Lights, Camera, Donate! is a film contest initiative run by the NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service, supported by Flickerfest.

Our mission is to motivate young filmmakers to create films about organ and tissue donation, aiming to raise awareness among young people, a critically under-registered group.

We will accept submissions from across Australia, and selected entries will be screened live at the Bondi Pavilion in a special event during Flickerfest 2025.

If you want some inspo or some further detail about the topic, we've pulled together some key info for you here: https://tinyurl.com/lightscameradonate

Open category

1st prize: $5000
Runner up: Flickerfest prize package of Flickerfest Bondi full festival accreditation to all sessions (Exl opening and closing night)

Under 18 category
1st prize: $2500 and Flickerfest prize package of Flickerfest Bondi full Festival accreditation to all sessions (Exl Opening and Closing night)

Runner up: $500 and Flickerfest prize package Flickerfest Bondi full Festival accreditation to all sessions (Exl Opening and Closing night)

Entries will be accepted from July 28th until December 1st. Selected entries will be announced on January 7th. Award winners will be announced on the event day, January 25th.

Awards will be decided by a jury separate from the selection committee.

Eligible entries submitted through FilmFreeway will be considered for the contest.

FILMMAKER REQUIREMENTS

For your film to be eligible for entry in the contest, your film must meet the following criteria:

- Produced in Australia OR written/directed by Australians
- To be eligible for the open category, the director must be 35 or under or enrolled in an undergraduate degree, film school, or TAFE film course.
- The director must be under 18 or enrolled in high school to be eligible for the youth category.
- Related Narratively or Thematically to Organ and/or Tissue Donation
- Documentaries, Fiction films, Animations and Experimental films will be accepted
- Under 20 minutes in length
- In English or provide English subtitles
- Completion date no earlier than January 2021
- Entrants under 18 must provide a guardian's consent
- Each film may only be submitted to the contest once, including future editions.
- Filmmakers may be required to provide proof of age or enrolment upon selection.
- Staff currently employed by the NSW Organ and Tissue Service are ineligible to enter either category.

SCREENING RIGHTS AND REQUIREMENTS

- Filmmakers assert that by entering, they own the rights/permissions to all material in their work
- Filmmakers grant screening rights to Donate Life NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service and Donate Life Week 2025.
- Entire film or parts of film may be uploaded to digital channels.
- Upon selection, filmmakers will provide a high-quality master version of the film and posters/trailers/BTS stills, if available

CONTENT GUIDELINES

- Films will be considered ineligible if they don’t follow ethical guidelines for organ donation policy. This can include:
- The terms 'harvest', 'harvesting', 'body parts’
- If the date of death or transplant date of actual donors and recipients are disclosed
- Implies that donors and recipients know each other or are in contact with each other's family
- Revealing the real identities of donors
- Any suggestion of payment or compensation to the donor or donor's families.
Implying organ donation causes disfigurement in any way

OTDS reserves the right to disqualify a film at any time if it is ineligible.

If you have any questions about entry requirements, screening rights or content guidelines, feel free to contact us at lachlansalvestro@gmail.com