FREE FILM FESTIVAL DIRECTORY

Including Fest’s with Screenplay Competitions

It’s Film Festival season once again dear Film Freaks. Which will you submit to and attend?

If you perform your own Google search you’ll find a number of commercial websites that provide a Directory of Film Festivals. To save you the time and frustration, I’ve provided you with the following Link to IMDB’s Film Festival Directory, which is rather extensive. Please note that some of these Fest’s do conduct Screenplay competitions, though in IMDB’s Directory they do not indicate which of them do or do not. If you have a Finished Short Film, Feature Film, or work in process, this directory can be of immense help. Proceeding the IMDB Link I have provided my own FILM FREAKS Directory of Festivals that do conduct Screenplay Competitions of various kinds.

IMDB FILM FESTIVAL DIRECTORY
http://www.imdb.com/festivals/

FILM FREAKS Directory
of Film Fest Screenplay Competitions

NOTE: Descriptions are provided by each Festival Promoter as displayed in Search Engine results. Some Fest’s listed have run their course for the year, they have been included in order that you might know of their existence for future reference. --- Also note that some are Genre specific; some are take Shorts only.

DISCLAIMER: This Directory is provided to you as a resource only. No guarantee of the quality of any one of these Festivals is implied. The order they appear in is random and is not indicative of any preference on the part of Rick Denny or FILM FREAKS ASYLUM. Please conduct your own research of and for each Festival in advance of submitting your Screenplay(s) to them.

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL
Competition dedicated to recognizing the writer's contribution to the motion picture industry.
www.austinfilmfestival.com/


RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The top prize in the 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition will go to .... To read more and see the list of winners, ...
www.film-festival.org/enterascreenplay.php


EERIE HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
An annual screenplay competition and film festival that takes place in Erie, Pennsylvania.
www.eeriehorrorfilmfestival.com/


SHRIEKFEST
Shriekfest, the Los Angeles International Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Festival & Screenplay Competition,...
www.shriekfest.com/


VAIL FILM FESTIVAL
www.vailfilmfestival.org/


NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL
Innovative film festival celebrating screenwriters. Features include submission information, volunteer opportunities, tickets and upcoming schedule.
www.nantucketfilmfestival.org/


PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL
Phoenix Film Festival Arizona Screenplay Challenge ...
www.phoenixfilmfestival.org/pages/section-view.php?id=109


WATERFRONT FILM FESTIVAL
Announcing the fifth Waterfront Screenplay Competition, ... and movie-goers for making the 10th annual Waterfront Film Festival an AMAZING success! ...
www.waterfrontfilm.org/


BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL
Big Apple Festival Screenplay Competition. 2009 Rules and Regulations: ... is reviewing all contest entries for our screenplay competition. ...
bigapplefilmfestival.com/screenplaycompetition.html


QUEEN’S INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
QiFF - 6th Queens International film festival: November, 6-9 2008 - festival info - screenplay competition finalists -
www.queensfilmfestival.com/festival/screenplay/


L.A. COMEDY SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL
See a list of the Finalists for the 2009 L.A. Comedy Scripts Screenplay Competition! ...
www.lacomedyshorts.com/scripts/scripts.htm


BIG BEAR LAKE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Now accepting films and screenplays for our 2009 festival!...
www.bigbearlakefilmfestival.com/


APPALACHIAN FILM FESTIVAL
Appalachian Film Festival Film and Screenplay 2009 Competition Guidelines. 2009 Rules for Screenplay Submission...
www.appyfilmfest.com


GOTHAM SCREEN – NEW YORK INT. FILM FESTIVAL
The 3rd Annual GOTHAM SCREEN Film Festival and Screenplay Contest will take place October 20th thru 25th 2009 in New York City. ...
www.gothamscreen.com/


LAS VEGAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
This annual screenplay competition was created to help aspiring screenwriters break into the entertainment industry as well as to support emerging ...
www.lvfilmfest.com/Filmmakers/Screenplay_Competition.aspx


IVY FILM FESTIVAL
Domestic Application. International Application. Screenplay Application. ... Rates for basic Withoutabox accounts: First submission: $20 ...
www.ivyfilmfestival.com/submissions


WORLD-FEST HOUSTON INT. FILM FEST
(International Competition for all Film & Video Production & Screenplays) ... WorldFest is the oldest Indie Film Festival in the world, and the 3rd oldest ...

