The Tasmanian Breath of Fresh Air (BOFA) Film Festival is an ideas festival celebrating fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to screen-based storytelling. Bringing people and great stories together is the essence of the festival.

The 2023 BOFA Film Festival will be held from the 1st to the 3rd of September. Our annual short film competition provides a platform for filmmakers to tell their stories in their own way. Stories that matter, inspire, bring us together and have an impact. It’s these stories that form a part of what we call the ‘BOFA Effect’.

We are pleased to announce entries are now open for the 2023 BOFA Short Film Competition. Entries close at midnight on 16th July 2023.

THE CREATIVE BRIEF
This year our theme is INSPIRING CHANGE. We want to showcase films that inspire change on a personal, community or global level. Stories of inspiring people or groups. Stories of communities that have overcome challenges. Stories of movements that have or are trying to make the world a better place.

Open to entries nationwide, we welcome all filmmakers of any heritage, age or identity to submit their films in the genre of their choice.

The BOFA Film Festival acknowledges the Palawa people as traditional owners of lutruwita/Tasmania. We pay our respects to the traditional storytellers, designers, artists and owners of the land on which we live and work.

This year we recognise outstanding craft and story-telling ability with
• First prize $2,500, second prize $1,500 and third prize $1,000
• A People’s Choice Award will be awarded to the top three short films as decided by viewers nationally

WHO CAN ENTER THE COMPETITION?

The competition is open to film makers of any heritage, young or older, who is a resident of Australia. Both those at the beginning of their careers and professional film makers are invited to enter and use film as a medium to respond to the brief creating their film’s story in any genre: fiction, documentary, animation, or a mixture of all genres. It can be happy or sad, funny or tragic, light or dark.

SPECIFICATIONS
Films are to be from a minimum three to a maximum 20 minutes in length as this is both an easy-to-view duration and a way of powerfully distilling a story.

Films can be new work, existing films or re-edits of existing shorts. Films can be made on any videoing/recording equipment including smartphones. Entries must be in English or with English subtitles.

Films must be submitted by the owners of the work or have permission from the owners. All entries remain the possession of their content creators. Stills from the films must be provided for promotional purposes.

The deadline for submissions is midnight 16 July.

Judges will select a short list of the best shorts by 31 July. This short list of films will then be screened nationally as part of the 2023 BOFA Online Film Festival from 1 - 28 August offering the BOFA audience nationally the opportunity to judge which are THEIR top three preferences as part of the 2023 BOFA People's Choice competition This will offer all selected film-makers exposure to a national audience.

JUDGING

All entries will be assessed by judges and the top shorts will be selected by a judging panel based on:

1. Creative response to the theme.
2. Quality of script-writing.
3. Quality of cinematography and production values.
4. Overall entertainment value

Judges are:
* Jayne Montague, Filmmaker
* Monica Plunkett, Creative Director
* Andy Terhell, Media Lecturer
* Kyle Perry, author

Judges will rate each of the short films by 31st July,

Top rating selected short films will screen in the 2023 BOFA Online Film Festival from 1st until 31 August, 2023

A People’s Choice Award will be given to three short films whom viewers have rated as their preferred short films.

An awards event will be held in Launceston on Saturday 2nd September, 2023 where the judges' 2023 Inspiring Change Short Film Competition award winners and the People’s Choice award winners will be announced and their film-makers presented with their prizes and certificates.

All film-makers who have submitted films will be invited to this free event.

All selected films will be awarded a 2023 Tasmanian Breath Of Fresh Air Film Festival laurel. Winners will receive cash prizes and a Certificate. People's Choice winners will receive a Tasmanian wine prize and a Certificate.