THE DURBAN SHORT FILM CHALLENGE

Exhilarating filmmaking competition organised by the Durban Youth in Film Society.

The Durban Film Challenge is an exhilarating filmmaking competition organised by the Durban Youth in Film Society and will be presented in association with the forthcoming Durban International Film Festival.

Participating teams have two weeks to write, shoot and edit a short film or video around a specific theme. There will be two rounds of the Durban Short Film Challenge, one in May and the second in June. The top 12 films made in both Challenges will be selected for screening in a special event during the Durban International Film Festival with festival accreditation for the filmmakers.

The themes for both challenges will be announced the day each Challenge begins at the KZNSA Gallery (the first begins May 7 at 18h00 and the second on June 4 at 18h00) as well as the Film Tower group on the social networking site www.facebook.com

The films entered have to be exactly five minutes excluding opening and end titles and can be in any genre. The final films have to delivered on or before May 21 (first challenge) and June 18 (second challenge).

The goal is to write, shoot and edit a short film in two weeks. With teamwork and complete focus a cohesive and entertaining movie can be made in a short time frame.

The following rules apply to each participating group/production team:

The Film Challenge will occur between May 7 and 21 for the first challenge and June 4 to 18 for the second Challenge. The participating group must complete its film work in time to submit by 18h00 at the KZNSA Gallery during the fortnightly Cinema Thursdays or at the Centre for Creative Arts if completed sooner. Films submitted after this are not eligible. For submission, send an email to tmungwe@gmail.com

The Durban Film Challenge is open to filmmakers across the world. Teams outside of Durban can contact tmungwe@gmail.com to arrange delivery of films. During the official competition period, all creativity will take place, including but not limited to: Writing the script; Rehearsing; Costume/Set Design; Shooting; Editing; Rendering and Sound Design.

The only work to begin prior to the official competition period is: Organizing Crew; Organizing Cast; Securing Equipment, and Scouting/securing Locations.

All footage must be shot within the challenge's time period. No stock footage or footage shot or created at another time may be used. Animation and special effects are permitted, but must be created during the weekend time period. Still photographs are permitted, provided that the team has the rights to them. The photos do not need to be created during the competition time period. All cast and crew must be volunteers.

The finished film must be a exactly five minutes in duration, with credits duration limited to 60 seconds for both the opening and end sequences. Any type of video or film camera may be used, however, a maximum of two cameras may be used. Cellphone cameras and stills cameras may also be used. The finished film must be submitted on a SD miniDV tape, DVD or a data DVD or USB Flash Drive.

Finished film should have a minimum of 5 seconds of bars and tone and 5 seconds of black, then the following slate should have the Team Name and Film Title before the film begins.

Participating group must have the rights to any music used in its film. Groups are encouraged to work with local composers and/or musicians to write and record music for the films. It is permissible for a participating group to use pre-recorded music (e.g., royalty-free music, a friend's band's music) but the group must have a signed release.

Credits at the end of each film are limited to a maximum of 60 seconds. This is in excluding the 5 minute time limit. (For example, you may have a 5 minute film plus 1 minute of credits for a total running time of 6:00:00.) Films longer than 6:00:00 are not eligible. Films must include the following credit: "This film made as part of the Durban Film Challenge 2009 in association with the 30th Durban International Film Festival"

A panel of independent judges will select 12 Durban Film Challenge Finalists which will be screened at a Special event during the Durban International Film Festival.