DOCTOBER showcases excellent documentary work completed and proposed by college students in the Pittsburgh region, with cash awards to the best work.

It is both a film contest and a film proposal contest. The event is a co-production of The Documentary Salon, Film and Media Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and WQED Filmmakers. The jury is composed of representatives from colleges and universities in the greater Pittsburgh region.

The screening will be held at WQED-TV's historic Studio A.

Awards & Prizes

$250 for best films in four categories that represent essential qualities of documentary:

* World in a Frame Award...... Best research and journalism
* You Don’t See That Everyday Award...... Best insight into an unknown world
* The Cinema Award...... Best use of the medium
* One Moment Please Award...... Best captures remarkable moment(s) from life

$250 for Most Promising Documentary Proposal

Rules & Terms

There are two types of submissions, FILM and PROPOSAL submissions.

FILM SUBMISSIONS must meet the following criteria:
1. Completed by current student or recent alumnus (Class of 2022 or 2023) of one of the following twelve Pittsburgh area colleges or universities:
-Carlow University
-Carnegie Mellon University
-Community College of Allegheny County
-Chatham University
-Duquesne University
-La Roche University
-University of Pittsburgh
-Point Park University
-Robert Morris University
-St. Vincent College
-West Virginia University
-Westminster College

2. Maximum running time of 25 min.

3. Portrays something real or nonfictional in nature; there is no restriction on how it is portrayed.

4. Does not have to be a class-assigned project, but must be produced while the submitter was an undergraduate or graduate student.

5. Group-produced projects are accepted; products of a course devoted to the production of a single film are not accepted.

6. A single film may win more than one award.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS are welcome from the same 12 institutions listed above. To submit, create a FilmFreeway Project:
-Choose "Script" in Project Type
-Write a 1-sentence description under Synopsis
-Complete rest of the Project info, then under Script File, upload a .pdf with the following sections:

1. Working Title of proposed film
3. Probable Faculty advisor for the film
4. Yes or No: the proposed film be made as coursework for a class.
4. SYNOPSIS. Brief (≤100 words) description of the proposed film.
5. BACKGROUND. (≤200 words) Factual information about the subject matter.
6. APPROACH. (≤200 words) Description of how you plan to make the film. This should include how you will gaining access to the subject. It may also include the perceived point of view of the film, its style, its structure, and themes that the film may touch upon.
7. BUDGET. Prepare a simple budget with a line for each anticipated expense, and a total amount. Even if it's a "no budget" idea, submit a budget with every hard expense including parking, mileage, food, batteries, etc.
8. IMAGE. Include ONE image to represent your proposed film topic.

Proposals will be judged based on originality, value to community/society, and likelihood of completion.