The Cutting Hall Student Film Series is a bi-monthly year-round event presented by the Palatine Park District dedicated to showcasing the work of student filmmakers of all ages. The series accepts films in a variety of forms including live action, animation, experimental and more. Student films should be no longer that 44 minutes in length.

Gold Student Award (Short Film) - 1st Place
Silver Student Award (Short Film) - 2nd Place
Bronze Student Award (Short Film) - 3rd Place
Honorable Mention (Short Film)

Gold Student Award (Feature Film) - 1st Place
Honorable Mention (Feature Film)

*All awards announced in December 2014

Submission for the Cutting Hall Student Film Series are accepted year-round without any official deadline. Films can be of any style or genre.

Entrants are responsible for all insurance and shipment costs. Although due care will be exercised and staff will contact the submitter in the event a defective disc is received, the series cannot assume any liability for damage to entries. Submissions will not be returned. Every effort will be made to send notifications to the entrant in regards to the status of their submission, however, due to the high volume of entries received, possible e-mail complications, or inaccurate information provided by the entrant, some notifications may be delayed. The series will not be liable in any manner for the failure of notification. If the entrant would like an update on the status of their submission, we encourage you to please contact us at cuttinghall@palatineparks.org.

Entrants must agree to all Entry Terms and Conditions, which also includes deadline and entry material requirements. Please read all Entry Terms and Conditions in their entirety as submission fees are non-refundable. The Cutting Hall Student Film Series is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition for promotional purposes (limited to the season in which the film was submitted).

(1) Non-English language produced films must have English subtitles or be dubbed in English.

(2) Submission DVDs will not be returned. The series is not liable for any submission shipping costs or screening fees.

(3) By submitting, the filmmaker grants the series non-exclusive permission to exhibit the film (if selected).

(4) Only NTSC DVD (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-R DL or DVD+R DL) or Digital Screener submissions will be accepted. It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to ensure that the DVD or Blu-ray submitted plays in its entirety on an industry-standard DVD or Blu-ray player prior to submitting it to the series.

(5) The series is not responsible for any packaging or shipping costs in the return of exhibition copies and/or other promotional materials. Although due care will be exercised and staff will contact the entrant in the event a defective disc is received, the series cannot assume any liability for damage to entries. If the entrant has not received notification that their submission was received, it is the responsibility of the entrant to contact our us.

(6) Electronic press kits (which should include film stills, director(s) photos, brief director bio, producer(s) photos, brief producer bio, synopsis and production credits) are encouraged and must be submitted at the time of submission.

(7) Filmmaker shall indemnify and hold harmless the Cutting Hall Student Film Series from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the submission materials entered.

(8) Selected films and their respective filmmakers agree to participate in the publicity for the series as well as other promotional opportunities. Series staff may require a high resolution Quicktime trailer (or 30 second clip) and social media info (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, etc). This media will be used to promote the individual films at the series.

(9) Accepted filmmakers who plan on attending the series are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and all other expenses. Each accepted feature film will receive two screening passes. Each accepted short film and music video will receive one series pass.

(10) All of the above submission eligibility guidelines and general rules are subject to change by the Cutting Hall Student Film Series without notice.