The New Jersey Young Filmmakers Festival seeks short films and videos ONLY from students with a home base in NJ. NJYFF is an open-genre festival accepting films in all categories including Animation/Stop Motion, Documentary/Broadcast, Experimental, Narrative, and hybrids.
ELIGIBLE FILMMAKERS MUST EITHER LIVE IN OR ATTEND SCHOOL IN NJ. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Filmmakers attending middle school, high school, college, and/or independent directors from age 12 through 26 may enter. This festival is specifically designed to support and feature works from New Jersey based young filmmakers.
FILMMAKERS MUST LIST BOTH THE SCHOOL THEY ATTEND AND THEIR HOME MAILING ADDRESS, ONE OF THESE ADDRESSES MUST BE BASED IN NEW JERSEY.
All films that include a music track, must either have permission from the artist or use royalty-free music, or original music. All music included in the soundtrack must be listed in the credits. Films employing copyrighted music without express permission from the artist will be disqualified.
Film Submission running times:
Middle School: Total running time for films MUST BE 5 min. or less.
High School & College/Independent: Total running time for films MUST BE 10 min. or less.
Opening Date for Submissions: Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Deadline to Upload Entries – Friday, May, 12, 2023
Awards Notification for filmmakers – Monday, May 22, 2023
NJYFF Festival Premiere 2023 - Sunday, June 11, 2023 - Thomas Edison National Historical Park, West Orange, NJ
Submission Guidelines:
Films must be entered directly on FilmFreeway’s NJ Young Filmmakers’ Festival page. A $10 entry fee is required for each film submitted, payable on the FilmFreeway website.
FINAL DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR FILMS - FRIDAY MAY 12, 2023. A downloadable link must be provided for each film submitted!
FILMMAKERS MUST ENTER THEIR MAILING ADDRESS PROVING NJ RESIDENCY OR ATTENDANCE AT A NJ COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY. CURRENT CONTACT INFO MUST INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS AND A WORKING CELL NUMBER FOR TEXT MESSAGES.
FILMMAKERS ARE REQUIRED TO: Upload film stills, work descriptions and filmmaker bios in the space provided by FilmFreeway. If these rules are not followed, or submissions are incomplete, the entry will be disqualified.
