GO WEST Short Films Submission Criteria
LENGTH:
Minimum running time 2 minutes, maximum 20 minutes
STYLE:
Short films can be in any style; live-action, animated, or mixed media.
FORMAT:
Submissions can be made to the Go West Film Festival by FilmFreeway (filmfreeway.com/TheGoWestFilmFestival). Accepted formats for submitting a film for evaluation by the festival judges include Vimeo link, YouTube link, and file upload. Password protection is allowed.
SELECTION AND ACCEPTANCE PROCESS / AWARDS:
Submissions will be selected based on the following criteria: 1) technical quality, including visual elements, sound, and editing; 2) artistic quality, including the aesthetic experience offered to the viewer and, as applicable, the effectiveness of the actors; 3) story and the quality of the script (as applicable); and 4) adherence to the “western” theme (more information below). Films selected for inclusion in the Go West Film Festival are chosen at the sole discretion of the GWFF Board of Directors.
If the short is chosen for exhibition, the filmmaker will be informed via email.
After notification of acceptance, the filmmaker must provide the festival access to the film, preferably in DCP format. If a hard copy of the film is available, e.g. in the form of Region 0 or Region 1 DVD or Blu-ray, we appreciate the additional backup.
While Go West Film Festival does not offer filmmakers any monetary awards for the films it considers and accepts, the festival is committed to publicly acknowledging the accomplishments of its contributors. We extend to filmmaker participants the benefits of greater public awareness of their work through festival publicity, festival laurels to add to film credits and publicity, and for in-person attendees the opportunity to meet and make connections with film festival organizers, programmers, film scholars, filmmakers, members of the business community, and other cinephiles.
At this time the Go West Film Festival does not require a submission fee.
The Go West Film Festival recognizes one film in each year's short film program with an Audience Favorite laurel. A poll of viewers of the short film program determines the winner of the Audience Favorite Award. Festival directors are excluded from this determination.
The festival also recognizes one film in the program of shorts with a Best of Fest Award. A panel of judges on the Go West Film Festival Board of Directors evaluates the entries to determine the winner of the Best of Fest Award.
SCOPE:
In honoring both classic and contemporary Western film, the Go West Film Festival encourages a broad and creative interpretation of the “western” as a genre. While submissions from around the world are welcome, work by filmmakers in Colorado and surrounding states in the Mountain West is particularly encouraged.
WE WELCOME FILMS THAT REFLECT MANY DIFFERENT THEMES AND APPROACHES:
TRADITIONAL: A narrative piece taking place in the American West from the mid to late 1800s onward. Traditional Western narratives might typically involve, for example, cowboys, outlaws, frontier life, or other elements of the classic western genre.
DOCUMENTARY: Documentary work might begin with questions such as the following: What does the West mean to you? What has been your experience traveling or living in the West? Among other approaches, a non-fiction film might capture a day in the life of a rancher, farmer or another person whose identity is tied to the West; consider an issue of public concern in the West; or examine an aspect of Western history.
SUB-GENRE: Overlaps between the western and other film genres have resulted in sub-genres. Examples include the road movie, the horror film, and science fiction films which retain an essential connection to the American West, among others. We welcome creative ideas and new directions.
Questions may be emailed to us at: howdy@gowestfilmfest.org
