Awards
From 4docs
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Awards at festivals
These are also a chance to earn prize money - the only money that many shorts make back. Look for festivals with prize money attached.
Grierson Award
Established in 1972, the Grierson Awards recognise and celebrate documentaries from Britain and abroad that have made a significant contribution to the genre and that demonstrate quality, integrity, creativity, originality and overall excellence. Awards are given in a number of categories, including Arts, History, Science and Contemporary Issue, as well as to a first time filmmaker. Short films are accepting in all categories and in fact are welcomed.
There is a fee for entering, usually about £200 for all catagories except newcomers, which is about £50. The entry deadline is the end of May so entrants for 2009 has now passed but it you want details on 2010 you can email awards@griersontrust.org.
Short Documentaries Short-listed for the Newcomers Award in 2008
1. The Gathering dir. Colin O’Toole
2. Standing Start dir. Finlay Pretsell and Adrian McDowal You can watch a 60 second clip of the film here.
Standing Start was supported by the Scottish Documentary Institute.
3. Tommy's Story dir. William Jessop This film was made for the Community Channel
4. Dreznica dir. Anna Azevedo
BAFTA
BAFTA have no award category for short documentary films. We think this is a real shame and that it should change!
Academy Award
The Acedemy Awards have an Oscar category for Short Documentaries. The process of making your film eligable is a little complicated but worth the trouble if you think you are with a chance of a nomination!
They define a short as 40 minutes or less (including credits) and "an eligible documentary film is defined as a theatrically released non-fiction motion picture dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other subjects. It may be photographed in actual occurrence, or may employ partial reenactment, stock footage, stills, animation, stop-motion or other techniques, as long as the emphasis is on fact and not on fiction".
The submissions deadline is 1st September.
Eligibility
- To be eligible for Awards consideration for 2009, a documentary short must complete a seven-day commercial run in a theater in either Los Angeles County or in the Borough of Manhattan, between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009.
- Screenings in the qualifying run must occur at least once daily and begin between noon and 10 p.m. The motion picture must be exhibited for paid admission, and titles and screening times must be listed for each day of its run in major newspapers
- The qualifying run must take place within two years of the films completion date. The picture must be submitted in the same Awards year in which it first qualifies. For example, documentaries submitted for any 82nd Awards categories will not be eligible for consideration in any awards categories in subsequent Awards years.
- The film must be projected using 16mm, 35mm or 70mm film, or in a 24- or 48-frame progressive scan format with a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels.
- Only individual documentary works are eligible.
- The significant dialogue or narration must be in English, or the entry must have English-language subtitles.
- No type of television or Internet transmission of a contending documentary may occur anywhere in the world until 60 days after the first day of its qualifying run. However, up to ten percent of the running time of a film is allowed to be shown in a nontheatrical medium prior to the film’s theatrical release. DVD release may be simultaneous with the first day of the U.S. qualifying run.
Past Winners
2009: Smile Pinki dir. Megan Mylan
2008: Freeheld dir. Cynthia Wade
2007: The Blood of Yingzhou District dir. Ruby Yang
2006: A Note Of Triumph: The Golden Age Of Norman Corwin dir. Corinne Marrinan and Eric Simonson
2005: Mighty Times: The Children's March dir. Robert Hudson and Bobby Houston