Rick Says: “This is a poorly formatted and difficult site to negotiate. After spending far too much time trying to figure out if they actually do take script submissions, I went to their Categories Sub-Link, which I’ve provided here. --- There I discovered that, they do. The rest is up to you.

www.worldfest.org/PAGES/categories.htm

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END DIRECTORY
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There may be more out there that I have yet to uncover, and new ones may come to the fore. If I find others I’ll update this Directory. If you know of any, would you please send me an email informing me of them so that I can include those as well.

Send any all replies, questions, comments, or, in my humble estimation, well deserved praise to:

SEND ME AN EMAIL AT: seerasylum@gmail.com


Now go jumpstart that career; and while you’re there:


KICCASS

HOW TO WRITE MONEY MAKING SCREENPLAY’S

Sharpen The Ax
Hone Your Craft

The best Athletes in the world have a Coach for a reason. But not only do they have a Coach; the best Athletes in the world train long and hard under the best Coaches in the world.

Profoundly talented and immensely humble people, like myself, have a tendency towards being blinded by their strengths with little capacity for seeing their own weaknesses. What is of paramount importance to our breaking into the Film Business, and once we are in, sustaining career growth, is that we are continuously about the task of expanding ourselves; educating and reeducating ourselves; --- that we hone our craft.

The best writers in the world have an editor for a reason. Publishers, in our business Producers; Editors, and in the Film Industry Readers, know better what reads and what does not, what will sell and what will not. We need to learn how to write, not to please ourselves, but to please those who have the capacity of turning the written page into a Finished Film.

SIDE NOTE: I’m one of the most radical dudes you’ll ever care to meet. In addition to the obvious, I’m also a Painter of extremely Radical Abstract Paints; create radical Digital Art like the example you see above; and as well, I create extremely radical electro-ethereal music and soundscapes. So, if anyone would think to make a radical Film, it would be me. But my goal is to have a long enduring career in the Film Industry, I am not interested in making Film's that only a few thousand people would pay to see, I am interested in making Movies that attract tens of millions.

As much as it is true that every now and then a Blue Moon doth shine down upon some whacky, radical Filmmaker who has been greenlighted to make some whacky, radical Film; and even goes on to blow everyone's mind by doing great at the Box Office. Nevertheless, if you want to succeed in the Film Business - Bet the odds, is more than just sage advice. For every radical Film that has ever been made, there are countless many more radical minded Wannabe’s out there, who still are just that, --- Countless Wannabe’s out there. They are not in the Film Business, because the people who finance Film’s – Bet the odds.

My advice again - Bet the odds (by this I mean make Film's based on proven models of success); give those who turn a written page into a Finished Film what they want; what they are shopping for; what they buy; what they finance. Write Screenplay’s and Produce Shorts and even Features on Spec that fit within the model of what sells well in today’s Film Market. If swimming against the stream is more important to you than making money, you really should be making Art Film’s and would do well to quit any notion of breaking into the prevailing Film Market.

As a writer, your worst enemy for success in the Film Biz will most likely prove to be yourself. The curse of the Wannabe Screenwriter is that they tend to be completely enamored with their own style of turning a phrase. Point of fact dear Film Freaks; if you cannot write to please the people who make things happen in the business, you’ll most likely never make it into the business.

With regards to our working towards improving our skills at Screenwriting, there are as many useless opportunities out there today as there are the genuinely useful. In today's market you can avail yourself of many fine books that have been written by seasoned professionals offering useful guidance. Certainly, if you are so inclined, you can go to Film School and take courses on this and any number of subjects. Attending Seminars and participating in a Screenwriters Association might prove beneficial (but depending on any number of factors, could prove to be a royal waste of your time). But I have become more than just a little convinced that the best way for an already good writer to learn how to write Scripts that sell, is to read Scripts that have already been made into money making Finished Films; Films you have more than likely paid to see yourself.


WHERE YOU CAN GET KNOWN MOVIE SCRIPTS

An excellent resource for Scripts can be found at a website called “ScriptCrawler.” Not the most attractive site I’ve ever come upon, but a truly excellent resource for Scripts to Films that did well at the Box Office. You’ll find quickly a rather extensive list of Scripts for Movie titles you recognize. You’ll also notice that these Scripts do not live on ScriptCrawler’s Server. To the right of the Screenplay title and Poster Art thumbnail, you’ll see that these Scripts are located on sites all over the place, making ScriptCrawler something of a Directory for the location of Scripts that are available (for FREE) Online. Some you read Online, some are available in PDF Format for you to download.


ATSA RAP

Just an FYI: ScriptCrawler was good enough not to trouble us with Pop-Up’s or Under’s, but they do display Banner Ad’s at the top of their page. Once you click on the Link below, I’d recommend you save ScriptCrawler in your Browsers Favorites file so you can return there time and again with ease.

