Sundance Institute, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, invites YOU, the storytellers from around the world, to be a part of our first-ever Short Film Challenge.
The Challenge: Create a unique, compelling and personal Short Film (fiction or documentary) that explores an empowering person or shares an optimistic story of individuals and communities who are overcoming poverty and hunger, combatting disease, or improving health. Your Short Film can be imaginative, unorthodox, daring or simple – the style and structure are completely up to you but you must touch on economic inequalities.
The Goal: Let’s use the power of independent film and collective creativity to inspire a global conversation around innovative solutions that real people are using to conquer these challenges.
The Reward: FIVE winning Short Films will premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and those FIVE winning filmmakers will each receive a $10,000 prize and an an all-expenses paid trip to attend the Film Festival as the Special Guest of Sundance Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Together we endeavor to illuminate the belief that all lives are connected and worthwhile and the only thing that separates us is the lottery of where we are born. Our dream, through the unlimited power of global storytelling, is to provoke human empathy and open the world’s consciousness to the idea that somewhere out there, there is another version of you. Someone who struggles for a healthy and productive life because they live in poverty most of us can’t imagine. You can also look at the flipside and explore Another You who has unimaginable resources and enjoys a life where all of their needs and wants are provided easily.
We seek hope, and we seek it together. Go ahead - SUBMIT YOUR SHORT FILM NOW!
| Not a filmmaker, but still want to get involved? Do you have a great Story to tell? Click HERE to SUBMIT YOUR STORY NOW! We will be awarding FIVE semi-finalist Story winners $1,000 each for their inventive and interesting Stories and one of those winning Stories will be brought to life by a renowned Sundance Institute filmmaker. The ONE Grand Prize Story winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to attend the premiere of this Short Film at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. |
Watch three of the Short Films that premiered at Sundance 2014 for inspiration:
"The Masterchef" a short film by Ritesh Batra
"After My Garden Grows" a short film by Megan Mylan
"Kombit" a short film by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman
"Meet The Artists: Sundance Short Film Challenge" - here are the filmmakers behind the first five Short Films that premiered @ Sundance 2014.
Yours can be next!
**OPEN CALL for Short Film Submissions -- Deadline: July 1st, 2014**
The goal of this Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge is for you to create & submit an interesting, beautiful and personal Short Film (fiction or documentary) that celebrates individuals and/or communities from all parts of our world who are innovating ways to overcome extreme poverty and hunger, combat disease or improve human health.
The Sponsor wants Short Films that are 3 to 8 minutes in length and are incredibly inspirational and authentic. Make your execution imaginative, unorthodox, daring or simple – the style and structure are completely up to you but you must touch on economic inequalities in our world, in an empowering and optimistic way.
Do your research. Find the untold tale. Take an adventure. Make your Short Film stand out above the rest.
FIVE winning filmmakers will earn $10,000 plus the opportunity to see their film premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival as the Special Guest of Sundance Institute and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
| Not a filmmaker, but still want to get involved? Have a great Story to tell? Click HERE to submit up to five compelling Stories based on this creative challenge for the opportunity to earn $1,000, have your Story brought to life by a renowned Sundance Institute filmmaker, and get an all-expenses paid trip to the 2015 Sundance Film Festival for that Short Film premiere! |
A Little Perspective:
For the 2014 Sundance Film Festival –
• Out of 8,161 Short Films that were submitted,
• Only 66 Short Films were selected into the competition!
Do the math. This Tongal project will probably give you the best odds to get your Short Film into the Sundance Film Festival!
Some Thought-Starters:
• How are you going to tell the story of innovative and creative ways humans everywhere are overcoming extreme poverty and hunger all across our globe?
• How are you going to shine a light on these effective solutions while creating empathy and hope for human beings living within this circumstance?
• How are you going to give a voice to and put a face to “Another You” in the Global South and/or the Global North and share that perspective in a fresh and compelling way?
• How are you going to craft a piece of beautiful and interesting cinema that will seamlessly educate and inspire decision-makers to affect change for good?
The Bigger Picture:
This Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge is part of a larger creative effort to raise awareness about these struggles affecting our world and what inspiring people are doing to combat them, and empower decision-makers to take action. Outside of the scope of this Tongal project:
• Five Sundance Institute Alumni Filmmakers have already produced five powerful short films that premiered at this year’s 2014 Sundance Film Festival (WATCH THIS: "Meet The Artists: Sundance Short Film Challenge" - Yours can be next!) You should also reference the Sizzle Reel. We will provide the short films under the Assets Tab, once we can make them available.
• Over the course of this year, four more Sundance Institute Alumni filmmakers will each produce a short film that will complete the compilation of fourteen films in total.
--Key Marketing Messages: Your Short Film should create human empathy for the condition of those caught in poverty and hunger.
