Blog: Film festivals

Hi Filmmakers! Our 2016 festival is in the history books again!

A comment from a filmmaker:
The Florida Movie Festival is a truly a wonderful experience. From the first contact with the organizers the filmmakers will feel they are with friends. The advantage of this festival is that there is direct contact with an audience through engaging group workshops, social gatherings and Q&A sessions. The location, Daytona Beach, makes it a refreshing environment to balance life with the intensities that many filmmakers deal with on a day by day basis. Respective, appreciative, encouraging, open, balanced, and supportive - The Florida Movie Festival.
THANK YOU!
Doug

Want to come to "World's Most Famous Beach" in Daytona Beach, Florida? Submit your movie and you have made the first step in enjoying time in Florida in early March. You will have the festival, workshops, networking, sun, more sun, fun, on the ocean and theme parks within an hours drive. Are you in the cold weather, come thaw out and enjoy a week here.

Our Florida Movie Fest featured "Long Pants(60+min), Loose Shorts(20-59), and Short Shorts(1-19)" with a "NEW" genre in "Outdoor/Adventure/Travel this year. It was a big success just like the Women Directed/Produced from the previous year. The Women Directed/P remains our largest and most competitive genre. Keep up the great work and looking forward to your new work this year.

This year we moved our screenings to the "World's Most Famous Beach" in Daytona Beach, Florida. Our workshops included: Creative Financing , Cinematography (2-Emmy award winning DP's), Copyright protection of intellectual property, Directing and Casting. These workshops were held in a room overlooking the ocean. Most of these terrific workshop hosts have indicated they would return and we are already engaged in conversation about a full day workshop - hands on with an Emmy award DP. Sounds great!

So next year make plans early and come to Daytona Beach, for the festival, sun, car races, bike week, or spring break. Maybe all the above.

Filmmakers came from as far away as Toronto and Calgary, Canada along with California.
Please make plans for the coming year.

Winners this year came from Sri Lanka, Iran, Germany, Austria, India, Australia, Argentina, UK, Chile, Ecuador , Brazil, Uruguay, France, Russia, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan , Egypt, Mexico, Canada, and US.

"Movies with passion and freedom" continues as our theme this year. Wow did you hit this on the mark. It is a real quality event when we have so much talent around the world finding its way to our festival.

FMF does encourage you to submit multiple work or a second category with same movie. Contact FMF to receive a twenty-five % discount for second movie and a fifty % discount for a third movie. If you find yourself in a quandary on which category to enter. You can enter a second category for a 50% discount to increase your chances for success.

FMF will continue our three main categories: "Short Shorts (1-19min), Loose Shorts (20-59min), and Long Pants (60+min)". A great 8 min. film is hard to be judged against a 35 min. short so we expanded to create a "Mini-Feature" category and to fairly protect the truly short film. This worked very well for us.

FMF will not change it's core principles in expanding, but FMF wants to provide an expansion of topics at this venue for our filmmakers and viewers to take a journey of - learning, relating, laughing, and many other emotions while keeping a thread of moral fabric!

One of our newer and very rewarding genre is Women. After attending a workshop on film for women, FMF heard their message. One of those messages: only 12% of women filmmakers are on the big screen. We want to help change that one independent film at a time. You are off to a great start, keep up the fabulous work.

Remember the book "Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus". FMF wants to offer a genre that the story, script, director, producer or lead role is a Woman. FMF is looking beyond the industry term "chick flick" to films that are thought-provoking and personal growth about "Venus" or a view from "Venus". Present the world as a woman experience’s it – enlighten, empower, entertain, educate, inspire, curiosity and stimulate conversation.

If you have read this far, here are a few nuggets of treasure. The first 5 paid submissions will automatically receive an official selection. (Early bird does get selected). The first 5 paid comedy, documentaries and adventure/outdoors/travel will also automatically receive an official selection. After submitting, send an email asking if you are automatically an official selection!! Good luck early birds.

In summary:
Categories are: Short (short shorts), Mini-Feature (loose shorts), and Feature (long pants).

Genres are: Women, Documentaries, Faith/Inspirational, Adventure/Outdoors and Narrative/Other

Other Categories: Student Movie, Animation, Web-Series/TV, Comedy, Florida Local and Music Video. Please Note: These are not Genre specific!

Come join us, we will treat your work, like we do ours!

Come join us in Central Florida on the beach!


Rules & Terms



1. Competition is open to anyone who wishes to enter.

2. Films produced, primarily financed, or initiated by a major Hollywood film studio are ineligible for competition.

3. Films must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2013.

4. Films must be available for screening during the festival.

5. By submitting a film to the FMF, the filmmaker agrees to allow the film to be screened at the festival, and to allow short portions of the film to be used by the Florida Film Festival for promotional purposes.

6. Individual filmmakers are encouraged to offer multiple submissions. Each submission must be accompanied by its own entrance fee and submission form.

6a. Entries will have an opportunity to be selected and judged by peers through our network and possible other venue locations.

7. Finalists will be selected based on excellence in their conformity to the criteria, categories, guidelines, and festival objectives.

7a. FMF may require a DVD or file transfer to show at festival. FMF will notify you
before or shortly after the notification date.

8. DVDs or flash memory devices, will not be returned under any circumstances. Receipt of films will be sent by e-mail correspondence.

9. Application fee is non-refundable.

10. Awards will be presented to the individuals or teams responsible for the winning films in March 2017.

11. The People’s Award is based on the votes of the moviegoers at the festival. All other awards are judged on the overall merit of the entries. Judges reserve the right not to grant a category award.

12. If you enter as a Student Category. You will need to include the school, grade and age. It can even be a Film school. Need to verify the lower entry fee and competition status. FMF will divide into two groups: under 18 and 18+.

13. If any category doesn't have at least 5 selections for competition FMF will combine with a similar category for a stronger competition.
In summary:
Categories are: Short, Mini-Feature, and Feature. Short shorts are 1-19min, Loose shorts are 20-59min, Long pants are 60+min.

Genres are: Women, Documentaries, Faith/Inspirational, Adventure/Outdoors/Travel and Narrative/Other

Other Categories: Student Movie, Animation, Web-Series, Comedy, and Music Video, Please Note: These are not Genre specific!

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