Make an award-winning film in under 8 minutes. Seriously, do it!

Announcing the Eighth Annual Single-Take Challenge, celebrating the short "One-Shot" film. The most fun you'll ever have making a movie.

OPEN TO ALL FILMMAKERS.

Brand new, genuine one-take films only. Any genre, any length up to 8 minutes maximum.

Each film submitted must be a single, continuous take film. NO cuts or hidden cuts, NO editing (other than sound, color correction, titles etc.). As this is a "Challenge", the more creative the film, the better. The winning films will be the ones that have the most "WOW!"

Prizes: A beautiful Grand Prize trophy for Best Film. Additional trophies for Most Entertaining Film and Extraordinary Cinematography. Audience Favorite award, determined by poll. Best "Making Of" award. Special awards may be presented depending upon submissions and circumstances.

What counts most in this contest is originality, creativity, imagination, and the ability to surprise.

Cutoff Date: Midnight, August 15, 2023.

Finalist films will be submitted to the judging panel for trophy nominations. ALL qualified entries will be shown online the weekend of October 6-8, 2023 and are eligible for the Audience Favorite award.

Admission fee: $20 per film through 6/15/23, $25 through the final deadline 8/15/23.

We will show *ALL* qualified entries during our online weekend event, and *ALL* qualified films will be eligible for the Audience Favorite award (determined by poll).

"Best Making Of" award. If you have the resources, consider filming "the making of" your single-take entry. These Making Of films will also be single take films. We want to see who and what was involved in pulling off your movie. SUBMIT YOUR "MAKING OF" FILM SEPARATELY via email to Singletakechallenge@gmail.com There will be no additional fees to submit your "Making Of" film.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Films must be NEW and original films. To ensure that your film has been created specifically for this event, you will be asked to include a certain item in the film. READ RULES & TERMS BELOW FOR IMPORTANT DETAILS

Awards & Prizes

Grand Prize trophy for Best Film. Additional trophies for Most Entertaining Film and Extraordinary Cinematography. Audience Favorite award, determined by poll. Best "Making Of" award - we want to see what is going on behind the scene; who is doing what. Special awards may be presented depending upon submissions and circumstances.

Rules & Terms

READ THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN - DQ'D FILMS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED! Before you create your film, the item which must be in EVERY film submitted is.. "a Kangaroo". The Kangaroo does NOT need to be an important part of your story (and is not part of the judging), but you DO have to SHOW a kangaroo -or- have a character SAY the word "kangaroo" at some point in your film (in any context). It can be a poster with a kangaroo, it can be a toy kangaroo, etc. etc. WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR FILM, notify us when "kangaroo" occurs in your film (example: "the female spy character says the word kangaroo at the 2:13 mark in the film" or "a toy kangaroo can be seen on the shelf at the 4:21 mark").

And of course, each film submitted must be a single, continuous take film. NO cuts/hidden cuts, NO editing (other than sound, color correction, titles etc.) NOTE: EFFECTIVE with the 2020 Challenge - NO "speeding up" or time compression of the films. All films must be shot and shown in real-time.

Any questions - email us at Singletakechallenge@gmail.com.

Now you're ready to get started. After planning out your film: 1) shoot your film, any length up to 8 minutes long max including credits. Don't forget to show or say the clue "kangaroo" in there somewhere! 2) Submit your film on this website. Enter by June 15, 2023 for the discounted rate of only $20. 3) Tell us where we can see or hear the clue "kangaroo" in your film.

>>>PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR FILM VIA YOUTUBE LINK<<<

Now for the fine print:

GENERAL RULES
RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. Films must not exceed 8 minutes in length, including credits.
2. All non-English language films must have English subtitles or no dialogue.
3. A separate entry fee is required for each submission.
4. Submissions may NOT be withdrawn from the Festival once they have been entered, except at the sole discretion of the Festival.
5. All selected films may be excerpted (up to 2 minutes) for publicity purposes. Films submitted agree to be aired on Tampa Bay Entertainment and Education Network television and/or other venues.
6. After selection, notification letters will be sent electronically: please provide an email address.
7. Films are to be submitted via this web page unless specifically approved by the Festival.
8. Projects MUST be completed specifically for this Festival per the requirements above.
9. Filmmaker MUST have proper license to all copyrighted music, video, and images projected in their short film.
10. By entering the Challenge, you agree to abide by the rules. Films that are determined to have used FX to achieve the impression of single take will be disqualified.

As we have no real way to prove whether entrants' films are true single-takes, we are relying upon the honor system. By submitting your film, you are attesting to the fact that your film was shot in one single, continuous take with no cuts or edits.

GOOD LUCK
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  • Tiahna Kovarik

    It was a pleasure being involved in creating a film for this festival. Every one I talked to answered all my questions and were overall very kind , helpful , and made the experience amazing. I hope to participate again in the future and if anyone is thinking of participating I would tell them to go for it! Making a film in one take was a fun challenges as a filmmaker to accomplish.
    Best,
    TK

    November 2022
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  • Dawn Daignault

    Great festival! Mark is a wonderful host and keeps everyone in the loop with excellent communication. This is our second year participating and we enjoy the challenge this festival presents by allowing us to stretch our creativity with a single take film. A must do for every filmmaker!

    October 2022
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  • Christian Okoli

    Fantastic Film Festival. Great conceptual event. Thank you for including my Film. The Finalists where great. Well done to the winners. Wishing the Festival more success in the future

    October 2022
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  • Christine Braithwaite

    Mark has been a great host and has always kept us in the loop within the running of the festival. This has been a great challenge to do. A must have for any budding film makers.

    October 2021
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  • Tellway Pictures

    Very good festival. We had a blast participating in it! We hope to come back and we wish the best of luck to Mark and all the other people behind the festival. Very good communication and very pretty prizes!

    October 2021
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