--Target Audience: Socially conscious film enthusiasts.
--Executional Mandatories: Pre-roll and post-roll will be provided by the Sponsors and attached to the final five selected Short Films. Bumpers do not need to be included in the final submission process.
--Tone: Optimistic. Empowering. Innovative. Interesting. Beautiful. Cinematic. Meaningful. We want to avoid a tone of traditional documentary (talking heads) and a desperation or depressed tone regarding the subjects of poverty and hunger. It is our intention to stimulate a creative approach to the task at hand, we even think comedy might be a possibility.
--Exposure: The FIVE selected Short Films are intended to premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Additionally, there is potential for these Short Films to be distributed across various digital platforms and social channels.
This Tongal Project will be worth a total of $50,000 dollars and consist a Short Film Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.
PHASE 1: SHORT FILM (OPEN TO FILMMAKERS) – All creators are invited to enter a 3-8 minute Short Film submission that can be based on a totally original concept of their own choosing inspired by the Project Objectives. The Judges will score all Short Film submissions and the FIVE (5) highest scoring Short Films will receive prizes.
• Prizing: Sundance Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will select FIVE (5) winning Short Films based on the judging criteria set forth in the Sundance Short Film Project Official Rules (hyperlink). Each Short Film winning filmmaker, upon delivery of their Short Film final cut, will receive $10,000 in prizing, have their Short Film shown at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and receive an all-expenses paid trip to attend the Film Festival as the Special Guest of Sundance Institute and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
--Video Phase Payout: Each of the FIVE (5) Winners of the Short Film Phase will earn $10,000.
--Music: Tongal has partnered with Epidemic Sound for the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge. Music from the Epidemic Sound catalog is available to filmmakers at no cost solely for their incorporation into Submissions to this Project and will not require a separate Music Release Form. Filmmakers may also choose to use original music. If you are selected as a winner and your Submission uses custom/original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. If you obtain music from any other other catalog providers, you must purchase the appropriate license at your own expense and submit it with our Music Release Form when you turn in your Video paperwork.
Tongal members are encouraged to browse the Epidemic Sound catalog by visiting player.epidemicsound.com. On their login page, enter the following credentials:
Username: TongalMusic
Password: TongalMusic2014 (case sensitive)
Click login. From the main screen, there is a brief tutorial section on how to use the site. Click on "The ES Player – An Introduction Tutorial" button in the upper right corner. Alternately, click any of the tabs across the top: Browse, Albums, TV Elements and SFX to start searching for music or sound effects, or use the Quick Search field in the upper left.
Once you’ve identified the track(s) you want to use, click the down arrow under the Actions column to the right of the song title/description. This will open a download window, allowing you to save the file to the location of your choice. You can also download stems by clicking the second "hollow" download arrow. Or, you can create Playlists in the My Music tab and add tracks to playlists to be downloaded later by clicking on the plus "+" icon.
Keep track of the Track Title and Composer(s) of the songs you end up using in the video (info listed below the sound wave player up top), in addition to the fact that you used Epidemic Sound to obtain the tracks. IMPORTANT: Epidemic uses a "per second" basis to process licenses, so, you can use AS MANY TRACKS AS YOU WANT, but you must identify the timing of each one used in your final video. When entering your credits on Tongal, enter the elapsed time of each track used in the Track ID # field in seconds.
Logistical Criteria: These are the simple logistical criteria. Simple, but also imperative – please read these criteria and adhere to them!
• The Short Film should be between 3 and 8 minutes in duration.
• The Short Film can be completed over a period no longer than January 21, 2014 to October 1, 2014.
• The Short Film should not require extensive licensing of archival footage, as determined by Tongal, Sundance Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• You, the filmmaker, must be able to obtain all the necessary rights.
• Limit 5 submissions per member at the Short Film Phase.
• You must be at least 13 years or older to enter.
• Being selected as a winner is contingent upon agreeing to the Production Agreement with Sundance Institute. ONLY winning Submissions will have the option to enter into such agreement.
1. The Video should not exceed 8 minutes in length. Preferred format for upload to the Tongal website is HD 720p 16x9. Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX. Should you win, you will also be required to provide a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec.
2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.
3. In the event you utilize any third party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.
4. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
5. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.
6. Short Films must be in the English language or subtitled.
7. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
8. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
9. In the event that fewer than 100 Short Films are received, the Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest for up to fourteen (14) days at their discretion.
10. The Sponsor will be entitled to reasonable revisions on the finished Short Films without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.
11. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, IP Assignment and Sundance Institute Production Agreement, winning Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their winning Videos, as well as a copy of a photo ID for all On-camera Talent releases. You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a QuickTime .mov file in uncompressed, Animation or ProRes HQ codec at 1920x1080 to claim your prize.
12. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.