Sanctuary Selections Film Competition

The Sunset Project, in partnership with the Thunder Bay International Film Festival, presents the Sanctuary Selections Film Competition, a unique opportunity for Great Lakes Region-based filmmakers to showcase their work, with a chance to win $5,000 to fund their next project.

Competition Details:

Film submissions are accepted annually from October 1 through November 15. Following the submission window, a panel of judges will select five finalists to be showcased at a ticketed screening on the third Saturday in January, during the Thunder Bay International Film Festival.

Finalists will be selected based on a rubric of four criteria: creativity, originality, cinematography, and adherence to the competition’s theme of “The Great Lakes Region: Stories of Discovery, Experience, and Connection”

The Sanctuary Selections Judges Panel consists of industry professionals, Northeast Michigan community members, and representatives of The Sunset Project and Thunder Bay International Film Festival. This panel also selects the winning film, which is determined by the film with the highest total across each of the four rubric criteria.

Filmmakers will be notified of their film's selection status on January 6, 2025. During the screening, all five films will be presented, with the winning film will be announced at the end of the evening and presented with a check for $5,000 intended to seed the creation of the the filmmakers next project.

Filmmakers, or at least one representative who can speak on behalf of the film, must commit to attending in-person at the evening screening to be eligible for a top-five film selection. Attending filmmakers will also be required to participate in a ten (10) minute Q&A session following the screening of their film. 

To ease the travel burden for the five selected films and their filmmaker, The Sunset Project provides hotel accommodations (one room per film) for Friday and Saturday nights. In addition, The Sunset Project provides a $500 stipend to all five finalists for their participation in the filmmaker panel and full festival weekend. 

Finalists are encouraged to attend Friday night’s festival gala and experience the world-class ocean and Great Lakes films screened throughout the weekend!