The 2018 North American Students 3-Minute Film Competition, Awards & Festival seeks to encourage and recognize the creative talents of young people.   This is a fabulous opportunity for them to present the fruits of their film-making creativity, even if it is with limited resources such as just a phone and some editing software -- inconceivable only a few years ago!

Students have the right to submit their work as individuals whether or not they are finalists in their school's film competition.

Please note that if your film/video is not eligible for submission, we also offer other submission opportunities ... to our special projects, festivals, and international short film library.   Check out the final section entitled "Other Submission Opportunities".

We look forward to viewing your work.

During the Festival period, the finalists' films may be screened at various locations climaxing with the Gala Festival & Awards Evening at the historic Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara, CA.

You are invited!
The Gala Festival & Awards Evening will be hosted at the historic Marjorie Luke Theatre in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. This magnificent 808-seat professional, state-of-the-art, award-winning theatre is located on the historic campus of Santa Barbara Junior High School. We have chosen this venue [a] because it is a magnificent setting and [b] because it is fitting that a school campus plays host to an event that celebrates student excellence. We hope you will be there.







This will be an exciting, highly-publicized gala event with red-carpeted introductions of film-makers, VIPs and other celebrities. More details will be announced as we get closer to the date.

2018
  June 7 - Film/Video Submissions Open.
  August 31 - Earlybird Deadline. (Entry Fee: $25)
  October 26 - Regular Deadline. (Entry Fee: $30)
  November 16 - Late Deadline. (Entry Fee: $35)
  December 6 - Extended Deadline. (Entry Fee: $40)
2019
  January 7 - Notification to Official Selections.
  January 28 - Notification to Award Winners.
  February 23 - Gala Festival & Awards Evening.

In simple terms, if you have a valid Student ID, then you are eligible to submit your film/video project. You always have the right to submit your work as an individual. You do not have to be a finalist in a school's film competition.

The project must be your original work. Any adult involvement must be limited to an advisory capacity only.

If your film/video project is based on or includes, in whole or in part, any fictional or non-fictional material, published or unpublished, produced or not yet produced, that is not owned by you, then you must provide documentation proving that you have licensed the rights to use the material.

When you submit your entry you will be giving us full permission to download a digital copy of your project to screen during the Festival via projector and online.

You must own exclusive rights to your project. The rights may not have been previously optioned or sold.

A project must have a runtime of less than 4 minutes which includes everything ... intro, music, credits, etc. There will be no exceptions.
However, if your project runs longer than four minutes, then you might check the "Other Submission Opportunities" section for additional submission possibilities.

Your film/video must have been completed after January 1, 2016.

Acceptable:
Action,   Animation,   Art & Design,   Comedy,   Dance,   Documentary,   Experimental,   Fashion,   History,   Horror,   Magic/Illusion,   Music,   Narrative,   Nature,   Poetry,   Science Fiction,   Sport,   Story Telling,   Travel,   Triumph,   War,   Western
Unacceptable:
Gratuitous Violence & Abuse,   Advertising,   Offensive Language,   Ideological Messages (e.g. Political, Religious),   Pornography

If your project includes dialogue in a foreign language or a hard-to-understand dialect, then your project must display English subtitles.

If music is included in your film, you must provide appropriate documentation to prove that you have permission to use it. Original music scores are encouraged.

You may submit your project in one of two ways.
  1. Submitted by yourself as an individual.
  2. As a finalist in a Film/video Competition and Festival held by your school. Note: This can generate a high level of interest and enthusiasm in your community and can also serve as an excellent fundraising event for your school. We offer "How To" resource materials to make this easy to accomplish. For more information see "How to Proceed - Schools".

Applications and submissions will be processed exclusively on FilmFreeway.com.

All projects must be in digital format.
  - Before submission please verify that your video format is acceptable.
  - Submissions will ONLY be accepted by upload to the designated website.
  - The preferred format is MP4. Other possible formats are ... AVI, ASF, MOV, QT, AVCHD, FLV, MP4, MPG, WMV, H.264, DIVX

Prior to judging, projects will be audited to ensure compliance with "Submission Rules & Requirements".

There will be four (4) rounds of judging in the Competition:
  Round 1: The preliminary round to determine which projects meet minimum quality standards to qualify for possible screening in the Festival.
  Round 2: This round determines which projects qualify for inclusion in our Film/Video Library. Inclusion in the Library does not guarantee screening during the Festival but acknowledges that the project is good enough to be eligible for possible selection for other projects subject, of course, to mutual approval of appropriate licensing agreements.
  Round 3: This round determines which projects are Finalists and will definitely be screened during the Festival.
  Round 4: This final round selects the Award Winners from the Finalists.

Judges are professionals in the fields of film-making, writing, reviewing, film curating, and music. We value their time and expertise and appreciate their commitment to the medium and to young people.

The Festival Management, at its sole discretion, shall establish all Festival screening schedules.

The Festival is under no obligation to provide to the Applicant or any other representative of the Project any comments or feedback regarding the submitted Project, any information relating to the manner in which the Project is, will be, or was reviewed; any views that the Festival or any reviewers of the Project may hold concerning the Project; any reasons why the Project, should it not be accepted for exhibition at the Festival, was not accepted; or any other information relating to the Festival's review, consideration and/or selection process regarding the Project specifically or submissions generally beyond the information set forth in these "Submission Rules and Requirements".

All decisions are final.

Applicants will be notified as follows:
    Notification #1: If/when your entry has met the submission requirements and been accepted as eligible for the Competition.
    Notification #2: If your project has been selected for our Film Library.
    Notification #3: If you are a Finalist.
    Notification #4: If you are an Award recipient.
For notification dates see "Important Dates & Deadlines".

At the discretion of Festival Management, all communication will be via email and/or by blogs and updates on the 3MinuteFestivals.com website.

It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the contact information provided remains correct throughout the entirety of the Festival selection period. Failure to do so may result in misunderstandings and lack of necessary communication. Should any such circumstance occur, Festival Management cannot be considered responsible and shall be held harmless.

Laurels and certificates will be awarded to all Finalists who will be invited to the Gala Festival & Awards Evening.
We hope to be able to present additional benefits if appropriate.

If selected, you will permit 3-Minute Festivals and its Licensed Affiliates to use trailers, clips and film information for marketing and promotional purposes.

In addition, if your project has been selected for inclusion in the Film Library, then you will be offered a royalty-based Licensing Agreement that, if accepted, will grant 3-Minute Festivals and its Affiliates the rights to screen your film only as specified in the Licensing Agreement.

Students: Click the button.
Parents: If you wish to be involved on behalf of your child, then please send us an email request and we will make sure that you are kept informed.
Schools: If you would like to learn more about presenting your own Film Competition and/or Festival -- using it as a great fund-raiser -- please send us an email and we will forward the "How To" manual to you.
Potential Affiliates: If you would like to consider putting on a pre-curated and pre-produced Film Festival in your town, send us an email so we can discuss the possibilities.

    Email
    805.201.2881