The Opening Night Film Competition is a 'pitch-to-produced' film competition wherein one submitter will win the prize of having their story produced into a short film in Summer 2020.
The final winner will work with Cincinnati production companies to produce the Opening Night Film for theCindependent Film Festival on August 27th, 2020.
Pitches are accepted locally, nationally and internationally, and submitter does not need to be local to Cincinnati to pitch and submit.
Pitch videos can be as simple as speaking into the camera, or can be more complex and creative - it is up to you, and whatever you determine explains your story idea best! Pitch videos must be in English, and no more than 3 minutes in length. Anything over three minutes in length will be automatically disqualified. Video must must outline concept, story, feasibility, and demonstrate why this story would make an amazing Opening Night Film.
Pitches should be about stories that could be filmed in 1-2 days with few characters (recommended 3-4 max,) with an anticipated run time of 2-8 minutes including credits.
If your pitch video has been selected as a finalist, you will have 3 DAYS TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ACCEPTANCE. If we do not hear from you within 3 days of notification, your selection may be revoked.
Finalists will be given the opportunity to pitch in-person on May 15th in front of a selected panel, friends, family, and community members in Cincinnati, Ohio. Audience votes will encompass a portion of the final voting tally. If you are unable to submit in person, you can either send a delegate to pitch on your behalf, OR you can choose to pitch using a video (either the original pitch or a new video,) that will play during the live pitch event. The purpose of this event is to stoke community camaraderie, and engage Cincinnati's community in terms of content they wish to see produced in our city. More information regarding this event will be sent to finalists only on May 6th.
Pitch Videos are accepted April 1 - April 30, 2020. Finalists will be notified May 6th, 2020. The final winner will be announced during the live event on May 15th, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. No fee waiver requests will be granted for the online portion of the competition.
On May 6th, finalists will be notified and scheduled for the opportunity to pitch in-person on May 15th, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. If a finalist is unable to submit in person, the finalist can either send a delegate to pitch on behalf of the idea, OR can choose to pitch using a video (either the original pitch or a new video,) that will play during the live pitch event.
The winner of this competition will be announced during the live pitch event on May 15th, 2020.
The winner of this competition will work with local Cincinnati production companies to produce the pitch concept. This includes pre-production, day(s)-of shooting, and post-production, as desired by the winner. The winner's participation in the production of this winning story is primarily determined by the winner's interest and availability, and the winner will have the opportunity to serve in a role on the production that most interests them, and that the production company can agree the winner is most suited for. Please note, we have a history of working with the winner to help them learn new skills or build experience for their resume/portfolio through this opportunity, and are very excited to help the winner accomplish a new skill or task.
The final film will receive a red-carpet premiere and Q&A on August 27th, 2020 at The Cindependent Film Festival. Accompanying this screening are often television, radio, and traditional press marketing, but these are not guaranteed, and are frequently solicited by local press outlets in August. The Cindependent Film Festival works to highlight the storyteller and film.