INFORMATION FOR FILMMAKERS

Important dates 2024
ITEMS ANNOUNCEMENT
Friday 23rd February, 6pm, via Facebook Live 
​www.facebook.com/LightsCanberraAction
The list of 10 items to be included in your film for points will be announced. 

FILMMAKING
Friday 23rd Feb to Monday 4th March, All over Canberra
Teams make their films.

FILM DEADLINE
Monday 4th March, 6pm, Online Submission Only
Films must be completed and submitted via the website before 6pm.

TOP TWELVE ANNOUNCEMENT
Wednesday 6th March, by 5pm
We announce the films screening in competition via email

GALA SCREENING & AWARDS @ ENLIGHTEN FESTIVAL
Friday 8th March, 7pm for 8pm, 
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 
Allhomes
Allhomes Award for Best Use of Theme
$300 cash
​Academy of interactive Entertainment
AIE Award for Best Student Film
$300 cash
Canberra Youth Theatre
Canberra Youth Theatre Award for Best under 18s Film
$300 cash
Burley & Brave
Burley & Brave Award for Best Use of an  Item
​$300 cash + Mini Canberra Bus Shelter
Crux Media
Crux Media Award for Best Director
$300 cash
Eclipse Lighting & Sound
Eclipse Lighting & Sound Award for Best Sound Design
$300 cash
Allhomes
Allhomes Award for Best Original Music
​$300 cash
​Enemies of Reality Films
Enemies of Reality Films Female Filmmaker Award
$300 cash
Perform Australia
Perform Australia Award for Best Performance
$300 cash
Budding Entertainment
Budding Entertainment Award for Most Memorable Performance
$300 cash
By George Studios
By George Studios Award for Best Cinematography
$300 cash
Full Point Films
Full Point Films Award for Best Screenplay
$300 cash
​Allhomes
Allhomes Award for Best Editing
​$300 cash
​Marisa Martin Art & Design
Marisa Martin Art & Design Award for Best Art Direction
$300 cash
​Academy of interactive Entertainment
AIE Award for Best Animation or Visual Effects
$300 cash
University of Canberra
University of Canberra Award for People's Choice
​$300 ​cash
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.
ITEMS
THE 2024 ITEMS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THE FIRST DAY OF FILMMAKING (23RD FEB 2024).
​LAST YEAR'S ITEMS ARE BELOW TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE KIND OF THINGS WE INCLUDE AS ITEMS.

The 2023 items (worth ten points each) were:
  1. The Rainbow Roundabout Lonsdale St, Braddon
  2. A Green Carnation symbol of homosexual identity, popularised by Oscar Wilde
  3. Hobart Place location of Red Cross House where the creation of Australia’s first Homosexual Rights organisation, The Homosexual Law Reform Society occurred in 1969
  4. A Pride Flag 
  5. A Hug 
  6. Kissing Galahs sculpture by Bev Hogg and Elizabeth Patterson (located in North Watson, the sculpture features two human sized galahs about to kiss. Galahs are lovers for life and these two are genderless.
  7. A Tennis Racquet The Tennis Club was an early LGBT+ club in Canberra
  8. Same Sex Crossing Signals in Braddon the first in Australia
  9. A Purple Circle outline the symbol of intersex
  10. 34 Mort Street currently a car park, but one of the locations of Canberra’s longest running gay and lesbian venue: Meridian
​
ITEM SPECIFIC RULES
  • You must include at least one item. They are worth 10 points each so it's worth including all of them, but at a minimum - one item.
  • ​Unless specified otherwise, the items MUST BE SEEN for the points to be awarded.
  • Only FIVE can appear in photos/drawings/representations, 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 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.
  • The Producer of the film is responsible for the safety of their team. LCA does not insure the filmmakers, so consider insurance options before you begin. Some low cost insurance options for short films are available, google 'short film insurance australia'.
  • 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.​
  • Promotion of hate speech will not be tolerated and will result in disqualification.
  • DRONES: Make sure you understand and abide by Commonwealth laws regarding Drone use. You can review them here: https://www.casa.gov.au/knowyourdrone
  • GUNS: Make sure you understand and abide by relevant laws regarding firearm use in films. You can get more information on the laws here: https://screencanberra.com.au/resources/firearms-in-the-act/

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.

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. 
​
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 SUBMISSION

You must submit online. You can use services like vimeo, one-drive, youtube unlisted, 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 make sure you 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!
​
PREVIOUS FESTIVALS
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. 
scoring and JUDGING

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 panel of filmmakers, critics and people who have general film interests. The panel changes each year.
​The 2023 Judging panel were:
​

Hew Sandison​   He/Him

Hew is a writer and producer, and has directed several short films and advertising campaigns. Hew won Best Film at Lights! Canberra! Action! three years in a row - One Week Later in 2013 (about the 2003 Canberra bushfires), The Algorithm in 2014 (about a future dystopian technological Canberra) and Turnback in 2015 (about showing the prime minister that refugees are just like him). Hew now develops and produces films, digital series and long-form drama.

Janine Jeffreys   She/Her

​Janine has had an interest in theatre and film for as long as she can remember. She studied acting at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre in the ‘70’s.  In 2005 Janine studied Media Production in Film and Television at CIT in Canberra.  She has written for short film and theatre and has worked as a set dresser, production designer and other roles within the art department as well as animation and paper engineering on the award winning Della Mortika: Carousel of Shame.  She currently works at the Canberra Theatre and freelances in art department roles. She is about to publish her first book - a picture book for adults called Princess Slutty Pants. ​https://janinejeffreys.com/psp.html

Luke McWilliams   He/Him

​Luke is the Executive Producer and co-host of The Movie Club, a weekly movie reviews, news and interviews program broadcast every week on ArtSound FM 92.7, iTunes, Spotify and www.themovieclub.net since 2010. In addition to reviewing movies, The Movie Club serves to share local film-related events of local arts organisations and arts agencies, promoting and encouraging grassroots filmmakers, artists and their projects. Luke has been the primary movie reviewer for the Canberra Weekly magazine since 2013 and has lead presentations and discussion panels at Canberra's games and animation convention Gamma.Con since 2016. 

20 YEARS OF LIGHTS! CANBERRA! ACTION!

Screening @ Enlighten Festival

Top Twelve Gala Screening and Awards
FRIDAY 8TH MARCH 2024, 7PM FOR 8PM START
Senate Rose Gardens, Old Parliament House

Bring your chair or picnic blanket and watch the Top Twelve films under the stars. 
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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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