Strand Book Store and Nitehawk Cinema (Williamsburg) are bringing back Lit on Film and we want to see your literary adaptations. You're invited to submit an original 10-minute short film, adapted from a written work.

Your film will be reviewed and ranked by a panel of expert judges from the entertainment industry. Ten (10) finalists will be selected to share their creations on the big screen at Nitehawk Cinema on August 13th at 6:30pm. Following the screenings, six (6) awards will be presented in select categories below at an in-theater awards ceremony, followed by drinks + such downstairs at Lo-Res.

One Winner Will Be Awarded Per Category:
✏️ best screenplay
🎬 best director
🎞️ best editor
🌟 best actor (any gender - one selection only)
🎥 best film
👏 Audience Favorite (to be selected the evening of the screening)

Winners will be selected by our panel of judges and will receive a prize valued at $100.

OFFICIAL RULES TO SUBMIT
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase or payment will not improve your chances of winning. Strand and Nitehawk present: Lit on Film will hereafter be known as the "Contest" and Strand Book Store will hereafter be known as the "Sponsor".
Entry period begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time ("EST") on Wednesday, May 1st 2019 and ends at 11:59 PM EST on June 30th, 2019 (the "Entry Period"); all entries must be received by the deadline without exception. Sponsor's clock--set to EST-- shall be the official timekeeper for the Contest. The Contest is governed by these Official Rules and is subject to all applicable U.S. federal, state and local laws.
1. Eligibility. The Contest is open to contestants from all countries, who are the age of majority or older in their state of legal residence at the time of entry. Entrance is permissible from parties 18 and under with permission from legal guardians. Proof of residency and age may be required. In order to enter the Contest or receive the prize, you must fully comply with the Official Rules and, by entering, you represent and warrant that you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor-Filmated judges, whose decisions shall be binding and final in all respects relating to this Contest. Contestants do not need to be residents of the state of New York or citizens of the United States. Submissions will be accepted from anywhere as long as they adhere to requirements herein.
2. How to enter. To enter the Contest, during the Entry Period, submit your original film adaptation of any published piece of literature that is in the public domain. Submit your film through the Sponsor’s FilmFreeway page. Submissions will be considered and vetted by judges appointed by the Sponsor.
Ensure your Film fits the following format guidelines. Any film that does not fit the specifications will not be considered. Please note only digital submissions will be considered:
The maximum duration of the film is ten (10) minutes.
Format:​ Quicktime
Codec:​ Pro-res 422 or better or H.264 (only if smaller file size is needed for transport)
Dimensions: 1920 x 1080 (Minimum) other formats as follows • 2K flat: 1998 x 1080 - 2K scope: 2048 x 858 - 4K
flat:​ 3996 x 2160 - 4K scope:​ ​4096 x1716
fps:​ 23.98 or True 24 only , 25 if in PAL (if your film is 29.97 a frame conversion will be needed)
You may submit no more than one (1) Film and each separate Film that submitted will be deemed an Entry. Films do not need to be restricted to this Contest; this Contest accepts submissions that have been submitted elsewhere, been screened, won awards, etc., as long as submitting it to this Contest does not violate any Terms and Conditions previously agreed upon for any other competitions of a similar nature.
3. Film requirements. The Film must comply with the following requirements: (i) other than the Sponsor, their respective brand and/or logo, the Film may not show, contain, mention, depict, refer or otherwise allude to the name or logo of any retailer, manufacturer, brand, product, store, place of business, person, company or character in such a way or manner as to imply an affiliation with, or endorsement of, the Sponsor, its brands and/or this Contest; (ii) the Film must be entrant's own original adaptation of a published piece of literature that is in the public domain and must not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other personal or proprietary rights of any person or entity; (iii) the Film may not contain, mention, refer or otherwise allude to any material that is sexually explicit, pornographic, disparaging, defamatory, libelous, racially or morally offensive or otherwise contain content that would be regarded at NC-17 and/or Hate Speech; (iv) the Film cannot promote alcohol, illegal drugs or tobacco, firearms/weapons or any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous; (v) the Film cannot in any manner defame, misrepresent, contain disparaging remarks or reflect negatively about Sponsor and/or Nitehawk Cinema, its products, or other people, products or companies, or in any way reflect negatively upon such parties or explicitly or implicitly communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill with which Sponsor wishes to be associated, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; (vi) the Film cannot contain any personal identification, such as personal names, email addresses or street addresses, without express permission; (vii) the Film cannot depict and cannot itself be in violation of any law; (viii) the Film must either be in English or contain subtitles that are in English if performed in another language; (ix) the Film must not have been submitted to this film festival any prior year, and (x) the Film must otherwise be in compliance with these Official Rules. