ITSA Film Festival is proud to present the 4th Annual Back to Nature Film Fest on April 29, 2017! This is a one-day environmental film festival that takes place at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. Times to be announced.

Film submissions accepted are shorts as well as features.

Twenty films were screened during our 2016 Back to Nature Film Festival at Columbia College in Sonora, California.

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Our 8th Annual ITSA Film Festival takes place in Sonora, California in the heart of Gold Country the second Friday, Saturday and Sunday of November 2017.

Our ITSA Film Festival in November takes place over three days in the Historic Sonora Opera Hall in downtown Sonora and sometimes other locations throughout the county.

We screen shorts, animations, music videos and documentaries.

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Dedicated to promoting high school student filmmakers, college filmmakers, up-and-coming and veteran filmmakers in a location conducive to showcasing creativity while being an educational outreach through attendee workshops and panels.

ITSA Film Festival takes place in Sonora, California where over 300 movies and televisions series have been filmed in the county including Back to the Future, Hidalgo, Little House on the Prairie and High Noon (among others). Just 2.5 hours from San Francisco, 6.5 hours from Los Angeles and 1.5 hours from Yosemite National Park.

Run entirely by volunteers, ITSA Film Festival is dedicated to creating a wider audience and a greater awareness for all filmmakers, especially up-and-coming and students. We showcase films by filmmakers of all races, nationalities and genders. We encourage variety in our overall content by showing short films, documentaries, animation, experimental, shorts, music videos and other genres.

In the past, we have screened films that have been shown at Cannes, films starring well-known actors by well-known directors and producers along with student films.

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The ITSA Film Festival presents the 4th Annual Back to Nature Film Festival in Spring 2017!

ITSA looks for unique and meaningful films that inspire and educate. Filmmakers of all abilities and backgrounds are invited to submit their films in one or several categories of Short Films, and Youth Submission for filmmakers under 19 years of age.

ELIGIBILITY

1. We accept films in any genre as long as it is environmental in message.
2. While we do not exclude films with prior screenings, World, US, and California premiere submissions are strongly encouraged.
3. Non-English language film submissions must include embedded English subtitles.

FORMATS for SCREENING & SUBMISSION MATERIALS

For a film to be considered for the Festival, ITSA requires the following materials and information:

1. To be environmentally friendly, the ITSA Film Festival is considered a "GREEN" festival, therefore we accept online screeners only. We will screen films via FilmFreeway.com or through an external link that does not expire until after October 30, 2016.
2. In order to give "OFFICIAL SELECTIONS" complete credit in our festival program, we appreciate the following information with all film submissions:

-Director
-Producer
-Country of Origin
-Completion Date
-Running Time
-100 to 150 Word Synopsis
-Director's Biography
-Director’s Headshot Photo
-3 Film Stills or Production Photos
-Film Trailer or a 3-minute film clip (.MP4 or .MOV formats)
-Film/Filmmaker website; Facebook page; and Twitter handle (if applicable)
-Filmmaker Point of Contact (Name, Address, Phone, E-mail)

We also appreciate the following in the "Notes" section of your profile:
-Year of First Public Screening (if applicable)
-Premiere Status prior to ITSA (Calfornia, US, or World)

SELECTION STATUS

Filmmakers are contacted about OFFICIAL SELECTION status by February 25, 2017 through FilmFreeway.

If selected to the Festival, final digital downloads must arrive in the ITSA Film Festival office via email no later than March 10, 2017. ITSA screening formats include specifically these formats:

-.MOV
-.MP4

RIGHTS & RELEASES

By entering a film for consideration to ITSA's Back to Nature Film Fest 2017, the submitter acknowledges they do not give up rights to their film's copyright but agree to the following:

1. If chosen as an Official Selection, the submitter grants ITSA non-exclusive screening permission for unlimited showings over the course of the Festival.
2. We reserve the right to copy and use any submitted film stills, trailers, and film segments (up to 3 minutes) for non-commercial promotional purposes and for archival material, at no additional cost.
3. The ITSAFF is not responsible for the loss or damage of any submitted collateral sent to us for the Festival.

Please Note: ITSA Film Festival does not waive entry fees. No one film is favored over another. We also do not invite films to be submitted. Only films that are submitted with a fee will be considered for awards.

We understand financial constraints and costs associated with submitting to Festivals, but we still hope you can find it in your budget to submit your film.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Johnny Kirk

    Great film festival. I'm glad I was part of it.

    April 2017
  • Marc Cartwright

    Great festival. Well worth the entry fee.

    December 2016
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for your review Marc. We appreciate all of the entries we receive and work very hard to screen a high percentage of them.

  • Trevor Marcotte

    Part of the cultural pulse of the region. We felt very welcomed and appreciated for the work we submitted. Communication was very good at every turn. Excellent film festival all around, and a great opportunity for budding filmmakers to showcase their work. Highly recommended!

    November 2016
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    Response from festival:

    It is the films from filmmakers like you that make our festival what it is. Thank you so much for all of your submissions.

  • Ignacio Redondo

    Great festival. Very good communication.
    Highly recommended!

    November 2016
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much Ignacio! We work diligently to respond to all of our filmmakers before, during and after the selection process.

  • Great festival with even more amazing people. The organizers take excellent care of you and make you feel like family. I can't recommend it enough.

    November 2016
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    Response from festival:

    It was a pleasure to have you attend our festival again. Looking forward to your future films.