DO NOT SUBMIT UNLESS YOU MEET THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:
- You attend(ed) a Los Angeles County High School (plus Simi Valley)
- Your film was completed after March 2020
- Your high school graduating class is 2019-2020 or later
The 2021 Sierra Canyon Film Festival is presented by Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California, 20 miles from the heart of Hollywood. While our festival is sponsored and promoted by Sierra Canyon School, the festival typically takes place in a screening room on the backlot of a major Hollywood studio. In 2020-2021, the pandemic has majorly affected students and student filmmakers across the globe. Despite this massive hurdle, many filmmakers have overcome this challenge to produce extraordinary films under extraordinary circumstances, and it is our goal to highlight these talented artists this year.
Sierra Canyon School is an independent, college preparatory school that maintains an exceptional performing arts program with a wide variety of film courses. The Sierra Canyon School Film Festival is focused on short films in any genre produced by student filmmakers and provides a forum for young filmmakers to display their work, network with other young filmmakers, and to learn more about the world of filmmaking from our industry guest speaker.
The Sierra Canyon Film Festival is typically held at a major Los Angeles area film studio in the spring of each calendar year. Past festivals have been sponsored by Final Draft, The New York Film Academy, Avid, T&T Capital, and Tanner Films. However, this year the festival will operate as a drive-in experience alongside a streaming simulcast. The location has yet to be announced but will take place in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Each year, we welcome an industry guest speaker to kick off the festival and to conduct a private 30 minute Q&A session with the filmmakers. Past speakers have included producer and director Jon Turtletaub (National Treasure), Allison Abbate (Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, The Lego Movie), Ruth Vitale (Founder and Co-President of Paramount Classics and President of Fine Line Features), and Tom Nunan (Bullseye Entertainment).
Our mission at the Sierra Canyon Film Festival is to showcase and promote student filmmakers from around Los Angeles.
Learn more about our festival at https://www.sierracanyonschool.org/page/arts/scs-film-festival
Awards and prizes vary from year to year and have included film academy scholarships, video editing software, and cash prizes.
All winners receive an engraved trophy and the opportunity to screen their film in front of an audience of student filmmakers and industry professionals.
Filmmakers are highly encouraged to attend the event if possible. A one-on-one discussion with a high-level industry professional is included for every entrant in the evening program.
Last year, the Sierra Canyon Film Festival began giving out cash prizes to its festival winners. In 2021, we will continue to do the same, with even bigger cash payouts!
The 2021 festival will also include the following prize package from InkTip, a popular industry networking site: Winners of the Sierra Canyon Film Festival will receive an InkTip Script Listing to promote themselves and their scripts to InkTip’s entire network of producers, managers, and agents. Companies who are InkTip members include: ABC, Anonymous Content, APA, CBS Films, HBO Films, ICM, Paradigm, Paramount Pictures, Hallmark Channel, FX, Universal, WME, Echo Lake, Zero Gravity, Bad Robot, 20th Century Fox, and many more.
Other prizes include software downloads of Final Draft, scholarships to the New York Film Academy, and personalized trophies.
Here is a list of our current awards we will likely be handing out on the day of the festival (depending on the films we select):
- Best of Fest
- Trailblazer Award
- Best Editing
- Best Sound
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Animation
- Best Documentary