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Film that Sponsor believes, in its sole discretion, does not comply with or is in violation of these Official Rules or that otherwise contains prohibited or inappropriate content. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entry it believes, in its sole discretion, does not comply with these Official Rules, is a reproduction of a previously made adaptation, is an adaptation of a licensed work, or is otherwise inappropriate.
4. Grant of Rights. Each entrant into the Contest hereby irrevocably grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use and display their Film in connection with the Contest in any and all media channels. Outside of this promotional agreement, each entrant retains full ownership rights to their Film.
5. Representations and Warranties/Indemnification. Each person who enters this Contest represents and warrants as follows: (i) the Film is entrant's own original adaptation; (ii) the Film, as of the date of submission, is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim; (iii) the Film does not and will not violate or infringe upon the intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or entity, including, but not limited to, copyright or trademark infringement; and (iv) the Film does not and will not violate any applicable laws. Each entrant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the Sponsor and its respective parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of entrant hereunder.
6. Selection of Winners. On or about July 31st , 2019 the Sponsor-designated judges will select five (5) winners (one per category) based upon the following criteria: (i) best screenplay, based on the opinions of the Sponsor-approved judges; (ii) best directing, based on the opinions of the Sponsor-approved judges; (iii) best editing, based on the opinions of the Sponsor-approved judges; (iv) best overall acting, regardless of gender, orientation, or identification based on the opinions of the Sponsor-approved judges, and; (v) best overall film, based on the opinions of the Sponsor-approved judges. Odds of winning depend on the nature, quality and number of eligible entries received. Decisions of judges are final and cannot be appealed.
7. Prize. One (1) winner for each of the five (5) categories will be selected, along with five (5) runner-ups and these ten Films (submissions) will be screened at Nitehawk Cinema on August 13, 2019 at 7:00PM. Sponsor will have full rights to use clips and/or likenesses contained in the Films (submissions) for any and all promotion material in relation to the Contest and any future Contests. Furthermore, each Film selected to be screened at Nitehawk Cinema on August 13, 2019 is entitled to one (1) complimentary ticket. Any and all additional participants are required to purchase a ticket in order to attend the screening.
8. Winner Notification. Nominees will be notified on or about August 2nd, 2019 using the submission information provided in nominees' entry form.
9. Publicity Release; Use of Personal Information. Except where prohibited or restricted by law, winner's acceptance of prize constitutes the winner's agreement and consent for Sponsor to use and/or publish winner's full name, city and state of residence, photographs or other likenesses, pictures, portraits, video, voice, testimonials, biographical information (in whole or in part), and/or statements made by winner regarding the Contest or Sponsor, worldwide and in perpetuity for any and all purposes, including, but not limited to, advertising, trade and/or promotion on behalf of Sponsor, in any and all forms of media, now known or hereafter devised, including, but not limited to, print, TV, radio, electronic, cable, or World Wide Web, without further limitation, restriction, compensation, notice, review, or approval. By entering the Contest, entrants will be sharing their personal information with Sponsor. Personal information collected by Sponsor will be used for administration of the Contest and awarding the prize. In addition, by entering and opting in, entrants agree to Sponsor's use of entrant's personal information as described in their respective privacy policy at https://www.strandbooks.com/privacy-policy. Please refer to Sponsor's respective privacy policy for important information regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by Sponsor. Sponsor is not responsible for disclosures made by any third party. Entrants may subsequently opt-out of receiving further emails as set forth in Sponsor's respective privacy policy.
