Blog: Film festivals

Festival Overview

Ruff Cuts Film Festival (RCFF) shows films that celebrate the amazing attributes of dogs and serves as a fund raising mechanism for Service Dogs of Virginia (SDV), a non-profit organization that places dogs to help people with disabilities. SDV has programs in three primary areas: physical assistance, autism and diabetic alert. For more information on SDV, please visit our website: www.servicedogsva.org.

The premier film festival was held in Charlottesville, Virginia on June 28, 2014 at The Dickinson Fine and Performing Arts Center at Piedmont Virginia Community College. The second annual festival will be on October 17, 2015, again at The Dickinson Fine and Performing Arts Center at Piedmont Virginia Community College. The festival will be leased to other non-profit organizations with animal-related missions, and tour various U.S. cities.

Awards and Selection Process

All entries will be viewed prior to the festival by a pre-selection committee and subsequently judged and selected for screening at the festival by the “Working Like a Dog Group”.

Award winners will be announced at the Festival.
Cash Prizes (USD) will be awarded for overall categories/themes.

1st – Best In Show - $500 + automatic inclusion in the turn-key festival
2nd – Best of Class - $250
3rd – Best of Breed - $100
Palm D’og certificate

Additional prizes may be added at the discretion of the SDV/RCFF staff.

Film themes are suggested but not limited to:

Canine Sport
Canine Search and Rescue
The Human-Animal Bond
Veterinary Medicine
Shelter Dogs
Guide and Service Dogs
Military and Law Enforcement

Acceptable categories are Documentary, Drama, Comedy, and Animation.

Entry Details

a. Submitting a film and signing the entry form implies the person entering the submission has read and agrees to abide by the terms and conditions listed herein.

b. Films must be between 2 minutes to 20 minutes in length.
c. Foreign Language films must have American English subtitles.
d. Music rights and model releases must be obtained prior to submission. Submission to the Festival implies that these have been properly cleared for use.
e. Entries may have been shown before.
f. Films may be student or professional but may be shown separately at the Festival’s discretion.
g. No films portraying animal cruelty or bestiality will be accepted.
h. Filmmakers agree to provide stills and clips for promotional purposes.
i. Filmmakers understand that aside from the prizes, there is no financial remuneration to the filmmaker. Filmmakers are invited to attend the RCFF in Charlottesville, VA, at their own expense.
j. No screening fees will be collected for screening purposes.
k. Submissions will not be returned.
l. RCFF has (non-exclusive) use of the film for two years from the date of the first screening and may use the films in future showings in other locations for two years.
m. Entrants grant the Festival and its successors and licensees the right to copy and version the entry to facilitate operations of the Festival through any media format.
n. RCFF reserves the right to cancel or reschedule the Festival.
o. An admission charge will be made to the public when the films are shown publically.
p. Entrants agree to allow the Festival all rights to promote the Festival on the internet and other media outlets.
q. The Entrant agrees that all matters will be decided by the Festival organizers or the Festival jury at their discretion.


Technical Requirements and Promotional Materials

• All entries should include a completed entry form (per film) and 2 discs containing film submission.
• Both should be in NTSC format.
• One DVD must play in a DVD player.
• The other DVD must contain a digital file of the film. Must be in .mov HD format.
• Please include a short "trailer" for the film in .mov HD format.
• Label both discs clearly with the title, running time, format and your contact information

Notes:

Festival reserves the right to refuse films without English voiceover or subtitles.

Festival has the option to conform the content to broadcast quality standardization.