2021 Youth Film Festival

Welcome to the Shenandoah Film Collaborative Youth film festival! We are excited to showcase the creativity and uniqueness of our youth film makers this spring. We look forward to viewing your submissions! 

The Shenandoah Film Collaborative is a non-profit organization located in Strasburg, VA that works to cultivate love for film and the arts.  We hope to inspire communities of all ages to find joy in the arts in and around the Shenandoah Valley 

Part of our mission as a 501(c)(3) organization is to offer opportunities for residents to experience the wonders of film that cannot be found from Hollywood. 

The Shenandoah Youth Festival – FilmFreeway 

When reviewing films the Shenandoah film collaborative will look at criteria as follows: 

Story 

• Originality  
• Topical/Cultural Relevance  
• Good with representation (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+) 

Appropriateness for audience  

• Would this be a good film for young people to watch/family appropriate?  

Additional evaluation points (technical) – wouldn’t disqualify the film, but would grant additional points:  

• Narrative Structure  
• Acting  
• Camera/Cinematography  
• Directing  
• Sound/Music  

Other Things to Consider  

• Female representation in the production  
• Age of the filmmaker – limiting to filmmakers 15 to 25 years old  

• The selection committee is actively looking for stories that are culturally authentic and relevant. Diverse community representation is encouraged.  
• Film content should be creative, highly original, and demonstrate ingenuity. Being a festival targeted towards young creatives, filmmakers will not be penalized for any disparities of technical mastery.  
• Films must NOT include content that advocates and supports harmful racial, cultural, religious, or gender bias.  
• Being a family-oriented event, films that are more appropriate for all ages will receive higher consideration. However, we will not disqualify any film that might have more mature content (e.g. profanity, nudity, violence, etc.)  
• All films must be completed to be considered for the festival. Incomplete films will be accepted initially, however, final cuts must be provided to the Organization prior to the end of the selection process.  

Acceptance  

•  Acceptance is determined by reviewers in a three-round review process.  
• Reviewers are selected through the sole discretion of the Shenandoah Film Collaborative.  
• If selected, the filmmaker agrees to have the film be a part of the programming screened at The Youth Film Festival from June 19th to July 3rd, 2021. The screening will occur virtually through Eventive.  
• Submissions are made online at filmfreeway.com 
• Each film submitted requires a $1 entry fee if submitted before April 10th, 2021.  
• Late submissions (April 11th – 24th) require a $5 fee for each film. 
• There are no refunds. 
• You have up until the close of our submission date (April 24th) to withdraw your film. 
• If your film is selected you will be required to give us a high resolution digital copy of your film. 
• The Shenandoah film collaborative will inform all entrants if their film has been selected or not through FilmFreeway. 
• If you get signed by a distribution company that requires us to pay a screening film for your film, please email us at festivals@shenfilms.org stating your situation. Depending on how close it is to our film festival, we are happy to release you from consideration; however, we will not pay a screening fee under any considerations. 
• The Festival/Event Committee and Shenandoah Film Collaborative Board of Directors reserve the right to rule on cases not covered by these regulations