INFORMATION FOR FILMMAKERS

Important dates 2021
ITEMS ANNOUNCEMENT
Friday 19th Feb, 6pm, Location TBA
The list of 10 items to be included in your film for points will be announced. 

FILMMAKING
Friday 19th Feb to Monday 1st March, All over Canberra
Teams make their films.

FILM DEADLINE
Monday 1st March, 6pm, Online Submission Only
Films must be completed and submitted via the website before 6pm.

TOP TWELVE ANNOUNCEMENT
Wednesday 3rd March, by 5pm
We announce the films screening in competition via email

GALA SCREENING & AWARDS
Friday 5th March, 7pm for 8pm, Senate Rose Gardens, Old Parliament House
Entry is free, Ages 15+ (under 15s with an adult), Bring your own chair. 
PRIZES
Sponsor
Award
Prize
Screen Canberra
Screen Canberra Award for Best Film (most points overall)
$600 cash 
International Year of Plant Health
The IYPH Award for Best Use of Theme
$300 cash
Canberra Institute of Technology​
The CIT Award for Best Student Film
$300 cash
Sanguineti Media
Sanguineti Media Award for Best under 18s Film
$300 cash
National Capital Authority
The NCA Award for Best Use of an  Item
​$300 cash
Crux Media
Crux Media Award for Best Director
$300 cash
Eclipse Sound & Lighting
Eclipse Award for Best Sound Design
$300 cash
Visabel
Visabel Award for Best Original Music
​$300 cash
Marisa Martin
Female Filmmaker Award
$300 cash
Perform Australia
Perform Australia Award for Best Performance
$300 cash
Stage Centa
Stage Centa Award for Most Memorable Performance
$300 cash
By George Studios
By George Studios Award for Best Cinematography
$300 cash
Hot Dogma Script Consultancy
Hot Dogma Award for Best Screenplay
$300 cash
Cre8tive​
Cre8tive Award for Best Editing
​$300 cash
Enemies of Reality Films
Enemies of Reality Films Award for Best Art Direction
$300 cash
Academy of interactive Entertainment
The AIE Award for Best  Animation or Visual Effects
$300 cash
Crea8tive
Cre8tive Award for People's Choice
​Prize Pack.
Prizes are awarded by the judging panel and will be announced after the screening of the Top Twelve films. Each prize is noted below and includes a Clapper Board Trophy.

The People's Choice Award is voted by the audience online in the week following the festival and announced after the festival.

In 2008 the Top Twelve were made available for viewing on the ABC website after the festival where they are still available to view.
ITEMS
The 2021 Items will be announced at the ITEMS ANNOUNCEMENT on Friday 19th February and online on Saturday 20th February.

To give you an idea what kinds of things are items, the 2020 Items were:

  1. The Bunya Pine (Kings Ave (near State Circle)
  2. A Watering Can
  3. Ngunnawal (the word written or spoken. As the item is specified that it can be written, having it written does not count towards your 'representation' count, ie. you would still have five items that could appear in drawings or photos)
  4. Palmerville Heritage Park (cnr Owen Dickson Dr and William Slim Dr McKellar)
  5. A Scarecrow
  6. The Australian National Botanic Gardens (see additional rules)
  7. A Seedling
  8. The Flagpole of Australian Parliament House (see additional rules)
  9. Telopea Park, Barton
  10. A Kiss ​​​
ITEM SPECIFIC RULES
  • ​Unless specified otherwise, the items MUST BE SEEN for the points to be awarded.
  • Only FIVE can appear in photos, the rest must be included in the film as actual items/props/locations.
  • A character MUST interact with at least ONE item.
  • Don't forget safety comes first, don't disrupt the public *too* much and don't do anything illegal!​
RULES, judging and requirements

RULES

  • Films must be shot within the 10 'filmmaking' days (archival footage excepted). Preparation for shooting may be done outside of those days.​​
  • A character MUST interact with at least ONE ITEM in the film
  • A maximum of five items can be included via still-image/photographs. The rest must be actual items/props in the scene or locations for scenes. The only exclusion is animation - if a film is entirely animated, they can include all items as visual representation
  • Films must be a maximum of 7 minutes long, including credits
  • Unless an item is specifically noted as being an audio item, the item must be seen or visually represented. Drawings, photos and other visual representations are acceptable (up to the maximum of five representations)
  • To be eligible for the student entry price and prize ALL Producers AND Directors must be full time students - either primary, secondary or tertiary and currently undertaking a full time study load. Photocopies/sighting of students cards will be required
  • To be eligible for the Under 18s Prize, ALL Producers AND Directors must be under 18. ID will need to be sighted by the LCA team
  • You must have copyright clearance for the music, script and any other element in your film
  • The Festival will clear locations that are specifically listed as actual 'items'. Producers won't have to get location clearances for those places. All other locations are up to the Producers to seek clearance and permission to use
  • You must obtain all appropriate approvals, permissions and insurances for your film. Screen Canberra has low cost insurance options.
  • The Producer of the film is responsible for the safety of their team. LCA does not cover the filmmaking component, so consider insurance options before you begin: See Screen Canberra for low cost insurance options.
  • In regard to animation - you may prepare before the filmmaking days ie. do preparatory drawings, write scripts, draw/paint/prepare backgrounds etc before the filmmaking days - but all 'animation' (the actual putting together of the movement in a computer program or any shooting of stop-motion) must be done in the filmmaking days
  • Please keep in mind the open nature of the award screening when making your films and keep violence, language and drug use etc to below an (M) level. See www.classification.gov.au for details on the (M) classification
  • Mistreatment of animals will not be tolerated and will result in disqualification and reporting to authorities.​

