A student division of the University of New Orleans Department of Film and Theatre presents the 14th edition of the UNO Film Festival. The festival will award films and filmmakers that exhibit high quality work in various categories including, but not limited to: Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Experimental Short, Emerging Professional Short, and Graduate Thesis recognition.
Previous awards and packages from past sponsors have included nationally recognized organizations, equipment rental houses, and post production and film production assistance.
After a year hiatus, the festival is back to celebrate the achievements of student filmmakers and emerging professionals across the country. In lieu of hosting the festival at the Robert E. Nims theater in the University’s Performing Arts Center this year, the festival will be held predominantly online. This new, digital festival format will allow participants explore a multitude of ways to share stories with broader audiences.
The UNO Film Fest is the largest student run film festival in the state of Louisiana. The festival showcases student and emerging voices from around the country that reflect the values held by students at the University of New Orleans. The organization states: “We value films that enrich our lives through diverse stories representative of our culturally vibrant city and nation.”
The festival dates are May 20-22. Currently the festival is accepting short format student films and short format films from emerging professionals in the Louisiana area and in the larger United States including Puerto Rico and the remaining islands. Short format film is defined as having a maximum total running time of 40 minutes or less including all credits.
All student filmmakers must provide student identity through their .edu email or student identification. Student IDs can be attached to your film on the View Projects tab, under Files & Attachments. Emerging professionals are defined as filmmakers early in their career development, first-time directors/filmmakers, or recently graduated students – having graduated within the last three years.
Submission fees are waived for all current UNO students submitting to the festival. All other students will pay a $10 submission fee, and all emerging professionals or recent graduates will pay a $25 submission fee for each film submitted. All filmmakers are limited to two total submissions in any one category.
Notably, student filmmakers KC Simms (“Do You Love Me?”) and Grant Lambert, of Ogus.biz, who OffBeat has previously profiled, will have their films screened during the festival. For more information, visit the UNO Film Freeway site.
