Film Forum West Midlands

Electric December, a short film competition led by Watershed for under 21s has its deadline coming up on the 25th September. So get cracking and submit your short film online.

http://www.electricdecember.org/generic/submit.html

(via Brendan O’Neill)

Film Forum members Kelly Kaos and Kel Webbo of Kaos Productions have launched 2009′s Halloween Monster Movie Challenge. The challenge is to make a 5-10 minute film that contain only monsters (NO humans!) by the 19th October.

To enter the competition email monstermoviechallenge@hotmail.com with your team name. They will then send you three lines of dialogue. One of which will must be in your film for it to be a valid entry (this is so we know it was made specifically for the competition). They will also send you a postal address to send your entry to.

Submission is open now and the deadline is the 19th October.

The location of the screening event will soon be confirmed apparently, so we’ll keep you posted on the events section of the site. Non-filmmakers will be welcome to go along to the screening and should prove to be gut gushing, boogie-faced fun.

If you’ve got any questions or queries send an email to monstermoviechallenge@hotmail.com or visit the Facebook Group

Here’s the competition rules:

• Films must be 5-10 minutes in length (including credits)
• ONLY feature monsters. NO human beings! Monsters can include: vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein’s monster (or variants), zombies, swamp monsters, mummies, ghouls, etc.
• You must use at least one of the lines of dialogue provided to you by the organisers to count as a valid film.
• All entries must be submitted on a DV Tape or DVD and must have a 16:9 ratio.
• Films must not contain copyrighted material. The filmmaker is responsible for the content of their work and all copyrights must be obtained by the filmmakers prior to their submission.
• Film must not contain any pornographic or hate-related content.
• The judges’ decision is final and they reserve the right not to accept an entry without explanation.
• No allowances can be made for late entries.
• All films must be in English or have Engish subtitles
• All filmmakers must be 18+
• All films must be made between the opening date (1st July) and the submission date (19th October)

See the fruits of The Great Animation Challenge, the best entries to last year’s Flip Animation Festival and chew the fat with Animation Forum WM members at the next Animation Forum West Midlands event, Out Of Hours: Animation on Tuesday 21st July 2009 at the Light House, Wolverhampton.

The event starts at 7pm, with screenings of The Great Animation Challenge entries preceded by the best animation from Flip Festival 2008 and a talk by stop-motion animator behind Small Birds Singing Linda McCarthy. Following this, the results of The Great Animation Challenge will be announced with the competition entries screened in the courtyard area. The Great Animation Challenge is the culminatation of a competition run by Animation Forum WM, Flip and Imagine Magazine over the summer which gave animators tracks from several up and coming bands to download and animate to.

The evening will continue with a chance for a chat over a drink with fellow animators in Lock Works, the Light House café and bar.

To attend this free event, simply RSVP via the Facebook group or by email.

Ian Price is getting the Redditch Film Festival ready to be hosted at the Redditch Palace Theatre in Spring 2010. They’re looking for loads of great local films from filmmakers in and around the Redditch area

If you’re interested get in touch at info@redditchfilmfestival.com. All films will be considered for the festival.

http://www.redditchfilmfestival.com

Filmrats will be hosting it’s multimedia evening again on Wednesday 24th June at 8pm at the Bristol Pear in Selly Oak.

Whilst we didn’t manage to make the their opening night, it seemed to have a great atmosphere and turn out. We’ll definitely be making this next one as it looks like a great chance to take in local talents and have a nice time.

A provisional line up has been posted, but there’s always room for more Filmmakers, Singer/Songwriters, Bands, Poets, Comedians and Performance Artists. They accept all films and music videos and will play all submissions granted that the subject matter is not offensive.

Send your short films in DVD format to Filmrats, Flat 3, 889 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6ND and email any stills, posters, trailers and provide a brief synopsis and production credits.

Email: filmrats@hotmail.co.uk

They’re also social media’d up to the eyeballs:

Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/filmrats

YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/Filmrats

Twitter: http://twitter.com/filmrats

So get submitting and get some exposure.

ThinkSync Films are making their final call for entries to its competition ahead of the deadline on 12th June.

ThinkSync have made a selection of music leading independent labels and publishers available for download. The competition rewards the most skilful and appropriate use of the music within a short film. It should not be seen as a ‘music video’ but encompass the qualities that distinguish the best in short film making.

There will be a £1000 cash prize for the winner plus other prizes such as equipment and time in post for other shortlisted film makers. All entrants will be offered a discount on membership to Shooting People. The screening will be held in conjunction with the 11th anniversary Rushes Soho Shorts Festival.

You can see 2008′s shortlist by clicking here.

 All press enquiries should be directed to Connie Farr at connie@thinksyncfilms.com.