MICA Animation Club proudly presents a juried & student-run animation and film festival! "Stick In The Dirt" Student Film Festival is created to facilitate and build local community, celebrate student short films, and expand opportunities for students to showcase their work. We strive to make this event as inclusive as possible, and actively welcome films from all communities and backgrounds. This festival will take place in person at Falvey Hall on the Maryland Institute College of Art campus.

Submission is is free and open to current students attending college in a Maryland school!

Additionally, if your project is collaborative, please credit names and note this in your submission.

Awards & Prizes

Stick the Landing: Best Animated Short
Stick Figure: Best Live-Action Short
Twig: Best Short Under One Minute
Glowstick: Best Experimental Short
Drumstick: Best Sound
Stick of Dynamite: Best Craft/Technical Ability

Rules & Terms

Rules & Terms

Seeking original & finished works completed or revised within the last 2 years from Student filmmakers in Maryland. Individual and group projects will be considered, please include credit for all creators. Submitters must be students, but submissions are not limited to schoolwork or assignments. Please do not submit work that has been submitted to this festival in previous years, or work created by generative AI.

1-2 .jpg film stills, a brief synopsis of the submitted film, and a brief director(s) bio are also REQUIRED. In the bio, please include the school you currently attend.

When uploading your screening file, please upload your screening file with the following requirements:

16:9 aspect ratio (1920x1080)
h.264 compression
24fps
10min run time maximum

If your film is selected by the jury, we will ask for a screening copy via WeTransfer with the naming convention Lastname_Filmtitle. You will receive notification and further instruction. Please pay attention to your email for this notification so we may put the festival together in a timely fashion. Any screening copies outstanding may not be screened.

For judging purposes, please include a YouTube or Vimeo link*** to your film with password protection.

***Important: If you are linking your video via Vimeo, be sure to update your settings in Vimeo to allow for embedding. Your video will still be password protected. Embedding simply allows the Vimeo video player to be displayed within the FilmFreeway interface.
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  • Allison Maeker

    A wonderful festival! I'm so happy to be a part of the very fist Stick in the Dirt, and I look forward to the years to come!

    March 2023
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