Out of Thin Air
Catskill Mountains Film Festival Call for Entries
The Catskill Mountains Film Festival (CMFF), following the recent success of its workshop component this fall, is pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions for the festival exhibition and competition. This event will take place on May 2nd through May 4th, 2014, primarily on the SUNY Delhi campus but also at suitable venues in the towns and villages of Delaware County — from theatres and auditoriums to outdoor public spaces.
The CMFF promises to enrich the already fertile artistic life of the region by promoting the film business in New York State, showcasing professional and local talent, and nurturing a new generation of local filmmakers. Its mission is to provide a forum for regional filmmakers to gather and screen their films, network, and exchange information about their craft. The CMFF offers an opportunity for the experienced professional as well as for young and budding film artists to benefit from sharing their creations and being exposed to the latest technological advances and innovative approaches to filmmaking.
The CMFF is jointly sponsored by the State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi), the Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce, and WSKG TV and Radio, and Five Star Subaru, all of whom are providing their considerable talent, resources, and facilities to assist us in making the festival a successful, ongoing event. The festival committee is also working closely with local arts institutions and businesses. The festival will be financed through a combination of public and private funding, and a grant from the O’Connor Foundation. We are confident that our local business owners will recognize that such a festival can offer considerable financial benefits to the surrounding community and will therefore enthusiastically support its development and promotion.
On September 21st, 2013, an enthusiastic group of filmmakers ranging from grade-schoolers to Emmy-award winners attended the CMFF workshops on the campus of SUNY Delhi. An integrated set of workshops led by industry professionals covered various aspects of filmmaking, ranging from conception and writing, to the technical skills needed for modern-day film production. The 2013 CMFF workshop sessions included Writing for the Screen, Cameras & Lighting, Audio for Video, and Your (Best) Documentary Approach, as well as two evening programs — a showing of the locally produced Francine, with a post-viewing discussion, and an extended workshop session on iPhoneography.
By the time the participants left, after an intense but jubilant day of workshops and networking, they had acquired a basic sense of the techniques and processes of modern filmmaking. The seminar was intended to encourage submissions to the festival by guiding filmmakers throughout the application process and providing practical instruction in producing their films.
In 2014, The CMFF Awards Ceremony and Festival Weekend will be held on May 2nd through 4th. The weekend will begin with a gala reception celebrating the filmmakers and the local film community (screenings begin that night), followed by 2 days of screenings of nearly 50 selected films. The CMFF will select certain films for awards at both the student and professional levels for various genres and technical categories. The categories of films to be exhibited are Narrative, Documentary, Animation, Music Video, and iPhoneography (that is, films of any genre shot with an amateur’s camera). The festival will culminate with the awards ceremony on Saturday evening, during which the winners in each category will be announced.
Because of its focus on youthful filmmakers of New York State, the CMFF encourages
all film students of all ages — from grammar school to graduate school — to participate. The festival organizers are soliciting entries from every school in the region and, more broadly, from the film departments of college-level institutions in the state. Independent young filmmakers who are not affiliated with a film school will also be encouraged to submit entries, as will
professional cineastes, especially those with local connections.
Applications will be accepted starting on December 1st, 2013, and the entry deadline is March 1st, 2014. Submissions accepted for inclusion in the festival program and participation in the
competition will be announced on April 5th, 2014. To process the films submitted, the CMFF is using "Without a Box," an industry-standard clearinghouse for film festival entries.
We are proud to be joining film festivals all over the country that avail themselves of this
comprehensive tool to make the submission process easier for participating filmmakers. For further information on the entry process or to submit a work to the festival, please see our Without a Box site at https://www.withoutabox.com/03film/03t_fin/03t_fin_fest_01dead.php?festview=1&film_id=&category_id=1452270.
