We are having a call for submissions for our 5th annual national undergraduate film festival and are looking for students interested in submitting their work. Our festival is open to students at both the undergraduate and high school level.

The event will be held on the Columbia University campus, featuring ten student films chosen for their distinction and excellence from a pool of submissions from across the country. A selected group of professionals who are well-established in the filmmaking industry will judge the films. The ten awards offered will be accompanied by beautiful glass statuettes denoting achievement, and four awards will include cash prizes.

The breakdown of awards is as follows:

• Best Picture ($500 cash prize)
• Best Directed ($200 cash prize)
• Best Screenplay ($100 cash prize)
• The Concord Award for best film voted by the general audience ($100 cash prize)
• The Opus Award for best use of music and sound
• The Frontiers Award for Most Original Film
• The Gateway Award for an outstanding film of a humanitarian nature or a film dedicated to community service ($100 charitable donation)
• Best Editing
• Best Cinematography
• Best Acting

The film festival will be in early April, where the finalists’ films will be screened at Columbia’s Roone Arledge Cinema. Films of all genres are accepted.

The early deadline (with $10 submission fee) is set for January 20, 2009. The final submission deadline is tentatively set for March 12, 2009 ($20 submission fee).