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

You need to submit:​
  • The online submission form
  • A HD version of your film which will be your judging AND screening copy
  • Payment of Entry Fee
The upload should be a high quality, H.264 .mp4 or ProRes .mov,  1920x1080 pixel file. You can use services like vimeo, one-drive, dropbox, we-transfer etc. We don't mind how you get your file to us, but we need to be able to download it. We will not share your files with anyone outside of the LCA team.

This year submissions are entirely online. If you do not have access to internet enough to upload your video and/or you cannot make an online payment, you can bring your film and payment to the Festival Office and we will assist you.
The office has NBN and is located in Queanbeyan. Contact us to make arrangements BEFORE the due date. Sunday would be preferred if this is your intention. 
No matter how you submit, you must allow enough time to upload and fill in the form - all of which can take 30 minutes even if you have good internet. 

ONLINE JUDGING AND SCREENING SUBMISSION

You must submit online. You can use services like vimeo, one-drive, dropbox, we-transfer etc. We don't mind how you get your film file to us, but we need to be able to download it. You will include the link in your submission form, to be filled out online. The link must be available for viewing from 6pm on the submission Monday - so you will have to allow enough time to upload your video. Technical difficulties will not be taken into account when noting your submission time. 
Please don't distribute your link until after our Gala Screening - we want everyone to come to the festival and see the film on the big screen!
​

SCORING

Points will be awarded for including the specified items in the films, and you will have to seek them out – Scavenger Hunt style. You can include the items anyway you like, your character can walk past one, or you can set a scene at a location, whatever fits your story best.  Be playful and creative! We want to see Canberra in new and interesting ways.  You receive 10 points for each item visible in your film.  You also receive the following points for the technical elements of your film. These are awarded by a Judging Panel:
Filmmaking Element
​Description
Points
Screenplay/Writing
Original and creative story and plot, good dialogue and believable characters.
Up to 20
Acting/Performance
Believable and memorable acting/interviewees in documentaries
Up to 20
Directing
How the whole piece fits together - all the elements working cohesively to realise the script to its full potential visually, aurally & emotionally.
Up to 20
Editing
Editing that supports the style of the film and enhances the story and emotion.
​Up to 20
Cinematography
The quality of the camera work, lighting and shot design.
Up to 20
Sound Design
The recording and mixing of location recordings, music and sound effects and creative use of sound.
​Up to 20
Music
How well the music is used to fit the tone & emotion of the film. If there is no music, points will be given if that choice works in favour of the film.
​Up to 20
Art Direction
Creative use or creation of props, locations, set dressing and costuming.
Up to 20
Enjoyment
How enjoyable the film is, regardless of genre. Enjoyable means good to watch, not boring, the right length for the story - the x-factor. Do they like it.
​Up to 20
Use of Theme
How the film relates to and creatively utilises the theme
​Up to 20
  • The Top Twelve films by the points are then screened to an audience and prizes in each of the technical categories are awarded as well as Best Film, Best Student Film and Best Use of an Item.​
  • The People's Favourite Film is voted online the week after the festival and announced at the encore screening.
  • Female Filmmaker Award is given to an outstanding female in a behind the camera role and is decided by the Judging Panel.

JUDGES

We select a diverse panel of filmmakers, critics and people who have general film interests. The panel changes each year. The 2020 Judging panel were:
Janine Jeffreys: Filmmaker and Production Designer
Chris Holly: Musician and visual artist
Luke McWilliams: Film Reviewer for Canberra Weekly & The Movie Club on ArtSound FM 92.7
Bruce Davie: Script Editor (Hot Dogma), filmmaker and previous Winner of LCA
Emma Eichler: Screen Canberra
Festival history
watch previous finalists
Many of the previous Top Twelve films are online, and you can watch those we've found in playlists by year on our YouTube Channel. 

Screening

Top Twelve Gala Screening and Awards
FRIDAY 5TH MARCH 2020, 7PM FOR 8PM START
Old Parliament House Rose Gardens

Bring your chair or picnic blanket and watch the Top Twelve films under the stars in the gorgeous Senate Rose Gardens at Old Parliament House. You can also check out other events at the Enlighten Festival occurring in the Parliamentary Triangle or just enjoy the films and music at LCA.
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Contact Us

General Enquiries: 13 22 81
Festival Director: Marisa Martin
Filmmaker Enquiries: 0422 524 351
Email: lca@enemiesofreality.com

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To keep up to date with all the festival news for filmmakers, subscribe to the Festival Newsletter that comes out during the festival.

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