**Please note the 2020 edition of Slamdance Miami has been postponed and final notification and event dates are still to be determined.**

First and most importantly, we hope you are doing well during the pandemic.

We want to thank you for submitting your work to Slamdance Miami. We really appreciate this, especially as it's our first-time.

During the last few weeks we've taken time to work out how we can pick ourselves back up and reorganize Slamdance Miami at a later date. With the support of Miami's O Cinema and Miami Dade County we are pleased to report we will present Slamdance Miami, as soon as it is safe to do so.

At this moment in time none of us know exactly when we can present Slamdance Miami. What we do know is we are committed to making the event happen. We also want to reiterate Slamdance doesn't have a premier policy so in keeping your work in consideration while it goes on to play at other festivals, either physically or online, before Slamdance Miami won't affect how our programmers view your work.

Very best to you all and your families and thank you again for submitting your work to Slamdance.

***

Slamdance is embarking on an exciting new journey in Miami, Florida where we will continue to showcase and support emerging independent filmmakers through a brand new film festival emphasizing the multicultural and diverse communities of Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and beyond.

Slamdance Miami will showcase works covering all forms of media including film, digital, interactive, gaming, and hybrid forms of storytelling. The inaugural edition of Slamdance Miami will take place May 28-31, 2020, following the 26th Slamdance Film Festival in Park City. The festival will feature an entirely different lineup of films programmed by Slamdance alumni from Miami, Central and South America in addition to leaders from a collection of Miami-based arts and education organizations including Black Lounge Film Series, Miami Dade College, Miami Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment, Miami Film Festival, Miami Media and Film Market, Miami VR Expo, O Cinema, OUTshine Film Festival and Third Horizon Film Festival. In the spirit of Slamdance, films will be programmed democratically, meaning that each programmer will get an equal say in which submitted projects make the final cut.

O Cinema will serve as the Official Cinema Venue for Slamdance Miami. Additional location partners include Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Miami Beach Cinematheque, The Colony Theater and The Wolfsonian-FIU.

Founding support for Slamdance Miami has come from Sandy Lighterman, Miami Media and Film Market co-founders Patricia Arias and Jose Luis Martinez and Slamdance alumni Kareem Tabsch, co-director of O Cinema.

An educational program in collaboration with Miami Dade College and Brazil’s Academia Internacional de Cinema will further support emerging artists and their work, and will be free for the public to attend. Additionally, local grants provided by Miami-Dade County and others will support participant travel.

Rules & Terms

The Slamdance Miami Film Festival accepts films in every genre, on any topic, by filmmakers who currently reside in OR who have shot the majority of their film on location in Florida, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Central & South America. We spotlight low-budget Narrative and Documentary Features by first-time feature directors, and short films across genres. We do not disqualify any films based on date of completion.

Our programming committees are made up of filmmakers, Slamdance alumni, and representatives of local arts and film organizations. Comprised of a variety of backgrounds, interests, and talents, but with no individual filmmaker’s vote valued more than any other, Slamdance committees have been able to stay close to its original DIY spirit and continue to champion the bleeding-edge of contemporary filmmaking.

RULES

By entering Slamdance Miami, you are agreeing to the following Rules and Guidelines:

Submission to Slamdance Miami does not guarantee selection and screening.

Eligibility requirements for each category are final. There are no exceptions.

Filmmakers must currently reside in OR the majority of the film must have been made on location in Florida or in the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Central or South America.

We consider films in any language from the above locations. If your film is not in English, make sure it has English subtitles where necessary.

If your film is in English, you may include Spanish subtitles when possible.

We do not consider work in progress for Slamdance Miami.

Films submitted must not have previously screened at any film festivals based in Miami, Florida. Films that have had public screenings or festival premieres anywhere outside of Miami are still eligible.

Slamdance Miami only accepts Feature films made with a budget under $1 Million USD.

Only features that don’t have US distribution are eligible for Slamdance Miami. Entrants must notify the festival at once if their distribution status changes.

There’s no distribution rule for short films. All short films, including those released online, are eligible.

Entrants can update their edit any time by uploading a new video file into the same link on Vimeo, so the submission link stays the same. Do not send us new links. We cannot guarantee that programmers will be judging the most recent screener update.

Accepted filmmakers must own the rights to their film and all its components by the time of the festival.

If accepted, entrants are responsible for delivering their exhibition copy and other materials, such as: trailer, screener link, press stills, and press-kit, by May 11, 2020.

*(D)igital, (I)nteractive & (G)aming applicants will submit using Google Form instead of FilmFreeway