Beneath the Earth Film Festival BTEFF 2011 Call for Submissions

Beneath the Earth Film Festival (BTE), the latest purveyor of online content, reveals an impressive lineup of revered guest judges while also announcing this year’s Call for Entries after a successful first season as a standout and innovative online film festival.  The festival will accept submissions through 8/31/11.

In an age when consumers are receiving more news and content through social media and social networking channels, BTE has partnered with some of the Web’s most passionate and far-reaching film reviewers to help shine the light on an emerging crop of talented filmmakers.

Starting this season, BTE has put in place a Grand Jury of film reviewers whose sites collectively reach over 1.1 MILLION people each month. Winners of the festival will receive the opportunity to have their film reviewed by members of the Grand Jury who will publish the reviews on their respective sites, acting as an instigator of word-of-mouth and buzz that’s invaluable to an up-and-coming filmmaker. The approach takes a page from what the Internet has been able to do for unknown musicians, who in most cases forego the traditional route of demo tape mailings and instead build unique views and followings online as an index of their marketability.

Alongside the Grand Jury are Guest Judges who are noteworthy industry players that are representative of the changing waters of film. This year’s Guest Judges include:

*Christopher Zalla: Zalla is a writer, director and producer of film and television. His first feature film won the 2007 Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Recent television credits include Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

*Gabourey Sidibe: The first time actress and Oscar Nominee, made her acting debut in the Academy Award nominated Lee Daniels film, Precious. Sidibe currently appears in the Original Showtime network series, The Big C and has finished shooting her next film, Tower Heist, a Brett Ratner action-comedy.

*Jay Anania: With about 40 years in the business, director Jay Anania’s body of work includes experimental, documentary and narrative films. Anania recently completed the critically acclaimed film,William Vincent, starring Oscar Nominee, James Franco, and is currently producing his next film, The Stare.

*Claude Grunitzky: Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the trans-cultural fashion and art bible, TRACE Magazine, Grunitzky also co-founded Trace TV network available in 150 countries on various cable and satellite pay television platforms and has collaborated with artists like Spike Lee, Larry Clark, Kanye West and Lily Allen.

*Marc Graser: Marc Graser is a senior writer at Variety. Previously, he was the editor of Advertising Age's newsletter Madison & Vine, covering the business of branded entertainment. He also reported on entertainment marketing for Advertising Age.

With an impressive roster of talent on this year’s Grand Jury, BTE is anticipating diverse and inspiring film submissions from all over the world as the festival strives to bring festival-quality films to the home viewer and in turn give emerging directors an opportunity to establish their credibility, reach a wide audience and build a devoted following.

Categories
Feature Film (over 60 minutes, all genres)

Narrative Short (under 60 minutes, all genres)

Documentary Short (under 60 minutes, all genres)

Animated Short (under 60 minutes, all genres)

Music Video (music video under 15 minutes, all genres)

Experimental Short (under 60 minutes, all genres)

Awards
A Best Film and Audience Award is given out in each category. The Best Film is determined by Grand Jury vote while the Audience Award is determined by public vote

A $500 cash award will be given to the winners of Best Film in the shorts and music video categories. While the winning Feature Film will win a cash award of $1,000 .

All winners, both Best Film and Audience Award winners will receive the opportunity to have their film reviewed by our Grand Jury .

Deadlines
All entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Standard Time) on the defined deadline day. The mailed portion of an entry must be postmarked by the deadline day.

Early Bird Deadline: June 1, 2011
Regular Deadline: July 31, 2011
Late Deadline: August 15, 2011
Without a Box Extended Deadline: August 31, 2011
Fees
Each entry must be accompanied by the appropriate entry fee. Entry fees are not refundable. Fees cover submission, notification that your entry has been received and notification of the result. These fees may be paid by credit card through Without a Box (WAB) (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express) or Money Order. Make money orders payable to Beneath the Earth Films.

Early Bird Deadline $40
Regular Deadline $45
Late Deadline $50
Without A Box Extended Deadline $65

International Entries
For all entries outside the U.S., Money Orders are accepted provided that the money order is drawn on a U.S. correspondent bank and is in U.S. dollars.

Without a Box Discount
A $5.00 discount is applied to the entry fee for entrants who submit via Without A Box before the Without A Box Extended Deadline. A $15 discount is applied to the Without A Box Extended Deadline for those entrants who submit via Without A Box after the late deadline but before the extended deadline.

Student Discount
An additional $5 discount can be applied to the entry fee for student entrants. Students must submit proof of their student status (i.e., copy of student ID, transcript, etc.) with their submission to qualify. The film will only qualify for student status if the director of the film is a matriculated student at a college or university. A student need not be enrolled in a film and television program to receive the discount, they must simply be enrolled in a college or university.

Guidelines
All films must be submitted through Without a Box.
All films can be entered, regardless of previous screenings and awards.
Films may not be widely commercially available on video/DVD in the U.S. before being submitted to the festival.
Contestants can submit (1) one film to multiple categories, (2) multiple films to the same category (3) or multiple films to multiple categories. Each category submission, however, requires a separate entry form and fee.
Films must be submitted on DVD (NTSC or PAL). Please do not send film prints, master tapes, or other originals.
The production's title must be on each case and DVD.
All entries must be either in English or contain English subtitles.
The Festival also requests press materials if available.
All entrants must agree to the Festival Terms before submitting their entries.
Please submit a copy of the online form receipt along with the submission.
If you want your screener returned, you must include a self-addressed, stamped and padded envelope.
Only complete entries (including entry form, payment, and preview DVD screener) will be processed.
It is advised that you keep a photocopy of the completed application for your own reference.
Beneath the Earth is not responsible for items that are lost in USPS or other delivery services. You are encouraged to secure delivery confirmation to ensure receipt of your submission.
Shipping
The cost of shipping an entry to the Festival must be paid by the entrant. Collect or COD shipments will not be accepted. All international entries must be sent "free domicile" with all transportation charges, duties, and taxes prepaid by the shipper.

Shipping Address: PO Box 1005 New York, New York 10274

Announcement of the Winners
In mid-September you will be notified via email that we have received your submission and whether or not you've been selected as a finalist.

IMDB Qualifying
Beneath the Earth Film Festival is an IMDB qualifying festival . All Eligible films entered are granted a NO Hassle title page on IMDB.com.

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