At Austin Film Festival, it is our ongoing mission to champion the work of writers and filmmakers, and this goal has never felt as urgent as it does today. Our film competition has grown year after year and so have our efforts to serve as an avenue into the ever-evolving entertainment industry.
We are pleased to announce the inaugural Ghetto Film School Fellowship Award in association with Ghetto Film School, an award-winning nonprofit founded in 2000 to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great storytellers.
The Fellowship Award is available to entrants between the ages of 18-34 to all Short Film Competition categories (Narrative, Animated, Documentary, Student, and Digital Series). The winner will receive airfare and hotel accommodation reimbursements up to $1,000.
The Ghetto Film School Roster Program identifies, develops, and connects creative talent through curated resources and programming in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Benefits include access to member-exclusive job opportunities and referrals to leading media production companies, priority admission to GFS-exclusive industry events, and consideration for significant opportunities, including labs, fellowships, and competitions. Consideration for this award is an additional $20.
We are thrilled continuing to offer the Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award and the Austin Film Festival Jury Advisory Program.
The Fellowship Award is available to entrants in the Narrative Short and Student Short Film Competition categories, and will provide the winner with covered travel and lodging for a trip to Enderby’s Los Angeles offices that will offer career guidance and the opportunity to shadow company executives and filmmakers on-site. Meanwhile, the Advisory Program will facilitate opportunities for entrants across all nine of AFF’s film competition categories sourced from selected in-competition films. Each Jury Winner per competition category and at least one additional selected in-competition filmmaker per category will have the opportunity to participate in advisory sessions with a member of the AFF jury. The 2021 jury included representatives from notable companies such as Gravitas Ventures, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, FloSports, Powderkeg, Stage 13, Rain Management Group, Marginal MediaWorks, and the International Documentary Association.
To enter for an opportunity to receive the Fellowship Award:
I. Filmmakers must submit a film to the Narrative Short + Enderby or Narrative Student Short + Enderby categories. There is an additional $20 fee for inclusion.
Eligibility for the Advisory Program are as follows: I. Only in-competition selected filmmakers are eligible for this program. II. The Jury winner of each competition is guaranteed access to the Advisory Program along with at least one additional selected in-competition filmmaker.
The winner of the Fellowship will receive the award and the coveted Bronze Typewriter Award at AFF’s Awards Luncheon. We’re excited to continue these initiatives for a second year as a continuation of the legacy of our Festival and competition credo. Our partners and jurors are excited as well, “We are continually impressed with the level of talent AFF attracts and are excited to connect with the selected filmmakers to help them crystallize their vision and further define their voice,” said Kesila Childers, VP of Development for Powderkeg. Feel free to visit our website for further details. We look forward to helping you share your story!
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Austin Film Festival recognizes the importance of narrative at the core of filmmaking. By celebrating the work of storytellers; those committed to crafting intricate worlds, fully-formed characters, and diverse perspectives, AFF bolsters its reputation as a champion for the creator.
5 REASONS TO SUBMIT TO AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL:
1. THE CONFERENCE: Accepted filmmakers have access to AFF's Screenwriters Conference, the largest writer's conference in the world. The Conference attracts groundbreaking producers, agents, managers, and development execs, as well as countless working screenwriters and filmmakers. Many conferences are footnotes to festivals; the AFF Conference is worth the trip alone. The lineup is interactive, raw, and fun – you’re destined to leave with a notebook full of strategies and the inspiration to start your next project.
2. THE SELECTION PROCESS: We take to heart the amount of work put into each film. Therefore, we are careful to ensure that each movie is reviewed at least twice. We like to be transparent in our process and judge the story over the production value.
3. THE CITY: There's a reason why Moviemaker Magazine consistently names Austin one of the best cities to live and work as a moviemaker. Perhaps one of the only cities where you can eat authentic BBQ, go to chicken shit bingo and try vegan ice cream in the same night, Austin is rich with culture and renowned for its hospitality and it supportive and innovative film community.
