BEFORE YOU SEND US AN EMAIL
Please read this information (which is elsewhere on the website.) All inquiries about these topics will be answered with an automated response with the same information below.
WAIVER REQUESTS
Every day, the DC Shorts Film office receives dozens of requests for fee waivers. In the spirit of honesty, and the fact that DC Shorts is proud to be have one of the only transparent judging systems in the festival world, I will let you in a some important waiver information.
First, DC Shorts does not offer blind fee waivers. We only extend waivers to selected films which we see on our travels to dozens of other festivals and film screenings.
DC Shorts believes that the feedback every entry receives far exceeds the value of the entry fee. This is one of the reasons Moviemaker Magazine has named DC Shorts as “one of 25 festivals worth the entry fee” – year after year!
In the past when DC Shorts offered a waiver program, the statistics show that VERY few films (less than 5%) who have received a waiver have been accepted into the final screenings. This is often because filmmakers who do not budget and account for their festival strategy do not take their filmmaking seriously — and it shows in the final product. Because of this, we discontinued our fee waiver program in 2009.
We are aware that students — and many others in this economy — are cash strapped. We invite you to take advantage of the discounted student fees to save up $10 off the regular entry fee.
More information on how we judge and program the festival is online at http://www.dcshorts.com/the-films/
MY FILM IS OVER 20 MINUTES
The time limit of 20:00 is not an exact cut-off point — but a highly recommended TRT. The way we program — showing as many different types of film in 90-minute blocks — make it difficult to show many longer films. In addition, when we receive multiple films of the same theme/subject matter, we often tend to program the stronger storytelling, which is often the shorter versions. That said, we have screened exceptional films up to :30 in the past.
The article on website (http://www.dcshorts.com/why-dc-shorts/) says it best:
FILM LENGTH
DC Shorts accepts films to 20-minutes. We will evaluate slightly longer films if the story and filmmaking are exceptional. But for every 30 minute film we accept, we must program two fewer 10-minute films. Audiences want to see as many high-quality film as they can while at the screening. We strive for 8-10 films. But if all films were 20-minutes,we could only screen 6. In our experience, most 20 minute films could be re-edited to a much stronger 12 minute piece. Seriously. One quote we learned in film school was, “That’s a nice13-minute movie. But it is a fabulous 9-minute film.” Ask yourself the same thing and really think about it. Bring on a professional editor (read the above again.)
Take this information for what it is — an honest insight to how we program the festival.
MUSIC VIDEOS
In the past, we have screened music videos which are story-driven. As we state throughout this website, it is all about the story. No plot, no play.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
As stated in our rules, the only information our screening committee receives is the film title, running time and category of entry. Works in progress are mixed in with the other films — and in all cases — are judged as completed projects. We suggest you enter early (to save money on the submission fee), but get is the disc or online copy by the Materials Deadline of May 4.
