2012 James River Shorts Call for Entries

2012 JAMES RIVER SHORTS, NOV. 29-DEC. 1, 2012

CLOSED

REGULAR DEADLINE: September 1, 2012 (postmarked)
LATE DEADLINE: September 30, 2012 (postmarked)

UP TO $2,000 IN PRIZES!

2012 JAMES RIVER SHORT ENTRY FORM

GUIDELINES

WHAT IS JAMES RIVER SHORTS?

James River Shorts is a mini-festival devoted to the short. The centerpiece is a juried competition for short films (30 minutes or less) from around the globe that best embody what the James River Film Society and James River Film Festival are all about – the art of film and film as art. It’s also the James River Film Festival’s little sibling. Even a snapshot of the guests from past 19 years of the JRFF – Ross McElwee, Jodie Mack, Stan Brakhage, Karen Aqua, Charles Burnett, Ray Harryhausen, Martha Colburn, Skip Elsheimer, Albert Maysles, Ken Jacobs, the Brothers Quay, Peggy Ahwesh – shows that we have a broad concept of the art of film and film as art. Therefore, we encourage all types of short films – fiction, nonfiction, animation, experimental and more. We define short, you define art.

ENTRY CRITERIA

Films made for commercial or industrial purposes are not eligible. All entries in a language other than English must be subtitled or dubbed in English unless dialog is unessential to comprehension and appreciation. Maximum running time is 30 min.

SCREENING FORMATS

For pre-screening purposes, send DVDs or URLs for online content. Please do not send film prints for pre-screening. During the festival works can be screened on 16mm, miniDV, Quicktime, Blu-ray or standard DVD.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

Please do not send additional promotional materials at this time. 300 dpi stills will be requested for all entries selected for screening during the festival.

SHIPPING

Please do not use fiber-filled envelopes. We love our gear to much to ruin it by putting paper fibers in them. International entires must be marked “For Cultural Purposes Only — No Commercial Value.” The festival will not pay for import duty or taxes. All entries should be sent to James River Shorts, P.O. Box 7469, Richmond, VA 23221. If shipping with courier services that will not deliver to post office boxes, send to James River Film Society@Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 W. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23220.

CATEGORIES

Our festival is designed to have no regard for traditional categories like fiction, nonfiction, animation or experimental. For the festival we will select the films that we feel best represent the art of film and film as art, regardless of type or category.

SELECTION AND SCREENING

Entrants will be notified of their entry status by Nov 5. A jury of area filmmakers and film educators will pre-screen and select the finalists, whose work will be featured at our Friday, November 30 James River Shorts showcase at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. A special guest filmmaker or film curator (TBA) will make final decisions about awards at the Nov. 30 screening of James River Shorts finalists at the VMFA.

AWARDS

Cash and in-kind awards will be given for first, second, and third places, best Virginia film, and the audience will vote on a People’s Choice Award. For the last competitive festival (2011 James River Shorts), these awards totaled $2,000.

RETURN OF PREVIEW AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

DVD screeners will not be returned.

2012 JAMES RIVER SHORT ENTRY FORM