4. THE INDUSTRY PRESENCE: Each year we have a plethora of distributors, agents, producers, and industry insiders that attend and participate in the Festival, excited to meet new faces. Many films are picked up for distribution and many important introductions are made each year in our movie theaters, conference halls, and party venues. In addition, Jury Award winners are decided each year by esteemed and celebrated judges, including executives from Sony Pictures Animation, The Orchard, Roadside Attractions, Showtime, CBS Films, POV, Seed&Spark, Oscilloscope Laboratories, and Gravitas Ventures
5. THE AFF HUB: We can guarantee that AFF isn’t your average fest. Yes, there’s incredible barbecue. Yes, the margaritas can’t be beat. But what's most apparent is the hub of filmmakers and supporters that continues to grow around the Festival. There are no velvet ropes here, and registrants and filmmakers are known to rendezvous with the best of them. At our parties, relationships are made and subsequent babies are created (in this metaphor the babies are films. Or babies. We don't judge).
More info below:
AFF provides filmmakers an invaluable platform among industry professionals and film-lovers. We’ve helped launch the careers of countless filmmakers including Jason Reitman, Cary Fukunaga, Jeff Nichols, Ray McKinnon, Chase Palmer, and Stephen Falk.
Each category is presided over by our A-list jurors, who in the past have included America Ferrera, Tom Skerritt, Ashley Miller, Scott Neustadter, Leigh Whannell, and representatives from CBS Films, Sundance Institute, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Roadside Attractions, The Orchard, Showtime, Sony Pictures Animation and Gravitas Ventures.
Moviemaker Magazine continues to list AFF as one of the Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
Keep in mind that the Jury Award winners of our Narrative, Documentary and Animated Short categories officially qualify for an Academy Award.
In addition to the films, our annual Screenwriter's Conference draws high profile Hollywood talent like 2018 panelists Roger Corman, Larry Wilmore, Tony Gilroy, Nicole Holofcener, John August, Craig Mazin, Peter Hedges, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Justin Marks, Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter, Nicole Perlman, Ed Solomon, Chapman and Maclain Way, Herschel Weingrod, Bill Wittliff, Graham Yost and Linda Woolverton. The AFF Film Competition gives every filmmaker the chance to hear from and network with filmmakers and industry insiders like these, all of whom come to Austin looking to meet fellow artists.
Bottom Line: At Austin Film Festival, we pride ourselves on building a unique and powerful hub for filmmakers. By submitting your work to AFF, you’re entering into this welcoming and dynamic community where new visions and untapped talent can flourish. Beyond production value, budget, and stars, we value the power of a well-told story. We can’t wait for you to tell us yours.
Awards & Prizes:
Ghetto Film School Fellowship Award: The winner will receive airfare and hotel accommodation reimbursements up to $1,000 for the 2022 Festival and be placed in the Ghetto Film School Roster Program. The Ghetto Film School Roster Program identifies, develops, and connects creative talent through curated resources and programming in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Benefits include access to member-exclusive job opportunities and referrals to leading media production companies, priority admission to GFS-exclusive industry events, and consideration for significant opportunities, including labs, fellowships, and competitions. Consideration for this award is an additional $20.
Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award: Airfare and hotel accommodations to visit Enderby Entertainment in LA for one week for the opportunity to shadow executives and filmmakers on-site, $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award. --The expenses of the writer(s) and the director(s) will be covered under the fellowship (at most 2 people). If only one writer/director, only one person will be covered. --Only films entered into the appropriate Enderby Categories will be considered. --Consideration requires an additional $20 fee.
Narrative Feature: $2500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Documentary Feature: $2500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Narrative Short: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), and the AFF Typewriter Award.
Narrative Student Short: $500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Animated Short: $500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award
Documentary Short: $500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Dark Matters Feature: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Comedy Vanguard Feature: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Produced Digital Series: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Rules & Terms:
GENERAL ELIGIBILITY 1. Submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee PER ENTRY and a completed online entry form. 2. Submissions must be in English or have English subtitles at the time submitted. 3. Submissions must be submitted as an online streaming video, a password-protected streaming URL, or on DVD with NTSC or PAL formatting (please test before sending).
