With film screenings, panel discussions, and networking, the 5th Annual Wheaton Film Festival is a great showcase for filmmakers from the mid-Atlantic region and for films that involve the mid-Atlantic region.

Everyone is invited to come to Wheaton, MD on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 1:30 pm.

We will have education panels discussions. Possible topics include:

Filmmaking Process (including Sound Recording) - a discussion of the process of filmmaking including pre-production, image capture, and editing. With special coverage on how to best record audio.

Entertainment Law 101 - an overview of key legal concepts for creative professionals including option agreements, copyright, trademark, work for hire agreements, and more. Presented by Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA).

Future of Filmmaking - a discussion on drones, virtual reality, and other technological advances that affect filmmaking, how to adapt, and what we may expect for the future of filmmaking.

This event is supported in part by the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Chuck Levin's Music Center, MakeOffices, Arune LLC, DC Filmmakers, Adobe Software, Copyright Counselors, Final Draft Software, FilmConvert, Filmstro, iPitch.tv, Pro Cuts Editing, Quick Film Budget, Red Giant, Studio Unknown, Write Brothers, and R.T.S. Inc. This event is produced by Arune LLC. Our promotional partners include Docs In Progress, TIVA, Creative Edge Collaborative, WALA, and DC Media Makers.

Awards & Prizes

"Levin Grand Prize" - Jury Award for Best Overall Film
"Wheaton Award" - Jury Award for Best Community Story
"Kamen Grand Prize" - Jury Award for Best Student Film

Prizes provided by sponsors including Adobe Software, Final Draft Software, Chuck Levin’s, Jungle Software, Red Giant Software, Write Brothers Software, Ledo Pizza, Arune, MakeOffices, etc.

Framed awards and certificates will also be provided.

Rules & Terms

If selected as a participating filmmaker, you MUST be able to ATTEND the Nov 09, 2018 festival. We will ONLY consider submissions from filmmakers living in the mid-Atlantic region -or- for films that have some connection to the mid-Atlantic region (story, subject, location, characters, etc). Most of our films come from entrants in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Filmmakers from Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and elsewhere may be considered only if they can attend the festival. If you are entering from outside the states listed above (including outside the U.S.), please explain the reason that your film is eligible for our regional festival.
Please list your local town and state of residence upon submission of your film (required*).

FILM SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Filmmakers are welcome to either submit a FilmFreeway online screener or a YouTube/Vimeo Link. No other submission formats are accepted.

You may enter any film produced within the last 5 years that is 10 minutes or less in total duration. If a film is accepted, entrant will be solely responsible for delivering their exhibition video files in advance via shared cloud drive. All accepted filmmakers are solely responsible for any travel costs to attend the event.

After you submit, please check your FilmFreeway online account to see if your film has been received. Please don't contact us to find out if your film has been received. Check online.
9 Reviews
Overall Rating
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  • Sangeeta Agrawal

    I cannot say enough good things about Wheaton Film Festival. It's a very well run community based festival which welcomes films from all over. Super communicative team and a very warm welcome to all filmmakers. This was one of the most special festival screening for my short, Five O'Clock Shadow. It was a pleasure to be a part. I hope to be back with more films in the future,

    January 2019
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  • Bad Medicine

    The Wheaton Film Festival is about coming together as a local community and celebrating filmmakers of all levels and the projects they create. The grassroots feel of the event invites a fun energy as we cheer and watch short films covering many genres. It was our first time participating and we were honored to be a part of it.

    December 2018
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  • David Wardrick

    Wheaton is a great new festival that really highlights our community and local storytelling. The panels are great and informative and the networking was stellar this year. It bridges gaps between professional and hobbyist filmmakers and everyone had a seat at the table!

    December 2018
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  • Gandhi Brigade Youth Media

    We love the Wheaton Film Festival. It's a great community event where you can meet other passionate filmmakers in the area and see some amazing short films. They also give out lots of prizes! Highly recommend.

    November 2018
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  • Ali Matlock

    The festival team is very professional. You can tell they truly care about their attendees, entrants and promoting up and coming talent in the industry. We recommend entering and/or attending this festival to any DMV filmmaker looking to make new connections.

    November 2018
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