The Athena Film Festival, a celebration of women and leadership, held from February 9-12, 2012 at Barnard College in New York today announces a competition for the creation of a film festival trailer.  The 30 second to one-minute trailer will be used to promote the festival on-line and in other media and will run prior to the screening of festival films.

Contest Requirements

Who Can Enter?  Any person can participate in the contest.  Entries from individuals or teams of individuals will be accepted. Only one entry per person or team is permitted.  No individual can participate on more than one team.

Concept:  The trailer must promote the Festival which highlights the wide diversity of women’s leadership in both real life and the fictional world. Through feature films, documentaries, and shorts directed by both women and men, the Festival explores women’s leadership across race, class, and culture and serves as a forum for robust dialogue about women and leadership: what it takes to excel, collaborate, and lead.  Learn more about the Festival at athenafilmfestival.com

Trailer elements: The trailer should introduce the name of the Festival (Athena Film Festival), its tagline:  (a celebration of women and leadership) and the founding organizations (Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Women and Hollywood.

Length: The length of the trailer can range between 30 seconds and 1 minute.

Deadline:  All entries must be submitted on or before 5 pm., Tuesday, December 20, 2011. No extensions will be granted. Winners will be announced in January 2012 or sooner if practicable.

Delivery:  All submissions must be in a digital format.  No DVDs will be accepted.  The link with the submission should be sent by email to the following addresses: athenacenter@barnard.edu and athenafilmfestival@gmail.com.  Videos in you tube and vimeo are preferred.  Make sure to include a password (where appropriate) and make the file available through January 1, 2012.  Please include your name, email and phone number and country of origin in your email.

Rating: The trailer must be appropriate for all audiences and may not contain sex, violence, or offensive language.

Originality: The trailer you submit must reflect your own work and may not make use of any copyrighted material in any form.

Awards:  In addition to having your trailer played during the Athena Film Festival, the winning filmmaker(s) will receive $500, an All-Access Pass to the festival, and 2 tickets to the Awards reception on February 9, 2012 as well as attribution in the Festival Program.

Criteria for Judging the Submissions:  The team at the Athena Film Festival will review submissions and, if appropriate, select a winner. The trailers will be judged based on their originality, technical proficiency and their ability to capture the look, feel, goals and mission of the Festival. The Athena Film Festival team will, in their sole discretion, establish procedures and standards for judging the contest.  The Athena Film Festival reserves the right to accept or reject any or all of the contest entries.

Rights Granted to the Athena Film Festival:  By entering the Athena Film Festival Trailer Contest, contestants agree to grant to Barnard College and its successors full and complete ownership of  the trailer  for use in perpetuity in any and all formats. Contestants fully understand that the trailer may be used prior to and at the 2012 Festival and in succeeding years  and in any current or subsequent promotions in print, online and in other formats.  Contestants retain the right to seek permission from Barnard College to use the ideas and images in their trailers to create derivative works in any and all other media. Permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.   Questions? Feel free to contact us at: athenacenter@barnard.edu or athenafilmfestival@gmail.com.