Young Filmmakers: Get Into the Sundance Family with This Short Film Challenge

The Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Institute programs have been launching pads for countless indie luminaries, and now they want to get you on the path early. If you are 18-24 years old and have filmmaking chops, you have the opportunity to participate in the Sundance Ignite program, which grants incredible access to the festival and year-round opportunities.

In order to qualify for a Sundance Ignite fellowship, you first need to enter a short film into Adobe’s Project 1324 contest. They are looking for original films that answer the question: “What’s next?” You can interpret that query in whichever way your creativity takes you, as long as it becomes a film between one to eight minutes long that adheres to Adobe’s community guidelines.

According to the Project 1324 site, 15 of the 25 finalists will be chosen as Sundance Ignite fellows, who get the following impressive list of benefits:

• 1 Ignite Ticket Package per winner. The Ignite Ticket Package includes 10 tickets, 5 vouchers, and access to four Ignite exclusive events.
• Access to all 2017 Sundance Film Festival Ignite Fellows events and privileges.
• Roundtrip airfare to Salt Lake City, UT for the dates of the Ignite Fellows Program.
• Roundtrip shuttle service from Salt Lake City airport to Park City, UT.
• Lodging in Park City, UT for the dates of the Ignite Fellows Program.
• Stipend of $200 to cover meal costs for the dates of the Ignite Fellows Program.

For inspiration, see one of last year's winning entries, Smoke That Travels. The film was directed, shot, edited and scored by Kayla Briët. (And as an added advantage, you can already see your competition for this year here.)

So, what’s next? Hopefully, it’s you—submit a short for consideration here by the September 26, 2016 deadline.

Featured image from 'Journey Home' by Sundance Ignite fellow Alex J Campbell.