See the Films and Vote for your favorite!
| Challenge Overview | About the Challenge | Frequently Asked Questions | Official Rules | Release Forms |
WHAT IS A 14-DAY FILM CHALLENGE??
WINTER FILM AWARDS challenges the local community to create a 4-7 minute short film in a specified genre and prop in just two weeks! Teams of the most creative people in the industry have just two weeks to decide what they are going to do, write a screenplay, assemble props, costumes and actors, rehearse, shoot, score and edit their film. Students, amateurs, and seasoned industry veterans alike learn the importance of caffeine, team work and time management in successful filmmaking.
Each team will be assigned a film genre and prop and will have exactly 14 days to create their film. Visit our FAQ for more information about judging, prizes and genres.
Completed films are uploaded to YouTube to garner the coveted “Fan Favorite” vote. Cash Prizes will be awarded for Best Picture, Fan Favorite and more!
For the 2012 Challenge, teams had to contend with a large brightly-colored snowflake sugar cookie and a tagline from Fight Club. For the 2013 Challenge, we made it even more difficult — Teams had a tagline from Ghostbusters and Gray Line New York provided each team with one-hour private shooting time on a double-decker sightseeing tour bus, complete with Tour Guide and Driver. For the 2014 Challenge, teams had to include Citibike in their story line. For the 2016 Challenge, teams got to shoot in Grand Central Station. Visit the WFA YouTube playlist to view all of the amazing films. What can we possibly come up with next??
Entries may be shot either via traditional filmmaking equipment or teams can do the whole thing on smartphones.
OMG! WHEN IS THE CHALLENGE??
The 2021 WFA 14-Day Film Challenge gets under way on Tuesday May 18 at 8pm EST via Zoom. A representative from each team should join our Zoom call to learn their genre and prop. You will receive an email invitation for the call.
During the call, we will announce the PROP to be used in each film, and assign each Team to their GENRE. We will also answer any questions. It is not mandatory that you join the call – we will send an email notification that evening confirming your Genre and Prop, and including final instructions and links to the mandatory WFA Title screen and our Dropbox for film submissions.
READY TO ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE?
To ensure you get a spot, your Team should REGISTER in advance to take part in the Challenge! Early Registration is just $25 per team, Late Registration after May 10 is $50 per team.
WHAT CAN I WIN?
Best Picture wins $1000
Second Place wins $500
Third Place wins $300
Fan Favorite wins $200
Top 4 films will have their winning films screened at the 2021 Winter Film Awards International Film Festival along with a pair of All-Access Festival VIP passes.
HOW IT WORKS
Click here to read the OFFICIAL RULES of the Challenge. By registering for the Challenge, you are confirming that you agree to all Rules listed.
CHALLENGE BEGINS: A representative of your team should log into our Zoom Kick Off call at 8:00PM EST on Tuesday, May 18 2021, at which time you will be provided with your Prop and Film Genre. Registration closes at 10PM EST.
CHALLENGE ENDS: Submissions must be delivered to info@nullWinterFilmAwards.com via WeTransfer or DropBox no later than 11:59PM EST on June 1. Teams must also complete the TEAM CHECKLIST with details about the film for our website.
Completed films will be uploaded to YouTube and our Website by the WFA Team. Winter Film Awards will open voting via our Website on June 3 by 9:00AM EST. Voting for FAN FAVORITE will be open for at least one week.
JUDGING: Completed films will be judged by the WFA Jury. WFA will award the BEST PICTURE award to the film we think best. WFA Jury will also award other prizes to films we think deserve it (criteria to be determined solely by Winter Film Awards). FAN FAVORITE prize will be awarded to the film that earns the most votes, which will be a combination of LIKES on YouTube plus in-person votes at the Screening.
Click to view releases … all releases are to be filled in ONLINE:
