www.losangelesitalia.com for more information.

True False Film Festival

February 16 - March 1, 2009

The True False Film Festival highlights innovative work with a cinematic scope, creative takes on contemporary currents, and most of all work that provokes dialogue about its subject and the documentary form itself. For four days, downtown Columbia, Missouri is transformed into a small-town Midwestern utopia. Most films come freshly discovered from Sundance, Toronto and other festivals, others appear mysteriously before their official premieres elsewhere. Sandwiched between the nonstop movies, we throw parties, host debates and field trips, and challenge local filmmakers to reimagine the possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking. For more information about this festival visit www.truefalse.org.

Native American Film & Video Festival

March 26 - 29, 2009

The internationally-recognized Native American Film & Video Festival is a noncompetitive showcase of film, video and audio productions. The festival will be celebrating 30 years of screening outstanding Native film and media in New York, NY on March 26-29, 2009. The submission deadline is September 18, 2008. Visit www.nativenetworks.si.edu/nn.htm to learn more about this event.

11th Method Fest Seeks 2009 Submissions

March 26 - April 2, 2009

The 11th annual Method Fest independent film festival, scheduled for March 26 - April 2, 2009 in Calabasas, is looking for character and story-driven films featuring strong acting performances. The Method Fest features American and foreign feature films and short films and is named after "The Method" school of acting, which revolutionized the approach in acting, particularly in film.

Deadlines for film submissions for the 11th annual The Method Fest are:
Early Bird: October 1, 2008
Early Deadline: December 1, 2008
Late Entry: January 31, 2009 (all postmarked)

Entry fees are: $40 Early Bird entry; $50 Regular entry; $60 Late entry, for features; $30 Early Bird entry; $35 Regular entry; $45 Late entry for short films; student entries are $20 Early Bird entry; $25 Regular and Late Entry. Screen formats accepted are 35 mm, DigiBetaCam and HDCam. For film submission information call (310) 535-9230. Filmmakers are encouraged to register through www.withoutabox.com. For more information on the festival visit www.methodfest.com.


8th Annual Tribeca Film Festival
Call for Entries

April 22 - May 3, 2009

Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan through an annual celebration of film, music and culture. The Festival’s mission is to help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.

The Tribeca Film Festival has announced a Call for Submissions for narrative and documentary features as well as for short film entries. TAA has announced a call for qualifying feature length scripts and documentary works-in-progress.

DEADLINES to submit U.S. and International films for the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival are:
September 15, 2008 – Submissions open (at 3pm est)
November 14, 2008 – Early deadline, features and shorts
December 15, 2008 – Official deadline, all features and shorts completed in 2008
January 12, 2009 – Late deadline, features still in post production and completed after official deadline

Starting September 15, 2008 at 3pm submission forms and complete information regarding eligibility for the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival will be available at www.tribecafilm.com/festival. Questions regarding submissions may be directed to entries@tribecafilmfestival.org or by calling 212.941.2305.

52nd San Francisco International Film Festival

April 23 - May 7, 2009

Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Held each spring for two weeks, the International festival is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country’s most beautiful city, featuring some 200 films and live events with more than 100 filmmakers in attendance and nearly two dozen awards presented for cinematic excellence. The Festival attracts an annual audience of more than 80,000. This year's festival takes place April 23–May 7, 2009. For more information about how to submit your film to the 2009 festival visit www.sffs.org/sfiff/how_to_enter09.html


Buffalo Niagara Film Festival Call for Entries

May 1-10, 2009

The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival (BNFF) is now accepting film, screenwriting, and music video submissions for all categories, even the Industry Pro for May 2009's upcoming events that will now run 10 consecutive days - two full weekends, from May 1-10, 2009, to celebrate film and musical events from WNY and from around the world. We encourage all participants to take advantage of our early submission deadlines that can be found on our website through Withoutabox at www.BuffaloNiagaraFilmFestival.org and take advantage of our early business packages by calling 716-827-3534.

The BNFF's 2009 focus on high profile events such as a major celebration for George Lucas' "American Graffiti" (hundreds of cars, showgirls and special guests), reunion for Garry Marshall's acclaimed TV Series "Happy Days", special accreditation to members and affiliates of the Master of Horror; Alfred Hitchcock, a John Wayne Anniversary, dozens of world premiers, dancing girls, distribution and executive spotlights, non-stop action from beginning to end, and our festivals expansion from 6 to 10 days, the BNFF is going to be a fun-filled celebrity friendly festival and market with, film concerts, incredible guest appearances, top industry workshops, seminars, panels, stunt teams, landmark and historical related events, 10's of thousands of dollars in production and cash prizes, and more action than Jackie Chan can shake a stick at.

So don't miss this incredible opportunity and register with us today and get your discounts. The BNFF, heart, soul, and mind, is surely going to shine above its kind in 2009.


32nd International Wildlife Film Festival & Call for Entries

May 9-16, 2009

The 32nd International Wildlife Film Festival Global Vision: Wild in Focus is the premier film venue that celebrates wildlife and natural history programming from a global perspective. As an international film and conservation media center for filmmakers, broadcasters, scientists, educators, and students, IWFF provides a unique opportunity for the sharing of ideas and the development of proactive projects that impact what happens to our planet. IWFF is a unique opportunity to engage public audiences, to learn about trends in filmmaking - technology, cinematography and wildlife production as well as to participate in dynamic seminars and workshops that focus on wildlife, conservation and the natural world. This year's Tarkio Retreat will be held on May 13, 2009, and will focus on Wildlife Entrepreneurship. The 5th Annual Tarkio Retreat will be moderated by Chris Palmer, Director of American University's Center for Environmental Filmmaking.

January 31, 2009 is the call for entry deadline. (Late entry fee of 20% for all film entries received after deadline. *Final cut-off date is February 9, 2009).Our two-month judging process begins in February and filmmakers are notified via email as to the status of their films' progress through this intensive judging process. See Entry Guidelines, Category Descriptions & Entry Fees, plus Festival Highlights at http://www.wildlifefilms.org/festivals/.


Cannes Internationl Film Festival

May 13-24, 2009

The Festival de Cannes is the most important film event in the world, with more than 4,000 journalists among the 30,000 accreditees, representing the entire spectrum of the motion-picture industry. The Festival de Cannes reflects the dual nature of cinema at the crossroads of art and industry, and favours both cinema revelations and professional encounters. For if the Festival principally evokes the surprise of the Selection and the expectation of the final awards, it is equally the privileged rendezvous of all motion-picture industry professionals who attend its Marché du Film.

The Festival, moreover, develops actions in support of cinematic creation throughout the world. Twenty years after having created the Caméra d'Or, the prize awarded to the best first film, all selections combined, the Festival created in 1998 the Cinéfondation to accompany young filmmakers along the various stages of their creative careers, from their projects to the making of their films. The role of the Festival de Cannes has thus grown rich over the course of the years to the rhythm of the evolution of cinema itself: selecting and promoting films and artists, welcoming professionals, implementing new sets of dynamics in support of creation... in a word, serving the cinema in all its dimensions.

To learn more about the Cannes International Film Festival visit www.festival-cannes.com.



Mountainfilm in Telluride

May 22-25, 2009

Mountainfilm is America’s premier festival celebrating achievement in mountain, adventure, culture and environment. It is a four-day event that attracts filmmakers, photographers, conservationists, mountaineers and explorers from around the world. Our audiences also come from around the world to gather in theaters that range from historical to state-of-the-art in the box canyon of Telluride, Colorado and the gondola-linked town of Mountain Village. We accept and screen films - doc and narrative, feature and short - on a broad range of subjects. We like quirky causes and indomitable spirit.

Deadlines for Submissions:
December 14, 2008 - EARLY $50
January 14, 2009 - STANDARD $60
February 14, 2009 - FINAL $70
February 14, 2009 - NEW SHORT FILMS (20 minutes or less) $25

Fore more information about this festival visit www.mountainfilm.org/index.asp.

5th Annual MisCon Short Film Festival

May 22-25, 2009 | Missoula, MT

The Fifth Annual MisCon Short Film Festival accepts submissions from filmmakers from around the world who seek an audience appreciative of the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Where better to find such an audience than at a popular Science Fiction Convention? Every year MisCon grows and, with it, the opportunity for filmmakers to share their stories with a greater number of people. This year we are adding an exciting new element to the Convention's video fare: A chance, not only to be seen, but to win cash and other prizes!

As long as your submission meets the entry requirements, every effort will be made to get your work shown regardless of whether or not it makes it into the Competition. For more information about submitting your film visit www.miscon.org.


12th Brooklyn International Film Festival

June 5-14, 2009

The Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF), is an International, competitive festival for and by independent filmmakers. BIFF mission is to discover, expose, and promote independent film makers while drawing worldwide attention to Brooklyn. For more information about the festival visit http://www.wbff.org

BiFF is now accepting entries for the annual festival. Submission deadlines are:
Early Deadline: Postmarked by November 30th, 2008 (entry fee $30)
Final Deadline: Postmarked by March 15, 2009 (entry fee $50)

Postmarked by = Submission packages can be mailed until the day of the deadline.


SILVERDOCS Film Festival Call for Entries

June 15-22, 2009

SILVERDOCS is an eight day internationally recognized film festival that celebrates independent thinking and generates global media attention. The Festival features 100 films, representing over 45 countries, and awards over $80,000 in cash and prizes. SILVERDOCS supports the diverse voices and free expression of independent storytellers and fosters the power of documentary to enhance our understanding of the world. Anchored in the National Capital Region, where important global and national issues are the daily business, SILVERDOCS is marked by its relevance, broad intellectual range, and wide public appeal. SILVERDOCS was created through a unique alliance between AFI and the Discovery Channel, the festival’s Founding Sponsor.

The AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival is now accepting entries for Documentary Features and Shorts for the annual SILVERDOCS festival. Documentaries should have been completed on or after March 2007, and not screened on television or theatrically in the US prior to the Festival.

Preview Formats:
DVD (NTSC or PAL)

Deadlines:
Early - January 9
Regular - February 13
Late - March 6

SILVERDOCS takes place at the AFI Silver Theatre, the flagship theatre of the AFI, one of the premier film exhibition spaces in the country, and the top art house cinema in the region, and at Discovery Communications World Headquarters. For more information about the festival visit www.silverdocs.com.



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