April 2 to 5, 2009
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
presented by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arts Institute
2009.wifilmfest.org

2009 Wisconsin Film Festival Submission Guidelines
http://2009.wifilmfest.org/submitfilm.php

The Wisconsin Film Festival welcomes narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated films or videos of any length.

There are three categories:

* Wisconsin’s Own (films of any length from filmmakers with “Wisconsin ties”)
deadline: Monday, December 1, 2008
* Wisconsin Student Shorts (films under 60 minutes by Wisconsin college students or Wisconsin residents attending college in another state)
deadline: Wednesday, December 31, 2008
* Open Reel (general submissions of any length, open worldwide)
deadline: Monday, December 1, 2008

A few themes are emerging as we look ahead to our 2009 Festival. Within the overall program of films of diverse styles and stories (and in 2008 we showed 220 films), we do present a series or strands of films with related ideas. This year, some of the ideas that we’re working on include:

* Korean cinema
* stories about Islamic society and culture; stories about Jewish society and culture (or both!)
* disabilities (physical, mental), docs are good of course, but also different styles
* Asian American cinema
* food (both celebration of and industry); agriculture; environment (in the ecosystem sense)
* our connection to place (rural, urban, anything) and how our cultural environment or society is formed by place
* Baltic cinema

I throw these ideas out as inspiration only. Nothing's definite, these may change, and definitely won’t limit our selections. We welcome the widest range of excellent films on all subjects and in all styles.

Is this festival a good fit for my film?

We talk about whether films are “a good fit” for the Wisconsin Film Festival, because it’s hard to define or predict whether something will work in the program.

We present quality work that may not otherwise be seen in commercial theaters, and projects outside the mainstream film industry. We are looking for competence in the filmmaking craft; work that has vision and spirit; original subjects and well-told stories; and diverse voices.

The audience is terrific. Attendance at the tenth Festival in 2008 was 30,028 over just four days, watching 220 films. Many folks have been coming since the beginning, and many make the Festival a priority on their spring calendar. We look for films that represent different facets of filmmaking, from polished productions to no-budget gems. Each year’s selection of films is a blend of significant pictures scouted from around the world, combined with smaller, under-the-radar works that illustrate a variety of filmmaking styles.

If your film is selected, we’ll work hard to ensure that your film is always safely cared for, that your screening is promoted equally in the Festival program, that we build a good audience, and that the screening is on time with good picture and sound quality.

See last year’s complete film list for a sense of what makes up the Wisconsin Film Festival program.

How is the Wisconsin Film Festival different?

There are many festivals that share our interest in sustaining what’s good about motion pictures. We’re not unique. But the Wisconsin Film Festival is frequently described as having a relaxed, informal atmosphere, which is certainly true.

We don’t do red carpets, gala events, or have VIP access. Why? Because the audience knows that what matters is what’s on screen. This Festival is about bringing great motion pictures — large and small — to Madison for well-organized screenings in front of enthusiastic (and usually sold-out) crowds. It’s not about celebrity culture or people paying high prices to get special access. Ticket prices are low ($7, or $4 for students) and are available to all.

The theaters are all legit auditoriums, ranging from 155 seats to 1500+. We don’t use make-shift screening locations in places not suited for film. Whenever possible, films are screened on 35mm or 16mm (in 2007 there were seven film venues). Theaters dedicated to video are equipped for the Festival with high-quality professional projectors and decks that show clear, bright images. And all these theaters are close enough to easily walk between.

Some festivals rely entirely on submissions for their titles. Others barely bother. A portion of the Wisconsin Film Festival program always comes from this submission process, as part of our commitment to showcasing emerging talent.

There is no specific quota to be met in any category, nor in feature-length vs. short films. Each work is judged solely on its individual merit. Films shown in other festivals or in limited noncommercial exhibition are eligible. Preference is given to films without significant exposure in Wisconsin markets prior to the Festival.

We watch everything that is submitted. We do not farm out the viewing of your submission to others (for the Wisconsin categories there is a prescreening process by Festival staff before films are seen by the jury; see the downloadable guidelines for more info).

And we write original descriptions of each film for the program guide, because the audience wants to know what we like about your movie.

If your film is selected, a certain number of tickets to your film’s screening(s) will be reserved along with a ticket package for other films. We of course encourage anyone connected to the production to attend, but the Festival can only set aside a small number of tickets for each filmmaker. The Wisconsin Film Festival regrets that it is not able to financially support the travel expenses of all filmmakers. Acceptance of your film into the Festival program should not be interpreted as also including travel costs or other expenses.

What prizes can I win?

Because the festival circuit can be such an effective way to get your film some attention, a lot of emphasis can be put on how many prizes a festival offers, or whether there are cash awards for winners. We agree that this is exciting and rewarding in many ways (especially if you have production bills that still need to be paid).

Part of the success of the Wisconsin Film Festival, though, has been through supporting the notion that there is merit in all films in the program. Our goal is to expand people’s understanding and acceptance of what makes a good movie, not to narrow it by selecting the “best” ones. Over the years, many attendees have developed their appreciation for a much broader range of storytelling styles because they are encouraged to be adventurous. We think that’s ultimately good for filmmakers. Limiting the prizes to films winning an audience vote, and awards for Wisconsin films, means that we can balance the wish to support our local filmmakers while showing the respect and affection that we feel for every single film that in the final program. Maybe it’s easier for other festivals to pick favorites, but frankly here we love ’em all.

