Orlando Film Festival (15)

Festival start: 15 October 2020      Festival end: 22 October 2020

Named one of the top "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" by Moviemaker Magazine, we're now in our 14th year of showcasing incredible cinema from around the world!

The Orlando Film Festival hosts an immersive 8 day festival full of diverse films, insightful panels & workshops, nightly parties & happy hours, a variety of interactive activities & networking opportunities and an exciting awards ceremony where prizes valued at over 1 million dollars will be awarded.

Over the course of the week an estimated 300 filmmakers from around the world will join us to showcase hundreds of films (350 in 2018 alone), to over 12,000 attendees.

Though we have hundreds of films each year, the festival is run by working filmmakers, so it is important to us that every film and filmmaker is given the attention they deserve. Every filmmaker is given time for a Q&A after their screening in order for the audience & filmmakers to really get the most out of the event and we find ways to help people connect & network where possible. Our desire is for every filmmaker to leave the festival not only having had a blast, but also with valuable experiences that will enhance their careers.

We are proud to call the state-of-the-art Cobb Plaza Cinema Café 12 our home; located right in the heart of Orlando. All our events take place in or around the theater, which is walking distance from our official festival hotels. The festival operates six auditoriums featuring beautiful high-end Barco projectors, 5.1 surround sound, plush luxury chairs - every screening is truly the real theatrical experience.

Audiences & filmmakers do not just watch quality cinema but also get an immersive experience full of spirited Q & A’s, panel discussions & workshops with industry professionals, script reads & fantastic nightly parties. This is the perfect opportunity for filmmakers and screenwriters to directly interact with their audience, as well as others in the industry.

In addition to large appreciative crowds, other perks include discounts at many of the local bars & restaurants, as well as hugely discounted rates at our official festival hotel. Our nightly parties have been known to shut down a few bars and our sponsor Stella Artois always takes care of the beer for everyone.

We also give out over 40 filmmaking and screenwriting awards with some fantastic prizes, including a ShortsTV distribution deal offer for EVERY winning short film and a first look deal with Valencia Motion Pictures; a local production company with over 3 million dollars of equipment. The average value of this collaboration is around $500,000 for an indie feature.

Many films showcased over the years have gone on to worldwide distribution & critical acclaim including Sundance Grand Jury Nominations (such as Queen of Versailles) and even one that took home an Oscar (Taxi to the Dark Side).

We've also been honored with participation from slew of celebrity guests including Kevin Smith, Malcolm Mcdowell, Alison Brie, Michael Rooker, Haley Joel Osment, Milos Foreman, Cheryl Hines, Marcia Gay Harden, Olympia Dukakis, Patrick Fabian, Christopher Titus, Bob Hawk, and many many others.

But the truth is whether your film features a cast of A-list celebrities or it was something shot with some friends - your film's budget, clout, or it's premiere status doesn't matter to us. All we care about is showcasing high quality independent cinema.

If your film fits that simple criteria, please send it our way and join us for what will surely be our biggest year yet!

Our sponsors include Stella Artois, Cobb Theaters, VER, Valencia College, United Arts, Great Graphics Photoscan, Movie Magic, ShortsTV, and many others.

Follow us on Twitter @OrlandoFilmFest & like us on Facebook – Facebook.com/OrlandoFilmFest to stay updated, learn more about the festival or ask us any questions!

We present over 40 filmmaking and screenwriting awards each year. The current combined value of all prizes & in-kind services awarded is estimated to be over $1 million.

Current 2020 prizes include:

- $500,000 First Look deal with Valencia Motion Pictures to the winner of Best Feature and Un-produced Screenplay

- $50,000 Fist Look deal with Valencia Motion Pictures winner of Best Short

- ShortsTV Distribution Offer for every winning short film across 14 categories

- First Look Deal with Valencia Motion Pictures for the winner of Best Screenplay

- EP Movie Magic Software Licenses to the winners of 10 categories

- Live Script Read of Selected Screenplay Submission by cast of SAG actors


Filmmaker Festival Benefits & Perks:

- 2 VIP Elite Passes ($600 value)

- 2 VIP Passes ($300 value)

- Access to our 3-day Pitch Workshop and Competition ($1,000 value)

- Discounts on additional passes and pass upgrades

- Free beer during daily happy hour and nightly parties

- Deep discount at official festival hotel

- Discounts at local bars & restaurants, all within walking distance

- Welcome SWAG bag

SUBMISSIONS:


The Orlando Film Festival is a competitive exhibition for domestic and international feature films, documentaries, shorts and screenplays. The Orlando Film Festival reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project submitted. Only projects that are completed within 24 months of the event date are eligible for competition. All accepted films will be considered for competition unless otherwise noted. Projects my be accepted and presented “out of competition” if they fail to meet certain criteria. Works in progress will be considered if noted as such and the screener is updated to the final version before the final deadline. The festival does not pay screening fees for submitted films.


ALUMNI FILMMAKERS:


Once you’ve be accepted to OFF, you become family. We seek to cultivate a rich community of filmmakers and our alumni discount is one of the ways we do it. Filmmakers that have had a film play at the festival in the past are eligible for the OFF alumni discount. Please choose the alumni fee option & let us know which film you had in the festival in the past when submitting.


SUBTITLES


All foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. Unfortunately, any films that do not provide working subtitles will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.


ELIGIBILITY


- Premiere status is not require, but is taken into account when curating the final lineup. Central Florida Premiere is minimum requirement.

- If your film plays at another festival within 75 miles from OFF, prior to the current festivals dates, it is not eligible to play at OFF.

- Films who’s primary focus is suicide, elicit or promote violence & discrimination, function as propaganda, pornography, or hate speech are not eligible for consideration.


TECH DETAILS


It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to quality check the finale file thoroughly before sending to the festival. While we check the files before exhibition and will notify you of errors, things can slip through the cracks when reviewing 1000s of hours of content, therefore it is on the filmmaker to deliver a file that they are pleased with being exhibited as is.


FEATURES SPECS:
DCP on hard drive
h.264 .MOV on hard rive or thumb drive

SHORT SPECS:
h.264 .MOV on hard rive or thumb drive
NO DCP


SHIPPING


The festival requires all films delivered on either a USB drive or a DCP drive within 20 days after notification of acceptance to the follow address:

ORLANDO FILM FESTIVAL
5131 Gramont Ave
Orlando, FL 32812

The cost of shipping any materials and films to the festival must be paid by the entrant. The festival will not pay the cost of shipping the materials back to the filmmaker. The festival cannot guarantee shipment of drives to other festivals during the days of the festival. All packages with pre paid shipping label with be mailed back after the festival.

The accepted methods for materials getting back to filmmakers are:

i) the package is shipped with a SASE or pre-packaged shipping label back to you

ii) the filmmaker collects their drive in person AFTER their last screening during the event


LIABILITY


Though every possible care is taken with materials while in our possession, we cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage. Please do not send original or masters files or drives.


REPRODUCTION AGREEMENT


Submission to the festival grants the Orlando Film Festival permission to utilize excerpts of accepted work & it’s associated promotional material (such as film trailers, posters, photos, etc) in all promotional activities related to the festival.