KinoDrome: International Motion Picture & Screenplay Festival

IMPORTANT DATE: January 1, 2020 - ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for 2020 FESTIVAL!

We're juried and IMDb verified short-form festival and script contest; a one-day-event (in September) in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Read everything below to get familiar with our little festival and submit with confidence!

The ART of Cinema

KinoDrome accepts the most creative and superbly original SHORT FILMS, MUSIC VIDEOS, EXPERIMENTAL MEDIA, DOCUMENTARY shorts, and ANIMATION (all under 15 minutes in length) from independent producers/directors (professionals and hobbyists), student directors, and amateur filmmakers - anywhere in the world. In addition to films, the festival also seeks: short, feature-length, and series-pilot SCREENPLAYS (for script contest). We are interested in films and scripts in any genre or style, so long as it includes at least ONE of the following forms of creativity:

-- very ORIGINAL narrative or experimental concept,
-- thought PROVOKING real-life dramatic themes,
-- slightly UNUSUAL subjects and characters,
-- an OPENMINDED way of artistic expression;

The judges want to see (or read) something fresh, or strange, or scary, or provocative, or shocking, or weird, or hilarious, or maybe politically “incorrect” and nonconformist… Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “Nonconformist” as: “a person who does not conform to a generally accepted pattern of thought or action”. Be slightly DIFFERENT, provoke, make people talk about your content - because it's unlike anything else.

KinoDrome doesn’t care how much money you spent on your film or video (your budget size). Your film could be shot on an old film stock, or with an old camera, or on your mobile phone, or an expensive high-end 4k camera. Yes, you should pay attention to some basic filmmaking techniques and rules, decent cinematography, sound quality, and overall production value, BUT, what we really care about is:

-- ORIGINALITY (fresh ideas, unique stories, unseen narratives);
-- ARTISTIC EXPERIMENTATION (slightly different audio-visual approach),

Conclusion: KinoDrome is less about “mainstream/popular” content, and more about “arthouse/edgy” content. This applies to all categories.

FESTIVAL'S DEDICATEES

• Eadweard Muybridge, 1830-1904, an English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. His famous art-piece (and first motion picture ever made) Horse in Motion (1878) – serves as our festival’s logo.
• George K. Spoor, 1872-1953, an American film producer known for his early and successful movie exhibition service, ultimately named Kinodrome, in Chicago in 1897 – inspired our festival’s name.

HISTORY and MISSION

2020 will be our third year! You might say – “just another little festival…”. But there’s a reason for “another little festival”. The “micro budget” film and media production is exploding all around the world. The equipment is available and affordable, and a lot of people want to express themselves. Therefore, there’s need for more public shows, more contests, and more festivals.

THE PUBLIC SHOW EXPERIENCE

It’s a fantastic feeling to see your visual creation on the bigger screen, in an auditorium, and to be recognized by film enthusiasts (or other artists). Being accepted to screen at the film festival – you’re publicly showing your art and adding something very important to your career. The PUBLIC SHOW is the best way to present your visual art! This is super important for first-time filmmakers and film students. You're building your reputation and your content portfolio.

WRITERS NEED APPRECIATION

Screenwriters - you're the ones who create NARRATIVES. You should be more APPRECIATED by everyone in this field. So, at our festival - your name and your script's title will be presented on the big screen, too! All Official Selection script titles and authors will be featured on the screen at the beginning of award ceremony! No other festival does it.

2018 and 2019 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

2018 festival was a success. And 2019 was another success! We had close to 100 people in attendance. About 50% of award winning artists were present. Several award winning titles from our festival had additional public shows in (at other festivals) and today they are - multiple exhibited and award winning films or scripts! Check out the following award winning newcomers on Google or IMDb: Carol Conley, Ayesha Abouelazm, Eileen O'Meara, Logan Fry, Al Mertens, Barsan Rostami, Saman Hosseinpuor, Stefan M. Mladenovic, Martin Mulcahy, John Maslowski, Jason Klingensmith, Bianca Cassinelli...

-- about 50% of award winning titles came from female artists (unlike Hollywood);
-- we had award winning films from Iran (despite current sanctions);
-- age range of award winning artists: from 17 to 71;
-- award winners from America, Europe, Asia, and Australia;
-- many artists (and some winners) from our home-state of Ohio;
-- couple of (award winning) films were created on smartphone;
-- about 20% of award winners are very talented FIRST time filmmakers!

WHAT TO EXPECT AT OUR FESTIVAL?

- small dedicated and super-friendly volunteer staff;
- about 100 attendees (mostly artists and art enthusiasts);
- small comfortable venue;
- enough room and time to talk to everyone;
- enough space/time to take pics in front of step-and-repeat banner;
- mini-mixer after awards ceremony, with FREE food (and some wine, too);

YOU WILL NOT (N.O.T.) SEE THE FOLLOWING:

- shiny rich "executives" who are invited to praise THEMSELVES;
- annoying "popcorn" crowd who DON'T understand your art;
- posers in suits, pretending to be "important biz people";
- mainstream b/s of any kind;

KInoDrome is labor-of-love festival, created by an ordinary film enthusiast and educator - for the sole purpose of helping less established artists. That's it.

CHECK US OUT ON THE WEB:

- click on our website, link is under "contacts";
- read reviews written by past participants, here on FilmFreeway;
- visit our Facebook page (search KinoDrome on Facebook);
- search YouTube channel called KinoDrome (clips from the festival);
- simply google "KinoDrome Festival" and you'll find the links;

HELP TO "KINODROME ALUMNI"

Once you become an Official Selection, you can always expect additional help from us. The festival director Bruno Tatalovic (film producer himself) is also an IMDb "tenured contributor" and he helps beginner film artists w/database, including: film title listings, name listings, corrections, etc. All for FREE. We help first-time filmmakers. We want you to succeed. Why? Because we appreciate your dedication to finish the film and send it to small non-corporate festivals that appreciate your art.

"KINODROME" WEB-NEWS-SERIES

It's our web TV show: interviews w/filmmakers, coverage of award presentation, and more. If you attend, you can be interviewed, be on the show, and earn an IMDb credit for participating.

CONCLUSION

KinoDrome is non-mainstream, non-corporate indie festival that supports less established motion media artists, film students, amateur filmmakers, lower-budget content producers, under-represented screenwriters, and visual artists who "push the envelope". We ARE here for YOU. Submit with confidence.