Filmmaker FAQ
Entry Process FAQ
(Scroll down for general FAQ and Accepted Filmmaker FAQ)
*Please consult the second page of the Entry Form for answers to question you don't find here.*
Q: Do you accept international films?
A: Yes, both domestic and international films are welcome.
Q: Do you accept music videos?
A: Nope—just about everything else, but that genre scares us.
Q: Do you accept rough cuts?
A: Yes, but it should be 90% done—please include a note in the cover letter and on the DVD case so that our screeners and programmers know exactly what work you’ve got left to do.
Q: How long can my film be?
A: Our short films are less than 45 minutes long. Feature length films are 45 minutes or longer. We have had films 1 minute long and over 2 hours.
Q: What about temporary sound and music?
A: That’s fine too as long as you tell us about it in the cover letter and on the DVD case.
Q: If I submit my film on the very last day, will it have less of a chance of being accepted.
A: No. Films recieved on the last day of the Extended Deadline have made it into our festival.
Q: Do you have restrictions on national or regional premieres?
A: We do not require a film to be a national premiere, but in order for your film to be inconsideration, it must not have been publicly screened in Southern Oregon (Klamath, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson or Josephine Counties).
Q: May I submit more than one film?
A: Yes, as long as each film is accompanied by its own entry form and fee.
Q: My film was made in 2005—can I still submit it?
A: Nope—sorry ‘bout that but we gotta draw the line somewhere.
Q: I missed the December 8 deadline. Can I send it anyway?
A: No but we’ll start accepting entries in August 2008, for the 2009 festival.
Q: Do you waive entry fees?
A: No. A few years ago we slashed our entry fees so that more folks could enter—the trade off was to stop waiving fees.
Q: Do you make oodles of money off of entry fees?
A: No—we are a non-profit arts organization that breaks even every year.
Q: Can I get both a withoutabox discount and a student discount?
A: Nope—only one or the other.
Q: What if I was a student when I made the film but I’ve graduated and I’m not in school anymore—is it still considered a student film?
A: Yep
Q: You waive entry fees for Southern Oregon filmmakers--what’s your definition of Southern Oregon?
A: If you reside in Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine or Klamath county you are eligible for the waiver. Besure to fill out the Locals Only Fee Waiver Form. Check out our Locals Only Page!
Q: Will you return my screener to me?
A: Only if you include a SASE.
Q: Does each film actually get screened or do some get automatically rejected without even being opened?
A: We hear horror stories from filmmakers about other festivals that reject a film just by looking at the synopsis. I hope those stories are exaggerated, but regardless, every film that comes to us is screened by many different folks. Thankfully we have an army of folks to assist the programming team so that each film gets respectfully screened.
Q: Why should I spend my limited entry budget applying to your festival?
A: Because we LOVE filmmakers! Every filmmaker who has attended the festival has raved about it—even the ones who don’t attend can’t stop gushing! Our favorite quote from a filmmaker is “The ashland independent film festival treats filmmakers like ROCK STARS!” There are a million other reasons to apply, but that’s near the top of the list—we also think we do a damn professional and artistic job, among other things…
Q: What is your notification date?
A: February 4th, 2008. Please don’t call before then cause we won’t have an answer for you!
General FAQ
Q: When is the 2008 festival?
A: April 3-7, 2008
Q: When was the 2007 festival?
A: April 12-16, 2007
Q: When will you start accepting Entries for the 2008 festival?
A: August 2007. If you would like to be added to our Call for entries list, please send an email with your contact information to info@ashlandfilm.org.
Q: Where the heck is Ashland?
A: Ashland is in Southern Oregon, home of Harry and David Pears, Rogue Creamery Blue Cheeses, great wines, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It is 12 miles from the California border and about half way between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. We have an airport 20 minutes away in Medford. Snowboarding, hiking, rafting…we’re a community of about 20,000 people who love the outdoors and the arts!
Q: How many years has the festival been around?
A: 2008 will be our 7th annual festival
Q: Who programs the festival?
A: A programming team of four of experienced people. We consider it a great honor and responsibility to watch each piece of art that comes our way and give it the time and respect each one deserves.
Q: Do you prefer entries through withoutabox instead of using the entry form on your website?
A: Yes, because it is easier for us, but it will absolutely not affect how your film is treated.
Q: How many entries do you get?
A: In 2006, 667 films were submitted, in 2007, almost 1000.
Q: How many films do you screen and how many times do you play them?
A: Around 90 in five days. We show each film at least twice (except for a handful of films in our largest venue) and three or four times if the filmmakers let us.
Q: Why do you do this work?
A: Because we love independent film and strongly hold the belief that “art saves lives”.
Q: I emailed the film festival and I didn't hear back--why is that?
A: That is because your email probably ended up in our junk mail filter. We answer all the email that we see, so if you don’t hear a response in a few days, please try again.
If your film is selected FAQ
Q: My short film and I have been treated like crap at other festivals. Are you different?
A: Yes! We didn’t know we were doing anything unusual when we treated shorts and their filmmakers the same as everyone else: same half page write up in our glossy program, same full Q&A after their film, same free housing, etc. We don’t get why all the other festivals don’t do this!
Q: Do you fly filmmakers?
A: In 2008, all filmmakers will receive travel allowance towards their travel expenses thanks to a generous grant from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (presenters of the Oscars)! This year we will have funds to help bring more filmmakers, actors and subjects of documentaries to the festival. The AIFF is the only festival in the Northwest, and one of only 20 in the U.S., to receive an Academy Foundation grant this year.
Q: Do you house filmmakers?
A: Yes! We house filmmakers in hotels and B&Bs—we are thankful to be warmly embraced by the community.
Q: Who’s on your jury?
A: It changes every year so check back on the website, but we always have filmmakers, film critics, film school faculty, and so on. There are at least three jurors for each award. Each year there is one film student on the jury to award the best student film. Our jurors only watch films in their genre (features, shorts, docs) so they have a manageable number of films to review and all the time they need to respectfully screen the films. For a list of the award categories check our archives.
Q: What’s the weather like in April?
A: We are in the sunny part of the state—far, far away from Portland and Seattle and those evil rainy cities! Temps are in the 60’s at least. It is a glorious time of year here!
After all that you still have more questions? Send us an email at entries@ashlandfilm.org and we’ll try to give you some answers. Thanks so much for your interest in the ashland independent film festival. We hope to have the honor of reviewing your film in consideration for our 7th annual festival.
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