Current movie competitions

For those looking for a way to fund current or future film projects I have found some very interesting competitions. Many of them award the winner(s) with cash prizes, while others offer a range of support and/or resources.

To begin with, the Smalls Showcase and Awards 2009 is currently accepting entries. They have two simple rules: your film must be under 10 minutes and demonstrate your filming skills. Apart from gaining exposure in London, your film could also win one of The Smalls Awards 2009. The deadline is September 10 2009, so there is still some time to brush up your film before submitting it.

Meanwhile, The 2 Days Later Short Film Competition is also very interesting. The task is to shoot and edit a short horror film (up to ten minutes) within 48 hours - though I recommend splitting up the time period over a number of days, i.e. 8 hours over 6 days. Now it might sound like an easy task, but part of the challenge is to incorporate into the movie three out of five rather odd items, such as a cow, or an aphrodisiac. Therefore creative script writing skills are a must, with the competition aiming to foster creativity rather than technological skills. Unfortunately, the full prize package is yet to be announced, but the final deadline for submissions is September 30 2009.

For those of you in South America (although the competition is open to everyone worldwide), Argentina's 5th La Plata FestiFreak International Film Festival is awarding $1000 each to the winners in the following categories: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental and video clip. There are no restrictions except your film may not exceed 15 minutes. Also, it pays to keep in mind that if your film is not in Spanish, it must have Spanish subtitles. Submission deadline is September 11 2009.

It also might be worth adding this year's Power to the Pixel to your calendar, as they are hosting a pitching forum, Babelgum Pixel Pitch Prize, for up to ten of the best UK and international cross-media film projects. For this, they are "looking for stories that can span film, TV, online, mobile and gaming to be presented to a select group of financiers, commissioners, tech companies, online portals and media companies in front of an audience of PTTP participants." The prize is £6,000 and submissions are due by August 14 2009.

Lastly, as a part of the 8th Berlinale Talent Campus, 350 filmmakers will receive the opportunity to attend an intensive workshop on independent film making. Titled the Berlin Today Award 2011, it offers five young directors the chance to produce a short film in cooperation with a Berlin / Brandenburg based production company. Applications are now open.