Above:  Tessa Papas (producer) and Heather Harlow (writer/director) of Nous Deux Encore, which won the Best Foreign Language Documentary and Saturday Afternoon Audience Favorite Awards

The 4th annual GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos is now open for submissions!

Our preferred submission method is via Without a Box and we will be participating in their new Online

Secure Screeners system. But if you prefer a paper form and surface mail submission, the information is here . 

The Festival is sponsored by the Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA - see www.giaa.us for more information), and will take place Friday October 1 through Sunday October 3 in New York City.  GIAA promotes Italian American culture and heritage, but welcomes submissions from everyone, both in the US and abroad.

Mara Lesemann will again serve as Festival Director; Debbie Klaar is the Assistant Director, and GIAA President Carlo Fiorletta is the Artistic Director.

The festival is composed of a Movie Competition (up to 30 minutes total running time) and a Screenplay Competition.  The Screenplay Competition is open to both short and full-length screenplays.  We welcome submissions in all genres, including dark and/or experimental works.

Prizes and Awards:

We are very pleased to announce that this year, for the first time, we will be presenting a $100 cash award to the best movie and also to the best screenplay (either short or full-length).

Medals will be presented for the best movie in each category (see below); and the Audience Favorite Award will also be presented at each screening session.  We’re delighted to have   Delicious Italian Gifts

back as a sponsor of the Audience Favorite Award; they will again provide baskets of Italian goodies to the winner of the Audience Favorite Award at each screening session. 

We’re very pleased to have Final Draft as the sponsor of the Screenplay Competition.  The winner of the Best Short Screenplay Award and the Best Full-length Screenplay Award will each receive a certificate for a download of Final Draft 8 (value $289). 

We will once again present the Italian-American Heritage Award to the movie or screenplay that best exemplifies the Italian immigrant experience.

General Information:

Movies can be submitted in the following categories:

Very short fiction (15 minutes or less)

Short fiction (16-30 minutes)

Very short documentary (15 minutes or less)

Short documentary (16-30 minutes)

Very short animation (15 minutes or less)

Short animation (16-30 minutes)

Music video (15 minutes or less)

Screenplays may be submitted in in the following categories:

Short (60 pages or less)

Full-length (more than 60 pages)

They must be submitted in proper screenplay format.  All screenplays must be unproduced, unsold, and unoptioned.

Important note:  if you pay the student fee, you MUST provide a copy of your current student ID

Early bird Deadline:  March 5, 2010

Very short movies:  $20 (student:  $10)

Short movies:  $30 (student:  $20)

Music videos:  $20 (student:  $10)

Short screenplays:  $25 (student:  $15)

Full-length screenplays:  $35 (student:  $25)

Regular Deadline:  June 15, 2010

Very short movies:  $30 (student:  $20)

Short movies:  $40 (student:  $30)

Music videos:  $30 (student:  $20)

Short screenplays:  $30 (student:  $20)

Full-length screenplays:  $45 (student:  $35)

Late Deadline:  July 15, 2010

Very short movies:  $40 (student:  $30)

Short movies:  $50 (student:  $40)

Music videos:  $40 (student:  $30)

Short screenplays:  $35 (student:  $25)

Full-length screenplays:  $55 (student:  $45)

Notification date:  September 1, 2010

Mail entry form (see page “Submission form”),  fee, and dvd or screenplay to:

GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos

Mara Lesemann, Festival Director

277 Fourth Street

Jersey City, NJ  07302

IMPORTANT NOTE:  DO NOT SEND BY ANY DELIVERY METHOD THAT REQUIRES A SIGNATURE!

For more information, e-mail:    filmfest@giaa.us

Above: Letty Serra & Jon Freda,  co-writers of the screenplay Say Nothing, which won the Italian American Heritage Award as well as the Best Full-length Screenplay Award

Above:  Frank Monteleone (producer, left) and John Monteleone (writer/director, center) of Valley of the Moon, which won the Best Movie Award as well as the Sunday Audience Favorite Award.  At right is GIAA President Carlo Fiorletta