Sydney Film Festival 2014 Open To Submissions

Entries are now open for the 61st annual Sydney Film Festival, which is set to immerse Sydneysiders in the world of cinema from Wednesday June 4 until Sunday June 15, 2014.

Festival Director Nashen Moodley said, “As we prepare for the 61st edition of Sydney Film Festival in June 2014, we invite filmmakers to submit their films to the Festival for consideration. The programming team looks forward to viewing these submissions and presenting a selection of the very best films at the next Festival.”

Submissions for the Festival are being accepted through FilmFestivalLife and will close on Thursday February 27, 2014.

“We are thrilled to be working with FilmFestivalLife to make the submission process easier for entrants and to ensure that filmmakers across Australia and the international community have access to the Sydney Film Festival platform,” said Mr Moodley.

Last year, out of the 2,500 films submitted, 192 films were invited to the Festival, screening to an incredible 140,000 attendees.

2014 will mark the 45th year of the Festival presenting its Australian short film competition, making it the oldest short film competition in Australia. Since 1970, the competition has served as launch pad for emerging Australian film talent, spring-boarding countless directors, producers and actors down a path towards international success.

Past winners have included film luminaries from across Australia’s creative landscape including Chris Noonan, who went on to write and direct international cinema smash BABE; Don McAlpine, who received an Oscar nomination for MOULIN ROUGE; and Jack Thompson, who has starred in numerous Australian classics including SUNDAY TOO FAR AWAY, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER and BREAKER MORANT.

Other former winners Phil Noyce, Jane Campion, Rolf de Heer, Alex Proyas and George Miller, have managed to carve acclaimed careers for themselves within the film industry, both domestically and abroad.

Entries are open to features, documentaries and short films (under 40 minutes) in all categories of the Festival program, including:

· The Australian Documentary Competition – which awards a cash prize of $10,000;

· The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films Live Action Award and Best Director – both winners receive cash prizes of $5,000 sponsored by Dendy Cinemas;

· The Yoram Gross Animation Award (cash prize $4,000).

Dendy Cinemas have been proud to sponsor the Awards for 26 years, and the winner of their Live Action Award is now eligible for Academy Award consideration. Also eligible is the winner of the Yoram Gross Animation Award. Yoram and Sandra Gross have sponsored the Yoram Gross Animation Award since 1987.

Whether it be a feature film debut, the latest short or an immersive documentary, Sydney Film Festival invites filmmakers to submit their films now for the 2014 event.

Both the Dendy Awards for Australian Short films and the Australian Documentary Competition are open exclusively to Australian films.

A small fee applies with the submission. Before entering, Festival organisers urge all entrants to read the submission requirements closely to ensure that all entries meet premiere status and broader eligibility requirements. Head to: https://www.sff.org.au/public/about/2014-film-submissions/ for full eligibility criteria and submission details.

What: Sydney Film Festival
When: 4-15 June, 2014
Submissions: www.filmfestivallife.com/Sydney-Film-Festival