The film festival optimized for filmmakers and scriptwriters!
Details: http://skyfest.net
Unlike most other festivals, which spend a ton of money on the actual event, SkyFest minimizes expenses by NOT having showings or banquets or hiring big name actor guests. We may or may not have an actual physical event (depending on how many submissions we get, but all awards will be awarded! For SkyFest I, we awarded 138 awards and we have 253 for SkyFest II.
But, you don’t care about our expenses because it DOES NOT affect your prize money. Here’s how SkyFest works (i.e:. a sampling of the rules, full rules are here):
How It Works!
1. A full fifty-percent of all money we take in, primarily entrance fees and advertising revenues, goes into the awards fund. NO expenses or anything else is charged against this fund (and the money goes into escrow as it comes in, protected for you to WIN!).
2. ALL expenses come out of the other half of the money and, if that’s not enough) out of our pockets (and, so far, we’re four figures in the hole but that’s not your problem and never will be).
3. There are 253 awards!! Your odds of receiving an award are MUCH better for this festival than any other I know!
4. Trophies and certificates will be substantial and classy (see the SkyFest I trophies and certificates at the top of this page).
5. The awards fund is shared out in this manner: 10% goes to Best Overall - In each of the nine categories, the winner gets 7% of the overall award fund, second place 2%, third place 1%. 1st to 3rd place winners get trophies and the next TWENTY-FIVE finishers receive a Certificate of Excellence (remember, our goal is to give out as MANY awards as possible). In essence, there will be TWENTY-FIVE 4th place winners in each category. Great odds, huh?
6. ALL money WILL be awarded. If there is just one entry in a category, that entry wins the full 10%. (This, by the way, is in response to a pet peeve of mine about film festivals, several times I’ve had the only entry in a category and NOT been awarded the prize because of ‘not enough participation’ and this will durn well NOT happen at SkyFest! Ff you win, you WIN!)
7. In the unlikely event of no entries in a particular category, that amount of money will be divided out and added to the other categories. And also the Certificates of Excellence will be parceled out into other categories.
8. You can enter as many films as you like in as many categories as you like. You can even enter the same film in more than one category. IF there is a reasonable case it fits each area (paying the standard fee for each category, of course).
9. The entry fee is US$35.00, regardless of length and category *(remember, all categories share equally in the award money!)*
10. Entry fees are the same for each category because each category shares equally in the award money.
11. Judges will be professionals in the industry. All decisions of the judges are final.
12. It’s a simple and very fair concept. Don’t miss out! Enter today.
--Ralph