At Austin Film Festival, it is our ongoing mission to champion the work of writers and filmmakers, and this goal has never felt as urgent as it does today. Our film competition has grown year after year and so have our efforts to serve as an avenue into the ever-evolving entertainment industry.
We are pleased to announce the inaugural Ghetto Film School Fellowship Award in association with Ghetto Film School, an award-winning nonprofit founded in 2000 to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great storytellers.
The Fellowship Award is available to entrants between the ages of 18-34 to all Short Film Competition categories (Narrative, Animated, Documentary, Student, and Digital Series). The winner will receive airfare and hotel accommodation reimbursements up to $1,000.
The Ghetto Film School Roster Program identifies, develops, and connects creative talent through curated resources and programming in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Benefits include access to member-exclusive job opportunities and referrals to leading media production companies, priority admission to GFS-exclusive industry events, and consideration for significant opportunities, including labs, fellowships, and competitions. Consideration for this award is an additional $20.
We are thrilled continuing to offer the Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award and the Austin Film Festival Jury Advisory Program.
The Fellowship Award is available to entrants in the Narrative Short and Student Short Film Competition categories, and will provide the winner with covered travel and lodging for a trip to Enderby’s Los Angeles offices that will offer career guidance and the opportunity to shadow company executives and filmmakers on-site. Meanwhile, the Advisory Program will facilitate opportunities for entrants across all nine of AFF’s film competition categories sourced from selected in-competition films. Each Jury Winner per competition category and at least one additional selected in-competition filmmaker per category will have the opportunity to participate in advisory sessions with a member of the AFF jury. The 2021 jury included representatives from notable companies such as Gravitas Ventures, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, FloSports, Powderkeg, Stage 13, Rain Management Group, Marginal MediaWorks, and the International Documentary Association.
To enter for an opportunity to receive the Fellowship Award:
I. Filmmakers must submit a film to the Narrative Short + Enderby or Narrative Student Short + Enderby categories. There is an additional $20 fee for inclusion.
Eligibility for the Advisory Program are as follows:
I. Only in-competition selected filmmakers are eligible for this program.
II. The Jury winner of each competition is guaranteed access to the Advisory Program along with at least one additional selected in-competition filmmaker.
The winner of the Fellowship will receive the award and the coveted Bronze Typewriter Award at AFF’s Awards Luncheon. We’re excited to continue these initiatives for a second year as a continuation of the legacy of our Festival and competition credo. Our partners and jurors are excited as well, “We are continually impressed with the level of talent AFF attracts and are excited to connect with the selected filmmakers to help them crystallize their vision and further define their voice,” said Kesila Childers, VP of Development for Powderkeg. Feel free to visit our website for further details. We look forward to helping you share your story!
---------------------------------------------
Austin Film Festival recognizes the importance of narrative at the core of filmmaking. By celebrating the work of storytellers; those committed to crafting intricate worlds, fully-formed characters, and diverse perspectives, AFF bolsters its reputation as a champion for the creator.
5 REASONS TO SUBMIT TO AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL:
1. THE CONFERENCE: Accepted filmmakers have access to AFF's Screenwriters Conference, the largest writer's conference in the world. The Conference attracts groundbreaking producers, agents, managers, and development execs, as well as countless working screenwriters and filmmakers. Many conferences are footnotes to festivals; the AFF Conference is worth the trip alone. The lineup is interactive, raw, and fun – you’re destined to leave with a notebook full of strategies and the inspiration to start your next project.
2. THE SELECTION PROCESS: We take to heart the amount of work put into each film. Therefore, we are careful to ensure that each movie is reviewed at least twice. We like to be transparent in our process and judge the story over the production value.
3. THE CITY: There's a reason why Moviemaker Magazine consistently names Austin one of the best cities to live and work as a moviemaker. Perhaps one of the only cities where you can eat authentic BBQ, go to chicken shit bingo and try vegan ice cream in the same night, Austin is rich with culture and renowned for its hospitality and it supportive and innovative film community.
