Believe it or not, film festivals for movies shot on cellphones do exist..and thrive.
We know all about those giant film festivals that happen around the world, but there’s a small but growing section of the film industry that shows a very edgy, indie style of film-making: movies shot only using smartphones.
This opens up a lot of avenues for budding film-makers who usually don’t have all that expensive equipment required to shoot films. The Sherp has listed 7 such festivals that promote these short films and give exposure to budding young film-makers.
1. iPhone Film Festival
This iPhone-only film festival was launched in 2010 by like-minded people, and has been happening successfully ever since. It gets submissions from all around the world, and submissions have already begun for this year’s edition.
2. International Mobil Film Festival
This one allows you to use other phones too. Movie submissions for the 2017 edition of San Diego’s International Mobil Film Festival will open in June. Prizes for the best films include iPhones and high-end Android phones, and this year’s films were screened at Pyramid Innovation Center on April 31 and May 1.
3. Smartphone Film Festival
This Canadian film festival uses Vimeo to showcase participants’ films, and it’s an annual event complete with awards and cash prizes. The awards are sometimes called Spiffies. The video here won the Best Film award at the Smartphone Film Festival in 2015.
4. Disposable Film Festival
Selected by Moviemaker Magazine as one of “The World’s Coolest Film Festivals,” the San Franciscan Disposable Film Festival has been, for a decade, a pioneer in bringing the best online video across the globe from the personal screen to the silver screen. It stresses on film-makers using experimental and unique ways of making films, usually with portable devices.
5. Cinephone
This Spanish film festival has a long time period for film submissions. You can submit your film anytime between January and August, and all the films will be screened at CCCB Barcelona, in the month of October. There are cash prizes for the winners, which makes Cinephone a very lucrative film festival to showcase your talent.
6. Pocket Cinema Festival
PCF happens in Pakistan, and incorporates screenings and conferences into its 2-day time frame. It is Asia’s biggest smartphone film festival, and 2016 will mark its 2nd edition. The free festival has a lot of sponsors and backers, and that promises a bright future for this brand new festival. The featured movie won Best Action Movie at PCF last year.
7. Original iPhone Film Festival
OIFF is based in New York, and it shouldn’t be confused with iPhone Film Festival. It follows the same guidelines though: you have to shoot your movie with an iPhone and send it across to a jury. It was started in 2011 when Apple released the iPhone 4 and debuted its new iMovie app, and OIFF has only been growing ever since that. The featured movie was a finalist at the 2015 OIFF event.