WHAT IS THE WHITE DEER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL?
We are the hosts of IMDB Qualifying bi-annual celebrations of exciting cinematic experiences, not always featured in the mainstream media. Nestled in the heart of Britain, White Deer IFF welcomes all filmmakers to enter their projects into a variety of award categories, to be judged by industry award-winners & film-loving audiences from across the global community. Films that enter our festival competition are judged in all applicable categories, potentially winning multiple awards with one entry fee.
WHITE DEER IFF & THE EAST MIDLANDS
At White Deer IFF we believe it is essential to foster the potential of filmmakers who are outside the typical “hotspots” within the UK film industry. Our ethos is that filmmakers can, and should, have opportunities in locations across the world, and not only in big cities. In particular, we are committed to promoting the talents of individuals and groups within a region very close to our heart, the East Midlands, UK. It is here where White Deer IFF was formed and is based, but also where not enough filmmakers are given the exposure that they deserve. Therefore, we have decided to give additional awards solely for East Midlands-based applicants, so that many more films from this area can be brought to the attention of global audiences. It is our hope that this will increase the exposure of East Midlands’ production talent. After all, this beautiful part of the UK has many stories to tell, and we will do our best to see them told.
Entrants must select the most accurate runtime for their film and will then be eligible to win any of the appropriate awards listed below:
EAST MIDLANDS AWARDS
Best East Midlands Long Narrative
Best East Midlands Short Narrative
Best East Midlands Microshort Narrative
MAIN AWARDS
Best Long Narrative
Best Short Narrative
Best Microshort Narrative
Best Young Filmmaker
Best Music Video
Best Long Documentary
Best Short Documentary
Best Microshort Documentary
GENRE AWARDS
Best Drama
Best Action
Best Sci-Fi
Best Thriller
Best Comedy
Best Horror
Best Romance
Best Fantasy
Best Western
Best Dystopian
Best Message
Best Experimental
Best Animation
TECHNICAL AWARDS
Best Director
Best Writing
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Ensemble Cast
Best Casting
Best Art Direction
Best Production Design
Best Set Design
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Visual Effects
Best Special Effects
Best Costumes
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Location
Best Colour Grading
Best Sound Design
Best Soundtrack
Best Trailer
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Entrant films that are strong enough to contest one of the award categories will receive an Official Selection laurel.
AWARD WINNERS
Eventual award winners will receive a laurel for the award(s) that they win and a selection of award-winning films will be featured at our bi-annual networking/screening events (held June & December). For more information please see the Event Information page on our website.
'WITH JUDGES FEEDBACK' ENTRY
Long Narrative with Judges Feedback
Short Narrative with Judges Feedback
Microshort Narrative with Judges Feedback
if a 'with Judges Feedback' entry is selected then entrants will receive an in-depth PDF document alongside entry into the festival competition. The PDF document will contain an analysis from the festival's primary judging team who will use their own filmmaking experience to give constructive feedback about the submitted film.
The length of the document will vary depending on the submitted film's runtime. As a rough guide, Microshort Length films can expect to receive between 3 to 6 A4 pages of feedback, Shorter Length films will receive about 6 to 9 A4 pages, and Feature Length films about 9 to 12 A4 pages.
The document will be received by the entrant within one month of submission. All feedback will be bespoke/appropriate to the film being entered. Please note, the feedback is considered a separate service from entry into the competition and will have no direct effect on success in the awards competition.
Please see our website for an example: https://whitedeerfest.co.uk/