10. No Tampering, Right To Cancel, Modify. Sponsor and their respective parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors shall not have any obligation or responsibility, including any responsibility to award any prize to entrants, with regard to: (a) entries that contain inaccurate information or do not comply with or violate the Official Rules; (b) entries, prize claims or notifications that are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, damaged or otherwise not received by the intended recipient, in whole or in part, due to computer, human or technical error of any kind; (c) entrants who have committed fraud or deception in entering or participating in the Contest or claiming the prize; (d) telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet or computer malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (e) any inability of the winner to accept the prize for any reason; (f) if a prize cannot be awarded due to delays or interruptions due to Acts of God, natural disasters, terrorism, weather or any other similar event beyond Sponsor's reasonable control; or (g) any damages, injuries or losses of any kind caused by any prize or resulting from awarding, acceptance, possession, use, misuse, loss or misdirection of any prize or resulting from participating in this promotion or any promotion or prize related activities. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be (a) tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest, or with any Website promoting the Contest; (b) acting in violation of the Official Rules; or (c) entering or attempting to enter the Contest multiple times through the use of multiple email addresses or the use of any robotic or automated devices to submit entries. If Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, that technical difficulties or unforeseen events compromise the integrity or viability of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right to void the entries at issue, and/or terminate the relevant portion of the Contest promotion, including the entire Contest promotion, and/or modify the Contest and/or award the prize based upon the criteria set forth in these Official Rules from all eligible entries received as of the termination date. If the Contest is terminated or modified due to technical difficulties or unforeseen events prior to the expiration date of the Entry Period, notice will be posted at the Website.
11. Release of Liability; Disclaimer of Warranty; Forum Selection Clause. By participating in the Contest, entrants and winner agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and their respective parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors (the "Released Parties"), from any and all liability, for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever, including without limitation, property damage, personal injury (including emotional distress), and/or death, which may occur in connection with preparation for, or participation in, the Contest, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of the prize or participation in any Contest-related or prize-related activity and for any claims or causes of action based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery. The Released Parties assume no responsibility for any injury or damage to entrants or to any other person's computer, regardless of how caused, relating to or resulting from entering or downloading materials or software in connection with this Contest. Entrants and winner acknowledge that Sponsor has neither made nor is in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize or any component thereof. Except where prohibited, all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant or Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York, or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. In addition, any dispute relating to the Contest (including these Official Rules) shall be brought in the appropriate state or federal court having jurisdiction over the subject matter located in New York, New York. Entrants hereby irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction of said courts and waive any claim of forum non-convenience or lack of personal jurisdiction that they may have.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • So delighted to have "Shakespeare Republic" Thomas More" as part of this fabulous festival! Great communication, lovely people and we were so delighted to have our lead actor, Christopher Kirby, take out the Best Actor prize! Sadly, we couldn't be there in person, as we're based in Melbourne, Australia, but the prizes arrived promptly and beautifully presented all the way from the US after the festival screening. Highly recommend this festival to all literary-leaning filmmakers!

    May 2019
  • David Valverde

    We like very much Strand Books & Nitehawk #LitOnFilm ! Awesome & nice Film Festival & Cinema room! :D

    August 2018
  • Devin Burnam

    Such a pleasant experience. Everything about this festival was welcoming, laid back, and thoroughly enjoyable. I'm already pitching this to filmmaking friends, because my friends tend to be book nerds like me. Book nerds who make movies, you should check this out. Support this festival. We need more like it.

    August 2018
  • John Tomkins

    Great festival really glad to have our film Beard Envy was part of it , great email communication . The only reason I've given 4 stars for networking is because we couldn't be there on the night . Great festival and highly recommended looking forward to next year :)

    August 2018