MISSION & OBJECTIVE
Praxis Film festival is committed to enhancing the Eastern North Carolina cultural landscape by bringing quality films to the community. Praxis Film Festival seeks to provide opportunities to encounter, through film, other countries, cultures, and life circumstance. Praxis recognizes that film can help us develop understanding, compassion, insights into human nature, and an appreciation for all that connects people to each other individually and to the larger community. Last, but not least, Praxis believes good films bring joy and entertainment. Praxis Film Festival screens films that contribute in some way to its mission.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
2018 will be the eighth annual Praxis Film Festival. We have grown from a 24 hour community college event to two days of films screened at a downtown historic theatre. Films selected for screening at Praxis are accepted as in competition for audience awards.

Visit our website (http://praxisfilmfestival.org) and Facebook page to see more about Praxis (https://www.facebook.com/praxisfestival/ )

Narrative Feature ($1000 Audience Award): Any narrative work of fiction with a running time of 60 - 120 minutes.

Narrative Short ($500 Audience Award): Any narrative work of fiction with a running time of 30 minutes or less.

Student Short ($250 Audience Award): Any student film with a running time of 30 minutes or less. Students films can be fiction, documentary, or animation. Student award is open to students ONLY and must include tuition receipt and student ID as proof of enrollment. The film must be the work of a current student or completed during the time the filmmaker was a student (submit past receipt that corresponds to date of film).

Documentary Feature ($1000 Audience Award): Any non-fiction work of film with a running time of 60 - 120 minutes.

Documentary Short ($500 Audience Award): Any non-fiction work of film with a running time of 30 minutes or less.

Animated Short ($500 Audience Award): Any animated work of fiction with a running time of 30 minutes or less.

** Praxis reserves the right to omit a competition category for which no films have been selected for screening.**

FILM COMPETITION GENERAL RULES & GUIDELINES:

- The submission of a film to Praxis Film Festival requires confirmation that person(s) submitting is(are) authorized to submit the film as the Maker or an Agent of the Maker. Furthermore, person(s) submitting the film confirm(s) that all significant roles (Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Screenwriter) agree to submission of the film.

-Two films is the maximum number of submissions allowed by each filmmaker/filmmaking entity. Praxis desires to give a range of filmmakers an opportunity to win prize money. Thus, if two films are submitted by one filmmaker/filmmaking entity, Praxis will select one of the two for audience award competition. The film not selected for award may receive a special screening at the festival.

- Films produced, financed or initiated by a major film studio or television network are ineligible for competition, but may be considered for a special screening. Selection for screening will be determined no later than one month prior to the festival. Films that have screened on US network or cable television or distributed to theaters prior to the festival dates are also ineligible for competition. Praxis reserves the right to omit an audience award category from competition should no films be available that meet the quality Praxis seeks to maintain for its festival.

- Films must have been completed after January 1, 2014. Films must be available for screening during the Praxis Film Festival, May 4 - May 5, 2018.

-Films may be submitted on Blu-ray, DVD NTSC or PAL (please test before sending). We prefer films be available for screening as a digital file. We will not screen films in HDCam or DPC formats. IMPORTANT NOTE: The Praxis Film Festival is not responsible for the streaming quality of Secure Online Screeners. If you choose to submit a Secure Online Screener and would like to guarantee the quality of your submission, Praxis strongly suggests you submit a Blu-ray or DVD in addition to your Secure Online Screener submission.

- Any film made in a language other than English must have subtitles. If the film dialogue is in English with a strong international dialect, subtitles would be appreciated.

- Praxis Film Festival reserves the right to change submission category at their discretion. However, student submissions will remain in the student category.

- Once an entry payment has been processed we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed, the account holder may be subject to any fees.

- Audience Award prize money will be paid in U.S. dollars. No conversion fees or taxes will be paid by Praxis. Audience Award prize money will be paid by check drawn from a U.S. bank. Due to Praxis budget limitations, Praxis will not pay travel costs for all filmmakers whose films are selected for screening at Praxis 2016. Thus, filmmakers do not need to be in attendance to win the audience award for their category. Travel costs will be offered to filmmakers as funds are available.

- You MUST include your physical address either in your online submission data or in your cover letter. Please do not submit a film without giving us your address, which we need for our records.

RETURNS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
DVDs and press materials will not be returned under any circumstances. Praxis will not pay shipping cost for receipt of film submissions. We do prefer to screen from digital files. DVDs and press materials will not be returned under any circumstances. Email confirmation of receipt of materials will be sent by Praxis to submitting filmmakers.

PLEASE NOTE: Praxis Film Festival does not waive entry fees. We understand the financial constraint of filmmaking and costs of submitting to Festivals and we still hope you can find it in your budget to submit your film.