1. Prune to Grow:  If you’re still in the editing room and struggling with a scene that you really like, but you’re not sure if it fits, or if you should include it, the answer is almost always “cut.”  This is an extraordinarily difficult, and sometimes heartbreaking, but necessary task. Always ask yourself with every act, scene, line, camera angle “Is this absolutely necessary?” “Does this move the plot forward?”  “Will the audience have lost something without this?”  If the answer is NO to any of these questions (let alone all of them) then let it go.  It’s really sad to have to reject a film that has so much potential, because of the superfluous content.

2. Include a Cover Letter: When the films are finally narrowed and there are ten films and five slots, we are looking at your submission for anything that will make our job easier. If you have a cover letter the programming team is allowed a deeper understanding of you as a filmmaker (or producer) and it gives the film a more personal touch. Don’t go crazy though, the best cover letters are very brief: Introduce yourself, one or two sentences about why you’ve made the film, key people involved, festival acceptances, press garnered, show knowledge of and enthusiasm for our festival and whether you’d be able/willing to attend.

*If you really want to set yourself apart don’t use the phrase “labor of love.”

3. Respond (briefly) to the Submission Received Email: NHFF sends out individual submission confirmation emails, and by responding it shows you’re on top of things.  You’re opening the line of communication, and you have another chance to show us how passionate you are about your project, and getting accepted into our festival.  Sometimes a member of our programming team will send out the email, sometimes an intern, but most of the time I log the films myself, and you have the opportunity to once again give me a glance at your project from another angle. (One or two sentences max.)

Every film festival and programming department is different, and it’s difficult to cater to all of the different specifications, and preferences, but if your eyes are set on New Hampshire, following this advice could take you a long way.  Happy Submitting!

All films must be submitted through Withoutabox, and must have been completed after January 1, 2011 for consideration in the 2013 festival.

Early deadline: June 5th,
Official deadline: July 5 
Late deadline: August 5

Filmmakers will be notified by the end of September regarding submission status.

Grand Prize Judge—Playwright, TV Writer, and Author Susan Kim—to Select this Year’s Winning Scribe

Once again the New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF) Screenplay Competition, is partnering with Star Island Corporation, and offering the Grand Prize Winning Writer a Two-Week Screenwriter’s Residency on Star Island, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Hampshire, including accommodations for two guests in the same room, meals, ferry transportation aboard the M/V Thomas Laighton to and from the island (via Portsmouth, NH), internet access, and two lobster dinners for two, to be enjoyed during the Summer 2014. The Prize Package is valued at $3,660.

Entry is easy via WithoutABox (WAB). Early Deadline is June 5; Official Deadline is July 5; and the Late Deadline is July 15 (or the Extended Deadline of July 30 for WAB members).  Please note that the late and extended deadlines for the Screenplay Competition differ from that of film submission deadlines (Late Deadline: Aug. 5, Extended Deadline: Aug 15)

Choosing the Top Scribe this year is Susan Kim, playwright, TV writer, and author, who has written and produced documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, HBO, and AMC. Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust, which she wrote and co-produced, was an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival and won special jury and audience awards at the Hamptons and Fort Lauderdale international film festivals. She also won the Writers Guild of America award for the PBS documentary about feminism in the 1950s, Paving the Way.

Susan has written for more than three dozen children’s TV series, including Wonder Pets!, Arthur, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Speed Racer, and has been nominated for the Emmy four times and the Writers Guild award five times. She won a Writers Guild award in 1993 for PBS’ Square One TV.

She wrote two graphic novels with Laurence Klavan, City of Spies and Brain Camp, which have received numerous awards from the American Library Association, Junior Library Guild, Scripps Howard News Service, and others. With Klavan, she is currently writing a 3-part young adult series called Wasteland for HarperTeen, a subsidiary of HarperCollins.

Plays include the stage adaptation of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and numerous one-acts; her work has been produced around the country and internationally. She lives in New York City and teaches dramatic writing at NYU and in the MFA program at Goddard College.

In promotion of this year’s competition NHFF has launched a separate twitter account @NHFFscripts to keep submitters and followers connected, and informed throughout the submission process.

Submit your screenplay today.

The educational components include: Film Representative Q&As, Industry Panels, and the Young Filmmakers Workshop. These three components add a tremendous value to the festival, and dramatically increase the cultural impact on the Portsmouth community.

The Seacoast Rotary Club announced NHFF as one of sixteen other nonprofit recipients of $19,000 in donations Wednesday night, May 1^st, at its annual Allocation Awards Evening at Strawbery Banke.

What all recipients had in common, said Allocations Committee Chairman Patrick Lyons, is that the programs all serve local people and had a demonstrated need for particular projects that will improve what they bring to the community.

Executive Director, Nicole Gregg, said “We so thankful and humbled to be included among so many social service agencies receiving the Rotary’s support” at the awards evening.

Programming Director, Nicole Galovski, added “At NHFF we believe that visual storytelling is one of the most powerful tools to promote peace, understanding, and goodwill, and we are so appreciative of the support from the Rotary to continue building the educational aspect of the festival so more of the local community and youth can take part in this inspiring art form.”

Click here for the full list of  donation recipients and coverage of the Allocation Awards Evening from Seacoast Online.

Click here for more information about the Seacoast Rotary Club

There are between 4,000 and 6,000 film festivals annually around the world. If you submitted to all of them, the entry fees alone would cost you over $300,000—which is higher than the total budget for a lot of indie films. To help cost-conscious filmmakers choose where to submit their films, MovieMaker puts together their annual list of festivals that are worth the price of entry.  NHFF is proud to be selected as one of 2013 featured festivals.

