The Birdies Film Festival was founded in 2011 by students and graduates of Kingston University. Right from the beginning, the festival’s aim was to give young people the opportunity to showcase their films, whilst providing a unique chance to network with Film Professionals. Operating under the umbrella of The International Youth Arts Festival, and with the support and guidance from Hollywood producer Kevin Loader, The Birdies are now on their fifth consecutive year! This summer we will be bringing the fifth Birdies Film Festival to you all. We will be looking for young filmmakers age between 16 and 26 year old worldwide to enter their short films as part of the contest.

• ANIMATION
• ALTERNATIVE/EXPERIMENTAL
• FICTION (DRAMA/COMEDY)
• DOCUMENTARY
• LONDON (SET AND SHOT IN LONDON)

This year we also have THE SCHOOL PRODUCTION AWARD, which is a special one, to be given to a film realised by under 18 years old students of Surrey and London schools!

Submission Eligibility

Filmmakers age between 16 and 26 year old. ALL entrants must be NO OLDER THAN 26 YEARS OLD

- Your film can be up to 15 minutes long and the content of the film must be suitable for audiences of 12 and over i.e. no bad language, nudity, offensive content etc.

- All foreign language films must be subtitled in English (the costs of which are to be covered by the applicant).

- All rights, permissions and clearances must be obtained prior to submission and applicants must ensure that they have the right to submit the work with regard to third parties connected with the production of the film in question. By entering your work, you agree to this and the responsibilities involved. The Birdies Film Festival assumes no responsibility for violation of copyright law.

Selection

Selection will be carried out by The Birdies Film Festival team and judging panel. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the selection process and the decision of the Festival Director is final.

The judging criteria, for each category, will be regarding originality of the idea and story, photography, editing and visual effects, sound post production.
We aim to inform successful applicants by the fourth week of June. Unfortunately, due to the volume of entries, we may be unable to offer individual feedback or enter into any discussion about your work.
All successful submissions will be listed on our website and successful applicants will be notified by email or over the phone. Please therefore make sure that we can reach you in the months of May, June and July so that we can confirm your film's inclusion in the Festival programme.
Please note that only successful applicants will be notified.

IMPORTANT:
Shortlisted filmmakers will be asked to provide a trailer or a short clip of their film to be used as promotional material during the 2015 International Arts Youth Festival.

Festival Screenings and Scheduling
All screenings during the Festival period will take place at the discretion of the Festival. We reserve the right to make changes to the advertised schedule at any time for any reason and will not accept liability for any costs incurred as a result of such changes.
No film may be withdrawn from The Birdies Film Festival programme after its selection/participation has been confirmed.

Formatting

The film must be available to screen in the following film and video formats: .mp4 or .m4v at 1750kpbs of average bitrate with the H.264 codec at a maximum of 720p resolution.

No formats other than those listed above will be accepted.

THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE is 01/06/2015.