So, cash prizes are given to films in the Wisconsin’s Own and Wisconsin Student Shorts categories (in 2008, $250 for shorts and $500 for features), to help promote filmmaking in the state. And the audience votes for their favorite narrative and documentary feature films (an honor, we hope, but no cash award).

A few details

Your film must have been completed after January 1, 2007.

You can submit more than one film, as long as each work meets the other criteria. Each film must have its own submission form, entry fee, and DVD/VHS tape, but can be mailed in the same envelope.

The Festival will not consider:

1. Commercials or advertisements. Music videos. Instructional, industrial, medical, or institutional films. Video games. Stand-alone trailers. Films with prior substantial theatrical exhibition, commercial TV broadcast or webcast, or commercial video distribution in the Madison, Wisconsin market.
2. Films submitted to the Wisconsin Film Festival in past years.
3. Films completed before January 1, 2007.
4. Work that will not be completed by February 15, 2009. The Festival does not include “works in progress” in its final program.

Feature films (60 min. or more): $30
Short films (less than 60 min.): $20
Student films (any length): $10 (with photocopy of valid student ID)
[Student status is counted when your film was created. If you made your film when you were a student, and have now graduated, you may still submit that film as a student.]

Everyone will be notified of their film’s status (accepted or not accepted into the Festival) no later than February 15, 2009. At that time we’ll also notify any Wisconsin filmmakers who are receiving awards for their work.

Feel free to call (877-963-3456 or 608-262-9009) or email if you have questions — we look forward to seeing your work!

Meg Hamel, director
Wisconsin Film Festival

Winners of the Steep & Brew Audience Award voted by the audience for films 60 minutes or longer

BEST NARRATIVE FILM
"Time to Die" (Pora Umierać)
directed by Dorota Kędzierzawska
Poland, 2007, 104 mins
"Time to Die" is the story of elderly Aniela, the owner of a once beautiful, now run-down, wooden villa. After many years, she is finally “freed” of the last tenant in that mansion, forced upon her by the Communist government after World War II. She is once again the master of her own house. But this beautiful, long-awaited moment is far from what she had hoped. Her only son wants to sell the house, and there are now noisy neighbors (although they are fun to spy on with her binoculars). Shut off from the world, Aniela’s only companion is her (quite wonderful) dog, at least until a kid from the youth center start sneaking through the fence onto her property. Shot in luminous black-and-white and written especially for the actress Danuta Szaflarska, who was 91 years old at the time, the film is a “stunning visual universe created by Kędzierzawska and her cinematographer Arthur Reinhart. They are indeed true magicians of the eye, unafraid to let the camera paint pictures in front of us. This is the special and particular terrain of this film: the thoughtful depiction of the inner life of an elderly person. Kędzierzawska and Reinhart’s series of stunning images and the unforgettable dignity of Aniela combine to make Time to Die a unique film.” — Piers Handling, Toronto International Film Festival.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM (watch on PBS May 27)
"New Year Baby"
directed by Socheata Poeuv
USA, 2007, 75 mins
presented by the UW Asian American Studies Program
Born in a Cambodia refugee camp and raised with her family in Texas, Socheata Poeuv learns the real story of her parent’s survival and of her own heritage: her sisters are really cousins, adopted after her aunt was killed by the Khmer Rouge, and her brother is the son of her mother’s never-mentioned first husband. The family returns to Cambodia in a journey that is remarkably engaging, thanks to Socheata’s onscreen appeal and her dedication to allowing her parents to gradually re-enter that time of their lives that was so harrowing. A multiple award-winner, “it’s a remarkable story with lump-in-throat impact.” —Variety.

Winners of the Wisconsin’s Own and Wisconsin Student Short Film awards

“Wisconsin’s Own” winners

"Alaska Far Away"
directed by Paul Hill and Joan Juster

"The Closing Hour"
directed by Grey Gerling

"The European Kid"
directed by Ian Martin

"Madison"
directed by Brent Notbohm

"Perceval"
directed by Tate Bunker

2008 Wisconsin’s Own jurors:

Ali Selim, director of Sweet Land (WFF06)
Jim Kreul, founder of the Wisconsin Film Festival, filmmaker, and professor at University of North Carolina-Wilmington
Brijetta Hall Waller, documentary filmmaker and lecturer at Columbia College, Chicago

“Wisconsin Student Shorts” winners

"Otto’s Day"
directed by Ji-Sun O

"Passing Through"
directed by Jonathan Bothun

"Them’s Trying Times to be a Canine"
directed by Joseph Kraemer

2008 Wisconsin Student Shorts jurors:

Katherine Turczan, filmmaker, Chair of the Media Arts Department, and Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis.
Jim Stanger, film editor
Max Selim, filmmaker and screenwriter
Thomas Pope, screenwriter and lecturer and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Ali Selim, director of Sweet Land (WFF06).