The Sky Arts Film Festival's third year is taking place at the historic Capitol Arts Center in downtown Bowling Green, KY. We are the home of the Corvette, Lost River Cave, and have the second most restaurants per capita in the nation.

Bowling Green is a fast growing city, with a media service sector rapidly increasing. Sitting halfway between Louisville and Nashville on I65, Bowling Green was once a stop over town on the road to Music City. But no longer. We at the Sky Arts Film Festival and our partnerships with the City of Bowling Green are bringing Film and Art into the community.

The mission of the Sky Arts Film Festival is to grow and develop the media industry in Southern Kentucky by giving filmmakers, media professionals, content creators, movie goers, students, and teachers the opportunity to learn and experience an unforgettable event centered around the art of film making. Combined with our Film Festival, we will be holding Masterclasses for local students with industry professionals. As the city grows so does the need for unique and creative media. We are aiming to foster that creation with home grown talent.

New to 2024, SAFF "Short Film Script Writing Competition". A jury of working professionals including writers, actors, filmmakers, and other industry artists will review scripts and vote. Top selections will receive a live, in person, reading at our festival in Bowling Green, KY.

Officially selected films will be eligible to receive awards by category, as well as the ranking award for Best of Fest. There will also be individual awards. Prizes will be awarded by a panel of judges based on the film’s overall artistic, narrative, and technical quality.

CATEGORIES:
Narrative Feature
Documentary Feature
Short Narrative
Short Documentary
Music Video
Student Film
Best of Fest

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Score
Best Production Design

Each official selection will be given two (2) VIP Passes to attend Sky Arts Film Festival screenings and events. SAFF plans to offer networking opportunities and panel discussions for film industry professionals and fellow supporters of the arts community. Attendees representing officially selected films may also be asked to participate in panels and moderated Q&A sessions with the audience immediately following their film’s screening.
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SKY ARTS short film script writing competition. A jury of working professionals including writers, actors, filmmakers, and other industry artists will review scripts and vote. Top selections will receive a live, in person, reading at our festival in Bowling Green, KY. The award for the best script receives the following:

• Physical Award
• Live table reading with actors at the festival
• Script is sent to SAFF's network of producers.

FILM FESTIVAL RULES & TERMS

•Submitter only needs to submit to ONE genre, but will be considered in all appropriate categories.

•You agree to the following terms and conditions of the Sky Arts Film Festival.

• All films must be the original work of the filmmakers and all filmmakers must have the necessary rights. The festival is not liable for any rights issues.

•Student's are considered anyone current enrolled in high school or college.

• The Sky Arts Film Festival is not responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen items, including films in any medium, while en-route or in our possession, on or off of festival grounds.

• By submitting a film to SAFF, you grant the Sky Arts Film Festival permission to screen your film, if said film is officially accepted into this year's lineup.

• If your film has been selected, you are automatically considered accepted. If we do not hear from you otherwise within 14 days of notification, your selection will be accepted and intended for playing in the festival.

• All entries must be either in English or subtitled in English. Foreign language films without English subtitles will not be screened.

• Only completed entries (including entry form, payment, and final film) will be considered.

• We are an environmentally friendly festival. We accept digital entries ONLY. Do not send DVD’s, Blu-rays, or physical press kits.

• Films must have been produced no earlier than 2018.

• We have no premiere status requirements.

• If accepted, the filmmaker is required to provide the festival a digital file (.mov, .mp4), for exhibition.

•Digital files must have a 2k resolution, with a preferred 4k resolution if possible. Aspect ratio does not matter.

• In accordance with the Sky Arts Film Festival policy, the entry fee is non-refundable.

• You will not be allowed to enter your work unless you agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the Sky Arts Festival Festival.

You grant the Sky Arts Film Festival the following:

• Permission to exhibit your film. Films must be available for screening October 2024.

• Allow photos, posters, highlights or excerpts of your film (e.g. a trailer) to be placed on the Sky Arts Film Festival website and used for other marketing and promotional purposes. You also agree to allow SAFF to promote the following year's festival with the material listed above. SAFF will never solicit or screen your film outside the promotion of the SAFF without your approval.

• We are accepting short films (under 35 minutes), feature films (under 125 minutes), and screenplay submissions.

• The Sky Arts Film Festival reserves the right to change our programming without notice.

• The official selections and screening schedule is at the sole discretion of the festival.

• You may submit as many entries as you like. Each entry requires its own entry fee.

• Entry fees will not be refunded.

• Entrants are encouraged, but not required, to attend the festival. Entrants receive 2 free full passes to the film festival for the duration of the film festival, and can receive artist pricing on each additional pass.

• Exceptions to these rules will not be made unless we make an exception.

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SCRIPT COMPETITION RULES & TERMS

•Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only.

•Entry fees are as listed on the Film Freeway website

•Short scripts should be between 2 - 30 pages.

•Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM. All entry fees are non-refundable.

•All submitted material must be owned by the writer(s), however the material may be based on other works not owned by the writers.

•Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s).

•If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing any prizes awarded as they deem fair (whether there is a cash value or not).

•Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for a limited time with a reentry fee.
It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.

•Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required.

•Sky Arts Film Festival claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.

•Short film scripts produced or soon to be produced by the writer are eligible to enter as long as it will be made by independent means.

•The decision of the judges will be final and cannot be contested in any manner.

•Sky Arts Film Festival reserves the right to change deadline and announcement dates at any time.

•Sky Arts Film Festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.

• For questions and inquiries, please email skyartsfilmfestival@gmail.com

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • I can’t wait to see where this festival goes in the years to come. Felt so special to be a part of it and have our film awarded. Lovely people, great programming and events. Highly recommend this festival to new filmmakers!

    October 2023
  • Thomas Wavid Johns

    A fantastic festival shining a deserving light on the vibrancy of the film industry's presence and relevance in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Honored to have been included in the 2023 festival.

    October 2023
  • Emily Steele

    It was an honor to win best cinematography this year for my film "Goodnight, August". I wish I could have been there in person! A great festival with wonderful people!

    October 2023
  • The Sky Arts Film Festival feels like a festival that's been around longer than two years. It has great care in its screenings and events. Each filmmaker is acknowledged and treated wonderfully. This festival feels personal and comfortable . I hope to see attendance grow as this festival continues, but I don't think that will be an issue given its quality.

    October 2023
  • Thanks for selecting "Enter the Room" into your festival. The Capitol Theater is one of the 3 nicest theaters that I have ever screened "Enter the Room" in, the Q&A was great, the quality of films was phenomenal and the organizers were very friendly. Overall, I had a great experience with this festival and will definitely consider submitting future projects to Sky Arts Film Festival.

    October 2023