So - go get ahold of one of your all time favorite Movies Scripts, and read it. Study it over and over again. Then get another, and another. Read, read, read, read, read. --- Let these successful Script's be your guide to writing Screenplay's that can, if you possess the talent to craft an origial story, make you not only some money, but set you on a path to an enduring career.

SCRIPTCRAWLER.NET

KICCASS

SHOULD I COPYRIGHT MY SCRIPT?

A Brief Tutorial

It’s Sunday morning here Film Freak’s; been raining for the past three fuck’n days; freezing ass cold at night. It’s supposed to be Spring; maybe all that cold came down from all those damn melting Glaciers and shit; I don’t know. Man, after the Millennium Bug thing passed without a glitch, ya gotta wonder if you can trust anyone out there to shoot straight with you on anything anymore; you know what I’m saying? I’ve thought for a long time now that our Presidential Candidates are picked for their ability to lie and feel all noble about it and shit. --- Anyhow; I’m seeing a bright, warm sunny day out my window and want to get out there and snatch me some. So; I’m speeding through this pretty damn important topic for purely selfish reasons.


IF YOU CREATED IT, YOU ARE PROTECTED

Many have themselves believing that in order for your work to be “Copyright Protected” you have to take some kind of action and lay out some kind of money to “obtain” a Copyright. POINT OF FACT: If you are the original creator of anything, that thing, be it Audio, Visual, or Written Material, is automatically protected under Copyright Law.

Repeating; you do not have to file your intellectual nor creative property with the US Governments Copyright Office, for your work to be protected under Copyright Law.


IF SO, WHY WOULD ANYONE BOTHER?

Excellent question. You may, especially as you become increasing more successful in your creative career, want to have every move you make Registered with the US Copyright Office. What Registering your work does accomplish is to provide the original creator with proof dating. Thought it may seem like a high improbable thing, it has happened throughout the history of creative man that more than one person created the same or similar thing during the same period of time.

Registering your creative and intellectual property provides you with evidence that you created it, and you didn’t steel it yourself.


SHOULD AN UPSTART COPYRIGHT?

If the expense won’t break you bank account, go for it. But truthfully, you could send your Script out to a thousand Agents and Producers, if you could, and there isn’t a one of them out there looking to steel a Screenwriters work. Agents and Producers are looking for Screenwriters that can count on to be productive for years on end.


SHOULD I REGISTER WITH THE WGA?

Why not; at a minimum it will make you feel like you’re in the business. And it really does provide you with a proof date of creation if you ever need it. Keep in mind that the WGA is not a Government Entity, it’s a Union. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, I’m just laying out the facts here. Also, the WGA doesn’t hold your Script on file for time immemorial; they hold it for all of five years. Weight this against the fact that many Inde Spec Scripts have taken over 5 years to get into Production. So, you re-register. Registering with the US Copyright Office has you covered for 70 years; long time before others can Publish your work for their own gain and give you not a piece of the action.

But, check this out.


WHAT ISN’T PROTECTED

I trust you are actually going to go the Copyright Office site and study this out for yourselves; but let me tell you here what is not protected under Copyright Law.

<> The Title
<> The Idea

Hell, if you pitch your idea and Title to someone who was so inclined they could go out and write a Script for a Movie of the same concept and title, and cut you out altogether. They don’t need your original Script, just the idea and Title, if they like it enough to run with it. No protection, nothing you could do. But, how often do you thing some upstart, wannbe Script Writer has had his idea and Tile ripped off?

I wouldn’t go Paranoid over the off chance that this would ever happen to you. Do everything in your power to make yourself and your talents known to Industry People. It’s a who you know business, and what they’re looking for more than a one shot Script or Finished Inde Film are Writers and Directors who can get the job done again and again consistently.


BEST PLACE FOR COPYRIGHT INFO

There is no better place for copyright information than from the people who do the copywriting. At the end of this article you will be provided the Link to the US Copyright Office.

It is, of course, the Federal Government that handles these matters. If you’ve ever tried to find information on a Government Website, you will be absolutely astonished at how easy it is to find what you’re looking for on this website.

US COPYRIGHT OFFICE


ATSA RAP

If you want hook up with more information on who the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are and what they do, including registering Scripts and how to do it, I have their Link posted on this Blogs Home Page on the right hand column. Just the same, here you go:


WGA EAST (Califonia)

WGA WEST (New York)


Now go:

KICCASS