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How to Enter the Sundance Film Festival

Founded by producer-director-actor Robert Redford, the Sundance Film Festival is one of the most prestigious movie events in the world. It has announced the arrival of major cinematic talent, while ostensibly embracing the need for edgier independent fare made outside the Hollywood studio system. If you've completed a film, you may wish to enter it into the festival--with good reason; if accepted, its profile will receive a huge boost, helping you to secure a distributor as well as exposing it to an appreciative audience. The Festival is held annually in January in Park City, Utah, and the application period is usually from June to August of the previous year.

Things You'll Need

  • An unscreened movie
  • Access to a DVD recorder (if movie in another format)
  • Application form
  • Application fee
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Instructions

    • 1

      Log onto Sundance's official submission website (link provided) and check the deadlines for the next festival. The typical deadline is late summer, so if you miss it for the upcoming festival, you should plan to submit it the following year.

    • 2

      Decide which category you wish to enter. Sundance accepts films in six official categories: U.S. Narrative Features, U.S. Documentary Features, International Narrative Features, International Narrative Documentaries, U.S. Shorts and International Shorts. Sixteen films in the first five categories are selected, as well as 80-90 shorts spread across the two categories (a short is any film running 50 minutes or less). These constitute all of the categories for which you can submit films. Two others--Premieres and From the Collection--are by invitation only. The Festival also has three out-of-competition categories--Spectrum, Park City at Midnight, and New Frontier--featuring another 30-40 films.

    • 3

      Complete the application on the Festival's website, then prepare a cut of the film to show to the festival, sending it to the address provided on the website. If you haven't completed the film yet, assemble a rough cut to show to them . You should burn a copy of the film to standard DVD+R or DVD-R, along with a back-up, to send to the organizers. Blu-Ray or HD-DVD disks are acceptable, but they ask that you keep the back up as a standard DVD. They don't accept films in any other format (even VHS). Also note there is an application fee ($50 for 2009 applicants for the 2010 Festival).

    • 4

      Make sure your film is no more than two years old, but has not been shown at any ticketed event, on the Internet or TV or entered into any other festivals; the committee won't accept films which don't meet these conditions. If your film is in an language other than English, be sure it is subtitled so the committee can understand the dialogue.

    • 5

      By the first week of December, organizers will contact you via email to let you know if your film is selected, so be sure your email information on the application is correct.

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