4. THE INDUSTRY PRESENCE: Each year we have a plethora of distributors, agents, producers, and industry insiders that attend and participate in the Festival, excited to meet new faces. Many films are picked up for distribution and many important introductions are made each year in our movie theaters, conference halls, and party venues. In addition, Jury Award winners are decided each year by esteemed and celebrated judges, including executives from Sony Pictures Animation, The Orchard, Roadside Attractions, Showtime, CBS Films, POV, Seed&Spark, Oscilloscope Laboratories, and Gravitas Ventures
5. THE AFF HUB: We can guarantee that AFF isn’t your average fest. Yes, there’s incredible barbecue. Yes, the margaritas can’t be beat. But what's most apparent is the hub of filmmakers and supporters that continues to grow around the Festival. There are no velvet ropes here, and registrants and filmmakers are known to rendezvous with the best of them. At our parties, relationships are made and subsequent babies are created (in this metaphor the babies are films. Or babies. We don't judge).
More info below:
AFF provides filmmakers an invaluable platform among industry professionals and film-lovers. We’ve helped launch the careers of countless filmmakers including Jason Reitman, Cary Fukunaga, Jeff Nichols, Ray McKinnon, Chase Palmer, and Stephen Falk.
Each category is presided over by our A-list jurors, who in the past have included America Ferrera, Tom Skerritt, Ashley Miller, Scott Neustadter, Leigh Whannell, and representatives from CBS Films, Sundance Institute, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Roadside Attractions, The Orchard, Showtime, Sony Pictures Animation and Gravitas Ventures.
Moviemaker Magazine continues to list AFF as one of the Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
Keep in mind that the Jury Award winners of our Narrative, Documentary and Animated Short categories officially qualify for an Academy Award.
In addition to the films, our annual Screenwriter's Conference draws high profile Hollywood talent like 2018 panelists Roger Corman, Larry Wilmore, Tony Gilroy, Nicole Holofcener, John August, Craig Mazin, Peter Hedges, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Justin Marks, Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter, Nicole Perlman, Ed Solomon, Chapman and Maclain Way, Herschel Weingrod, Bill Wittliff, Graham Yost and Linda Woolverton. The AFF Film Competition gives every filmmaker the chance to hear from and network with filmmakers and industry insiders like these, all of whom come to Austin looking to meet fellow artists.
Bottom Line: At Austin Film Festival, we pride ourselves on building a unique and powerful hub for filmmakers. By submitting your work to AFF, you’re entering into this welcoming and dynamic community where new visions and untapped talent can flourish. Beyond production value, budget, and stars, we value the power of a well-told story. We can’t wait for you to tell us yours.
Ghetto Film School Fellowship Award: The winner will receive airfare and hotel accommodation reimbursements up to $1,000 for the 2022 Festival and be placed in the Ghetto Film School Roster Program. The Ghetto Film School Roster Program identifies, develops, and connects creative talent through curated resources and programming in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Benefits include access to member-exclusive job opportunities and referrals to leading media production companies, priority admission to GFS-exclusive industry events, and consideration for significant opportunities, including labs, fellowships, and competitions. Consideration for this award is an additional $20.
Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award: Airfare and hotel accommodations to visit Enderby Entertainment in LA for one week for the opportunity to shadow executives and filmmakers on-site, $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
--The expenses of the writer(s) and the director(s) will be covered under the fellowship (at most 2 people). If only one writer/director, only one person will be covered.
--Only films entered into the appropriate Enderby Categories will be considered.
--Consideration requires an additional $20 fee.
Narrative Feature: $2500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Documentary Feature: $2500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Narrative Short: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), and the AFF Typewriter Award.
Narrative Student Short: $500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Animated Short: $500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award
Documentary Short: $500 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Dark Matters Feature: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Comedy Vanguard Feature: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
Produced Digital Series: $1000 Cash Prize. Reimbursement (up to $500) of round trip airfare to attend AFF, reimbursement of hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (up to $500), the AFF Typewriter Award.
GENERAL ELIGIBILITY
1. Submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee PER ENTRY and a completed online entry form.
2. Submissions must be in English or have English subtitles at the time submitted.
3. Submissions must be submitted as an online streaming video, a password-protected streaming URL, or on DVD with NTSC or PAL formatting (please test before sending).
1801 Salina St.
Austin, Texas 78702
United States