“Making Movies that Matter (MMTM)” Youth Short Film Festival is open to all K-12 students within Council District 12 and the West San Fernando Valley. This project will introduce students to the art of digital storytelling and filmmaking while providing critical mentoring and technical support to ensure student efficacy and success.

Building on the success of the MMTM project from 2016-18, this process will begin in September of 2022 and culminate on May 18th, 2023 with a juried competition and red carpet celebration at the Soraya Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN). Categories include Documentary, Fictional Short, Public Service Announcement and Animated Short.

This experience is driven by a powerful collaboration between Council District 12 (CD12) and several of our community partners such as the Valley Relics Museum, Local District Northwest and LAUSD, Disney and ABC Television, GEC Events, My Valley Pass and the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Awards & Prizes

Awards will be made in the following categories by age group:

Outstanding Documentary
Outstanding Fictional Short
Outstanding Public Service Announcement
Outstanding Animated Short

Films that are world premiering at the Festival are eligible for the Festival’s multiple competitive categories. Winners will be chosen by a special jury.

Rules & Terms

Submissions may be uploaded starting Monday, April 17th, 2023.

Regular Deadline: Friday, May 5th, 2023 by 11:59 PM
Final Deadline: Friday, May 12th, 2023 by 11:59 PM

Eligibility Requirements:

-Film submissions may be no longer than 3 minutes in length.

-Films must be shot on smartphones or iPads or devices with equivalent sophistication/technology.

-Films must be submitted as Quicktime files (i.e. .mov files)

-A one sentence synopsis/logline of the film must be included.

-Films must be created between January – May 2023 to be considered.

-Filmmakers must be K-16 students or from a pre-approved community organization.

Submission Categories:
-Documentary
-Fictional Short
-Public Service Announcement
-Animated Short

Labeling:
The file must be labeled as: [FILM TITLE]_[SCHOOL NAME].mov

All submissions must be submitted online and labeled in the following manner:

-Identify the age group of the filmmaker(s):
Elementary
Middle School
High School
18+
-Include the contact information for the school and/or each member of the team, including, but not limited to: physical address, phone number and email address.
-Include the name of the Artist-in-Residence who advised or supervised the project, when applicable.

General Requirements:
Shorts exhibited previously, either theatrically, at another local festival or via television or Internet broadcast are not eligible to apply. Rough cuts or works-in-progress are accepted and reviewed. However, filmmakers are urged to submit as close to the final cut as possible.

Special Note: The “Making Movies that Matter” 4th Annual Council District 12 Short Film Festival Artist-in-Residence Program is not responsible for the streaming quality of the submitted file.