Echelon Studios International Film Festival – July 8th - 13th, 2024
Echelon Studios is proud to announce the Echelon Studios International Film Festival (ESIFF) for 2024, from July 8th – 13th (in-person screening on July 13th).
Echelon Studios has over twenty plus years of experience in acquiring, promoting and licensing films in both the domestic and worldwide markets. To this end we are seeking films in six categories to compete for prizes and distribution deals.
The Echelon Studios International Film Festival supports the creation and advancement of innovative and artistic cinematic works from emerging filmmakers and proudly embraces the passion, vision, and independent spirit of these talented artists. Through the integration of the local community and educational institutions, the festival stimulates an interest in the study and appreciation of film and encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to participate.
We look forward to welcoming you to our Film Festival!
During the week before our screening, our panel of guests will talk about relevant to independent film distribution and the industry. The panelists will be comprised of emerging talents and industry veterans.
Virtual Panels
Attendees will gain knowledge about how to prepare, package, and get their films distributed across the world. The panels will also educate filmmakers about navigating the film festival circuit, and gain insight to prepare for their next projects as well.
Awards & Prizes
We are seeking films in 6 categories to compete for prizes and distribution deals.
Awards
Submitted films will compete in the following 6 categories:
Best US Feature
Best US Short
Best International Feature
Best International Short
Best Doc
Best Series
Best Feature Film
Audience Award
Best Actor (Male)
Best Actor (Female)
Best Director
Best Horror / Sci-Fi
Best Thriller/Action
Best Animation
Best Foreign Film
Best LGBT
Best Documentary Film
Best Short Film
Best Cinematography
Best Original Music Score
Best Screenplay
Best New Media / Web Series
Prizes
- The Best Feature Film winner will receive a free-round trip airline ticket anywhere in the U.S.
- $1,000 USD cash prize for Best Feature Film
- The Mometu Award winner will receive a free-round trip airline ticket anywhere in the U.S.
- $1,000 USD cash prize for Mometu Award winner
- $500 USD cash prize to the winner of each category
- All films will be offered a distribution deal with Echelon Studios
- Additional Sponsorship Awards to be announced
Rules & Terms
ENTRY FEES
Note: Entry fees are in U.S. Dollars, per film and are non-refundable. The festival reserves the right to disqualify a submission, without refund of any kind, if eligibility requirements are not met including if eligibility status changes post-submission.
Rules & Terms
- Films must have been completed in the past 5 years.
- We consider films regardless of their premiere status. Even if your film has already premiered at another festival, whether it screened at a physical venue or online, it’s still eligible for consideration.
- The applicant holds the sole responsibility for copyright clearance of any copyrighted material in the film.
- The festival has the right to use a trailer, stills, pictures, and posters for promotional purposes in various film magazines, social media, websites, etc.
- All films should be in the English language or subtitled in English.
- Shorts must be less than 50 minutes. All projects over 50 minutes should be submitted to the feature category.
- The festival will only communicate with the submitter of the film project.
Festival Screenings
The festival is both a virtual and an in-person screening ceremony. The virtual component takes place before the in-person ceremony. The winners of the six categories will be screened in-person at the South Park Center in Los Angeles, supported by NewFilmmakers Los Angeles.
All official selections are invited to the in-person screening and ceremony. The trailers for the films will be screened on Mometu, one of our streaming partners. The trailer that receives the most views on the streaming platform will win the Mometu Award category.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for consideration:
- You must fully comply with these Entry Rules and regulations, including all deadlines, film length, entry material and other requirements.
- You can only submit a feature/short/documentary once, in any category.
- If music or additional film material used in your film is not original, then permission from the source must be obtained. The responsibility for this rests entirely with the filmmaker. Failure to obtain clearance could result in your film being withdrawn from the Festival. In this event, ESIFF will not be liable to refund the fee.
- Entrants should UPLOAD their film to FilmFreeway on the day that the entry form is completed. Please include your press kit including still photos. Please write a 10-15 word (ONLY) synopsis for use in our festival program – should your film be selected. We would like to ensure that the judges view your film in the highest quality possible so we will only accept final cuts. Please make sure that your film is ready at the time of entry.
- Please do not send DVDs or copies of your film directly to us unless requested to do so. At the time of submission, we will only accept your entry if your film is uploaded to FilmFreeway.
CONTENT REQUIREMENTS
- No X-Rated or full nudity; partial nudity is acceptable
- No direct religious content
- No direct political content
- Only features/shorts produced in the last 5 years