For over 10 years, MovieMaker has compiled this annual guide for aspiring independent filmmakers looking to get their work onto a wide festival circuit while remaining as economical as possible. Sifting through over 5000 film festivals around the world, MovieMaker took into account factors including each festival’s history, prizes, judging panel and audience, the subsequent success of its alumni, and, of course, submission fees. These competitive criteria add up to a list of festivals with a value that goes far beyond the numbers.

“This is a such an exciting honor for us to receive,” said NHFF Executive Director Nicole Gregg.  “In the twelve years we have been putting on the festival, it’s become a destination for professional filmmakers, but to see it gain this type of recognition from the leading voice in the independent film industry is really special.”

Part of what makes NHFF so special for filmmakers is the location, and the thriving community of film lovers that call Portsmouth home.

“Portsmouth is an incredible place to screen a film. NHFF audiences are passionate, curious and engaged, plus our visiting filmmakers get to enjoy a true New England autumn in our beautiful city,” said Nicole Gregg.

She added that it is also a great place for filmmakers to rub shoulders with industry professionals.

“There is an incredible amount of talent in Portsmouth during the festival weekend,” Gregg said. “You never know who might be at your screening, you never know where the festival could lead.”

The Festival Directors are proud to be selected as a “film festival worth the entry fee” and extend their thanks to MovieMaker Magazine for this honor. The 2013 New Hampshire Film Festival runs October 17-20, in the heart of historic Portsmouth, NH.  The official submission deadline is July 5. For more information please visit nhfilmfestival.com.

Media Contact: Ellen Stuart, Vital Design

ellen@vtldesign.com | 603.766.1902 x2430

This 10-day fundraiser begins tomorrow, April 2, and continues through April 11 at The Hampton Falls Poker Room at 1 Lafayette Road, Hampton Falls, NH, with the second annual NHFF Casino Night taking place on April 4.

To show our excitement and gratitude for this incredible fundraising opportunity NHFF tries to pack the house with friends and supporters on one night of the ten day promotion. This year’s Casino Night will feature Las Olas catering, a full service bar, Black Jack, Roulette, Limit Hold ‘Em, Omaha Hi, a special NHFF Poker Tournament, and more. The Poker Room has something for everyone!

So please join us Thursday, April 4, from 5-7:30pm as we host this second annual Casino Night at The Poker Room. Even though Casino Night only goes from 5-7:30, The Poker Room is open from 3pm until 1am so feel free to start gambling ahead of the party, and go for the big win at last call! If you can’t make it on April 4, feel free to stop by any time from April 2-11 to show your support.

See you at the Black Jack table!

One of the many events The Music Hall is presenting this spring is the return of the Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival taking place Wednesday – Sunday, April 17-21, 2013.

This will be a celebration of singer songwriters —Legends, Stars, & Up-And-Comers— in a packed 5-day festival, including Round robins, parties, panels, rock poets, & raconteurs!

FESTIVAL LINE-UP:

John Prine

Aimee Mann, Sharon Van Etten,

Dirty Projectors

rock poet Paul Muldoon, photojournalist Joe Stevens

NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS FEATURED

Chris Trapper, Sara Jarosz 

SEACOAST TALENT FEATURED

Ben Baldwin Trio, Guy Capecelatro III, Peter Squires, Mara Flynn, Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC)

Festival Sponsor: Martingale Wharf

Media Partner: 92.5 The River

  Passes are not available online.

Individual tickets on sale NOW!

Expanding its focus to five days this year, the festival covers a spectrum of acts under the banner of Legends, Stars + Up-and-Comers—and adds new dimensions this year with a storied rock & roll photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock poet.  Sponsored by Martingale Wharf with media partner, 92.5 The River, a fabulous festival lineup includes round robins, parties, panels, rock poets, and raconteurs, with new events added every day. It kicks off with poet Paul Muldoon on Wednesday night, followed by a teen and youth round robin on Thursday night; the Dirty Projectors on Friday night; an Innovation + Leadership Forum on eco-touring and Joe Stevens rock photography presentation on Saturday followed by John Prine with openers Sarah Jarosz and Chris Trapper Saturday night; and finally a Seacoast singer songwriter round robin on Sunday followed by a double bill with Aimee Mann and Sharon Van Etten Sunday night!

Says Patricia Lynch, Executive Director of The Music Hall and PSSF co-producer: “The second year of the Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival has expanded! This celebration of originality and creativity is so suited to the vibe of Portsmouth. The parties for pass holders promise to sparkle, and the mix of locals and legends makes for a rich medley. We are so enthusiastic about the promise of this festival for Portsmouth and we welcome our partners, our artists, and most especially our pass holders and audiences. Your support is critical to our shared success.”

Thérèse LaGamma, Deputy Director of Programming and PSSF co-producer adds, “The number of artists that wanted to be involved this year has been staggering! I am excited by the mix of emerging and established artists. The Dirty Projectors and Sharon Van Etten have been on my radar for some time. Both Aimee Mann and Sharon are fans of each others’ music so to have the chance to bring them together is a thrill. REVERB is a company based in Portland that helps artists in building tours that are sustainable. Joe Stevens has managed to capture many exciting moments in music history on camera. I’ve enjoyed this opportunity to co-produce this year’s festival!”

For more information on the schedule, artists, and events, or to purchase tickets please visit: http://www.themusichall.org/calendar/program/portsmouth_singer_songwriter_festival