RULES FOR SUBMISSIONS

Film & Micro Film Submissions

1. Filmmakers must have resided during either of the last two years (or been a full-time student attending a college or university) in any of the 13 states that make up the Appalachian Region of the United States of America -- WV, OH, KY, NY, PA, MD, VA, TN, NC, SC, GA, AL, and MS.

2. To be considered, three (3) copies of entry must be submitted on DVD (Region 1 or Multi-platform must be compatible with all DVD players) and received by Festival Committee by January 1, 2011 with entry fee.

3. All entry fee checks made payable to: Huntington Regional Film Commission.

4. Late entries or entries determined to be ineligible will not be considered. Fees accompanying these entries will be returned.

5. Films and micro videos must have been completed no earlier than April 1st, 2008. All entries for the Young Filmmakers competition must be submitted by filmmakers whose date of birth falls after April 15, 1990.

6. Films and micro videos must be available for screening during the Festival.

7. Films and micro videos with U.S. or foreign distribution or films produced by a major film studio, or under contract or option, are ineligible for competition. Documentaries screened on US or foreign television are also ineligible for competition purposes.

8. All films must not be longer than 2 hours, 15 minutes. Shorts must be no longer than 45 minutes. Young Filmmaker's films must be no longer than 120 minutes. Documentaries must be at least 15 minutes or longer. Micro videos must not be longer than 5 minutes.

9. A 50-word synopsis for marketing should accompany your film or video.

10. All films will be judged on mainstream appeal, story, and quality of acting, editing, and direction. Documentaries will be judged on subject matter, appeal, direction, and editing. All micro videos will be judged on mainstream appeal, content, and quality of acting, editing, and direction.

11. No foreign or international films will be considered.

12. It is permissible for films and micro videos to have entered or won other contests.

In most cases: Driver's License is all that is required.

2011 Appalachian Film Festival Judging:

Films, videos and scripts will be reviewed by the Huntington Regional Film Commission. After all qualifying entries are considered, a total of 34 films, and 3 scripts will be invited for Jury at the Festival (6 considered for Best Film category, 6 for Best Documentary, 12 for Best Short, 4 for Best Young Filmmaker, 6 for Best Microfilm). The films and videos will be juried by an independent panel of judges during the Festival. Awards will be presented at the conclusion of the Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 26th, 2011. While the decisions of the Judges are considered to be final, any winning entry found to have violated the rules and regulations of the Festival may have the award forfeited. It is permissible for a film, video, or script to have entered or won other contests.

2011 Rules for Screenplay Submission:

1. To be considered, screenplay submissions must be received by the Festival Committee by January 1, 2011 with entry fee made payable to: The Huntington Regional Film Commission.

2. Late entries or entries determined to be ineligible will not be considered. Fees accompanying these entries will be returned.

3. Screenplays must be neatly typed, in generally accepted format, clean, and bound with a cover.

4. The title of the screenplay must be on the front cover. However, the author?s name MUST NOT appear on the cover or on any of the script pages. The author's name shall only appear on the entry form.

5. Screenplay length should be no more than 130 pages.

6. Screenplays will be judged on format, plot, character, structure, dialogue and storyline.

7. A one-page synopsis should accompany each script.

8. A 50-word synopsis for marketing should accompany each script.

9. Screenplay entries must not be optioned or under professional contract.

10. Screenwriters must have resided during either of the last two years (or been a full-time student attending a college or university) in any of the 13 states that make up the Appalachian Region of the United States of America -- WV, OH, KY, NY, PA, MD, VA, TN, NC, SC, GA, AL, and MS.

In most cases: Driver's License is all that is required.

2010 Appalachian Film Festival Script Judging:

Scripts will be reviewed by the Huntington Regional Film Commission. After all qualifying entries are considered, a total of 3 finalist scripts will be invited for Jury at the Festival. These scripts will be juried by an independent panel of judges during the Festival. Awards will be presented at the conclusion of the Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 26th, 2011. While the decisions of the Judges are considered to be final, any winning entry found to have violated the rules and regulations of the Festival may have the award forfeited. It is permissible for a script to have entered or won other contests.

Returns and Acknowledgements:

No screenplays will be returned. Include a self-addressed, stamped postcard for each submission if you wish acknowledgement of the receipt of your entry.

Returns and Acknowledgements:

No films, videos, or screenplays will be returned. The Appalachian Film Festival reserves the right to screen any film and video entries for festival competition and / or for promotional / marketing purposes. Include a self-addressed, stamped postcard for each submission if you wish acknowledgement of the receipt of your entry.

Awards

Each film / screenplay submitted for consideration must be accompanied by the applicable entry fee:

Feature Film, $40
Screen Play, $40
Documentary, $40
Short Film, $25
Young Filmmaker, $25
Micro Film, $25

You may pay by check, money order, or certified check. Any applicant who submits a check that is returned for insufficient funds by the bank will cause his/her entry(s) to be disqualified.

Those filmmakers and writers invited for Festival screenings / judging which will occur February 18th - 26th 2011, will be notified of their preliminary selection / invitation no later than March 15, 2009. All competition film/videomakers will receive one public screening of their film Feruary 18th - 26th, 2011 at a downtown movie theatre in Huntington, WV. All competition filmmakers will receive 5 complimentary tickets to their film's screening. All juried film/videomakers and writers will receive 1 Producer's Pass (includes 1 ticket for the Director's Awards Banquet, 1 ticket for each of the Writer's Workshops, and 1 Actor's Film Pass which admits one person to all of the competition films).