We are seeking the crown-jewel--the poetic--in a film, which filmmakers call the moment. The moment in a film may be a look, a kiss, a quirky smile, an emerging plant in the aftermath of a fire, or something in the frame seemingly small but is gigantic in meaning to the story. In short, it is poetic. We, the organizing committee and our award judges will make the determination of whether a film short includes a poetic moment or moments.
Our festival is a celebration of the poetic moment and, as such, is not a competition that pits films against each other. Rather our festival is about discovering the poetic moment or moments in a given film short, which we recognize as the inherent pearl or pearls. These films may be awarded the Poetic Pearl Award, our highest honor, Award of Excellence and Award of Merit.