In an effort to make our festival more afforable for artists and simplify the submission process, we have moved away from 'categories' and toward a length-based fee scale. If you still have trouble affording the submission fees, read on to learn about fee assistance (deadline: February 28).
LENGTH
We are interested in dance films that integrate the aesthetics of dance and film, and are an appropriate length in relationship to their treatment and style.
SUBTITLES
Films with spoken word must have English subtitles, or be in English. Multiple language subtitles encouraged. Audio descriptions and closed captions enthusiastically accepted.
MUSIC RIGHTS
If your film has music, it MUST have one of the following: music created as an original score for this film, a music license you purchased from the copyright owner, or uncopyrighted music. In case it's helpful, YouTube has a list of copyright free music, and environment sounds can be of inspiration, as well. This rule applies to all categories except for music videos. All music videos must be official music videos, having secured the rights to the music for this submission and subsequent screenings, with the ability to provide documentation if requested (please reach out with questions).
IMAGES/PHOTOS
If your film is accepted, we will ask for a still frame from your film to illustrate your work in our programs and/or promotional materials; if you would like to select stills yourself, please have them uploaded to FilmFreeway by the final deadline. They should have the same pixel dimensions and aspect ratio as your film's frame and clearly convey movement or dancing in the image. Physical support (posters, etc.) of films is sent at the artist's own risk. The festival is not responsible for any damage the physical support may suffer, and there will be no refunds. After the festival, Sans Souci will not return any materials.
ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS
If your film is accepted, we may reach out to you in the future to share your work for our touring program. While we usually don't have the budget to fund screening fees for these events, we deeply appreciate your generosity in sharing your work to help us develop a wider audience for screendance. PLEASE NOTE: Selecting the first option when submitting (which says "I'd like SSF to screen my work as much as possible, so I grant permission now for all future screenings.") will greatly increase the likelihood of your work being invited to our touring program after initial acceptance. However, this line item is not taken into account when judging for initial acceptance into the festival, and we may still ask you for permission to bring your work on tour.
If your film is accepted for screening this year, it is automatically a part of the Sans Souci Archive, listed on our website. Your film itself will not be published nor distributed to any other person or organization, but if you provide a trailer, we will include that link in your listing on our website. Your film may be exhibited completely or partially during educational events organized by Sans Souci and its campus affiliates (Screening Partners), for example as part of lectures on screendance at universities and conferences.
FEE ASSISTANCE
If the submission fee creates a financial barrier to your entry, Sans Souci may be able to help. We offer a limited amount of fee assistance to those with financial hardship. If you’d like to apply for this program, please submit an application form (to find the form, please visit https://sanssoucifestival.org/call-for-entries/) by the Early Deadline. You’ll be notified shortly after the Early Deadline whether or not you’ve been selected for a waiver. If not, you’ll still receive the Early Deadline price for submission. As stated in our mission and values, increasing equitable access to dance cinema festivals is a high priority for us. If you have questions about this, please feel free to email us at adminstaff@sanssoucifest.org. Submitting the form does not guarantee receiving a waiver. Receiving fee assistance does not grant acceptance to the festival. All films submitted must go through curation, and may or may not be accepted for screening. Due to the limited amount of fee assistance available, artists selected will only be able to submit one film. If you are looking for help with the cost of covering multiple submissions, please email us at adminstaff@sanssoucifest.org to request a bulk submission discount.
CURATORIAL CRITERIA
When choosing works for exhibition and installation we consider thoughtful forms and themes, investigative / innovative / experimental approaches, virtuosic performance, production values, audience appeal, and how the piece will fit with or complement others we are considering. None of these criteria is a must; none is more important than the others; excellence in any one or two areas may be sufficient for acceptance.
DID YOU KNOW? Jazz dance films (films with dancing that fits under the wide umbrella of jazz and jazz influenced styles) have their own special screening! You'll be able to self-select when submitting whether you'd like your film to be considered for the Jazz screening. These works should explore jazz and American social dance ideas from forms including but not limited to jazz, tap, and hip-hop styles. We encourage you to join the ongoing conversation around “what constitutes jazz and American social dance," and the sociocultural histories of and innovations in these styles by submitting. Artists 21 and older at any point in their careers are welcomed to submit to this category.
CREATIVE AGING EVENTS
By submitting your film you agree that Sans Souci can screen your film at any of our events, including educational, outreach, and creative aging programming. Our values mean that all audiences are valued equally, large or small, young or old, etc.
