We are currently on a planned hiatus and will not be hosting the festival this year. We appreciate your support and look forward to returning in the future.

Be on the lookout for the 4th Annual Off The Reel Film Festival (OTRFF)!

OTRFF is an International Shorts Festival. We're a movement led by a passionate team of young, diverse creators striving to make a lasting impact on Pennsylvania's cultural landscape and beyond. Being filmmakers ourselves, our stage is set for storytellers from every corner of the world.

Our previous theme was CHANGE THE GAME. Change the Game is an invitation to break boundaries, embrace diversity, and celebrate the transformative power of storytelling. Inspired by classics like The Sandlot and A League of Their Own, we’re rallying filmmakers and audiences to join us in a celebration of creativity, community and cinema.

Beyond exhibition, we push for education and community building. This year, we're excited to introduce a filmmaker workshop for young artists ages 13-18. In partnership with the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design (PCA&D), a top-rated non-profit art college, we will provide an instructional class to inspire the next generation of filmmakers.

In addition, we host a panel Q&A with hand selected industry-leading professionals that equip attendees with practical knowledge and tangible resources.

Awards & Prizes

Voting Category including:
• Best Short Film
• Best Editing
• Best Sound Design
• Audience Favorite (live voting)

Each Winner will be awarded a certificate that will be sent via the address provided on their submission form.

In addition, winners will receive custom social media assets featuring festival laurels to help them celebrate and share their success.

Rules & Terms

2024 OTRFF Submission Guidelines:

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦.

GUIDELINES:

① Films are limited to 20 minutes or less.

② Multiple submissions are allowed. However, each submission must be accompanied by the USD entry fee, determined by Festival Organizers.

③ Films must be completed on or after JANUARY 1, 2022. A rough cut may be considered, provided that if selected, a final cut of the film is made available a week before scheduled programming.

④ Foreign language films must be subtitled and/or captioned in English.

⑤ Original or royalty free music/ scores are required; short films featuring copyrighted music will be disqualified.

⑥ A completed entry form must accompany films. All forms, fees, and films must be received by the submission deadline. Only completed entries will be processed.

⑦ Entrant confirms and warrants required legal authority to submit the entry into the festival and to use all music, images, and content within the entry.

⑧ Entrant permits usage of video clips and production stills (photos) from the film submission for promotional use online, on television and radio, in print, and at events.

SUBMISSIONS:

1 – All Submissions will be through FilmFreeway.

NOTIFICATIONS:

1 – All entrants will be notified by email or FilmFreeway when their film has been received.

2 – For publication purposes, entries selected will be required to supply three high-resolution stills from the film and at least one high-resolution photograph of the film’s director. Publicity and press materials will not be returned and become the property of the film festival. Off The Reel Film Festival has permission to use excerpts from any accepted film for promotional purposes.

3 – If accepted, entrants will be notified by email on or before May 24, 2023. Within 24-48 hours of notification, entrants will need to provide relevant film information and a downloadable .mov or mp4 via Dropbox, Google Drive, FilmFreeway, or Vimeo to screen.

4 – If a film is not accepted, the festival does not offer technical or critical feedback.

ENTRY FEES:

1 – The submission Fee for the Early Bird deadline is $5 (USD) per entry.

2 – The submission Fee for the Regular Deadline is $10 (USD) per entry.

2 – The submission Fee for the Late Deadline is $15 (USD) per entry.

3 – All funds go to festival and production expenses.

RETURNS:

1 – Any physical submissions of materials will not be returned.

CATEGORIES AND AWARDS:

1 – Off The Reel Film Festival reserves the right and has the discretion to change the submission category for an entry.

2 – The Festival strives to recognize independent creatives and their achievements within this field. There will be no jury based selection process for this event, however there will be an audience favorite selected film at the end of the screenings.

DATES | LOCATIONS | TIMES | PRICES | PARKING | FILM PROGRAMMING:

1– Screening Date: Saturday, July 20, 2024

2 – Film Programming Start & Run Times: TBD and subject to change.

3 – Location: Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse

4 – Price: $15

5 – Parking: TBD

SPONSORSHIP:

1 – If you're interested in sponsoring, feel free to send us an email. All sponsors will be verbally thanked prior to screenings and placed in the festival program, as well as on festival posters, postcards, websites, video promos, and social media platforms.

FOR QUESTIONS | INQUIRIES | CONTACT | PRESS
offthereelfilmfest@gmail.com
19 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mikheil Gabaidze

    All the experiences that come with participating in festivals are very important. I congratulate all the participants and wish the festival leaders success.

    December 2024
    Helpful
  • Grace Wijaya

    Thank you so much for awarding "Singing in the Lifeboat" with the Best Storytelling award! We are beyond honored! Off The Reel is an amazing festival with great programs and wonderful communication. Thank you for highlighting and supporting us filmmakers! Much love!

    August 2024
    Helpful
  • Kelsey Blake

    It was such a pleasure working with the Off The Reel crew as a filmmaker in the festival. They were just so incredibly supportive, kind, and organized. The whole vibe and experience was so high calibre and positive!
    Can't wait to see where they take things in future festival years!

    August 2024
    Helpful
  • Eddie D. Murphy

    Throughout my time with "Off the Reel" they have been the most communicative, kindest, and supportive film festival I've had the honor of attending. Their promotion of their filmmakers and the amount of quality marketing they do far outshines many festivals which have been existing longer and a have a larger audience. I usually attend the festivals I am selected in but Off the Reel was one of the rare few I've missed due to my car breaking down. Even then, they remained communicative with me, continued the promotion of my work and made me feel like I was there when it was physically impossible for me to do so. I also usually don't write reviews but my experience here was with such kind and caring team members, I couldn't imagine spreading the word on them. If you are on the fence with putting this on your festival map, this is me telling you to go for it.

    July 2024
    Helpful
  • Paper Horse Pictures

    Being part of the Off the Reel Film Festival was awesome. Even though we couldn't be there because of scheduling conflicts, we were amazed by the festival's incredible support and kindness. They really look after the films and filmmakers. Hopefully, our next film gets in, and we'll definitely be there in person!

    July 2024
    Helpful