Objective

The objective of the Moondance International Film Festival is to inspire, motivate, promote and encourage the best writers & independent filmmakers, from every country in the world, and to inspire a greater understanding about the vital role of the arts in enhancing creativity, community spirit, and the preservation of our cultural heritage. Moondance also promotes & rewards work which depicts women & girls in a positive light, &/or has lead roles for women actors over 40. We strongly encourage films, TV movies & pilots & written works which show viable alternatives to gratuitous violence & that depict non-violent conflict resolution, which we actively promote within the international film community.

• The Moondance International Film Festival is much more than an annual film festival! It is a unique community, a supportive, productive, and creative year-round collaboration between independent filmmakers and movie audiences, between writers, composers and the world of filmed entertainment.

Deadline/Entry Fees

Notification: AUGUST

Rules

• ANIMATION FILM
• FEATURE DOCUMENTARY FILM
• FEATURE FILM
• FEATURE FILM FOR KIDS
• FEATURE MUTI-MEDIA FILM
• SHORT DRONE FILM
• TRAILERS
• FEATURE SCREENPLAY
• FEATURE SCREENPLAY FOR KIDS
• FILM SCORE
• LIBRETTO
• MUSIC VIDEO
• MUSICAL FEATURE SCREENPLAY
• MUSICAL SHORT SCREENPLAY
• ORIGINAL TV MINI-SERIES (1 HR)
• SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM
• SHORT FILM
• SHORT FILM BY KIDS 18 & UNDER
• SHORT FILM FOR KIDS
• SHORT MULTI-MEDIA FILM
• SHORT SCREENPLAY
• SHORT SCREENPLAY BY 18 & UNDER
• SHORT SCREENPLAY FOR KIDS
• SHORT STORY BY KIDS*
• SHORT STORY FOR KIDS*
• SHORT STORY*
• STAGEPLAY
• STAGEPLAY FOR KIDS
• TV MOVIE OF THE WEEK (MOW)
• TV EPISODIC (1/2 HOUR)
• TV EPISODIC (1 HOUR)
• TV FEATURE FILM
• TV PILOT SCRIPT
• RADIO PLAYS (drama & comedy)
• RADIO DOCUMENTARIES
• TREATMENTS
• DRONE FILMS

^* up to 3 stories for single fee

COMPETITION GUIDELINES: Please go to: http://moondancefilmfestival.com/moondance-2016-submission-guidelines/

Awards

SPIRIT OF MOONDANCE AWARD
This award category is for women writers, filmmakers and film score composers. Men may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a woman.

MOONDANCE SEAHORSE AWARD
This award category is for men writers, filmmakers and film score composers. Women may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a man.

MOONDANCE SANDCASTLE AWARD
This award is for male and female writing or filmmaking teams where both men and women or a man and woman work as a team on the project.

MOONDANCE SEASHELL AWARD
For men and women radio play writers. Comedy and drama, fiction and non-fiction, half-hour and hour long.

MOONDANCE COLUMBINE AWARD
Films and writings may be submitted by either a man, a woman, a male/female team or a young person 18 and under. The work must reflect non-violent conflict resolution, alternatives to violence, or show why violent resolution to conflict is counter-productive. The submitted material should not contain gratuitous violence.

MOONDANCE DOLPHIN AWARD
This award is for young people 18 years of age or younger, male or female. Moondance accepts submissions for this award in the genres of short narrative, documentary or animation video film, as well as short screenplays, short stories or short stageplays.

MOONDANCE CALYPSO AWARD
This award is to encourage a spirit of enterprise in saving the environment, habitats and wildlife by creative individuals from around the world. The award is presented to the person who expands knowledge of our world, seeks to improve our quality of all life on the planet.

MOONDANCE GAIA AWARD
This award is to encourage and inspire contemplative, meditative, spiritual and inspirational films and scripts. The award is presented to the person who seeks to elucidate and improve the spiritual quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of the world spirit.

MOONDANCE ATLANTIS AWARD
This award is for writers and filmmakers who have submitted projects from a foreign country outside the US.

MOONDANCE STARFISH AWARD
This is an award for comedy projects submitted by writers and filmmakers.

MOONDANCE NEPTUNE AWARD
This unique award is presented to a male or female writer or filmmaker, over the age of 75, who has created either a single work of the highest quality or a body of quality work, and who continues to strive for excellence in his or her career in the entertainment industry, and who inspires and encourages others by his or her example.

THE MOONDANCE ABYSS AWARD
This new Moondance award was created for very well-made and meaningful thriller, horror or supernatural films, written works & film scores. An abyss, usually in the ocean, is a chasm that is so deep and vast that its extent is not readily visible, without further exploration. The winning works in this awards category also have a deeper, and often hidden, message, lesson, moral, or important idea that bears further thought.

MOONDANCE MERMAID’S PEARL AWARD
The award is presented to honor and recognize women in the film industry who have contributed most to insuring that women’s work is recognized and appreciated for its worth, who help women achieve success in film, writing & music, and who have themselves contributed a vital body of work, and who continue to contribute to this vital effort. The pearl in the award is a symbol of women’s efforts to make something meaningful and valuable from our struggles to overcome that “grain of sand” women often encounter, when trying to express themselves and succeed within the international film and entertainment industry. The resulting lovely pearl is a reminder of what beautiful things women can accomplish.

MOONDANCE SEVEN SEAS AWARD
A new award category has been created: the MOONDANCE SEVEN SEAS AWARD. This is an award for a winning project created by writers, filmmakers & composers, who enlighten others, help change perceptions about another culture and/or place, and promote cross-cultural knowledge and awareness, through the art of film, writing or music, and, thus, encourage a better understanding of the world’s people.