Forrest J. Ackerman Fan Film Awards

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Forrest J Ackerman Fan Film Awards!! This competition will be open to all amateur filmmakers. But I don't think the term "amateur" really applies anymore. With the advent of technology, fen can now produce films that rival the big Hollywood film companies.

So we decided that there should be some way to honor these films and filmmakers. Hence the Forrest J Ackerman Fan Film Awards. So we talked to Forry and he said we could use his name. Who better than the man who is fandom himself. With a win here, maybe that could be just the thing you need to get that big Hollywood contract to make feature length movies.

For those of you who may not know who Forry J Ackerman is, he has been active in fandom from the beginning. He is the founding father of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine, the creator of the character Vampirella, one of the original members of First Fandom, he has been agent to some of the greats of science fiction literature, and he has inspired filmmakers like George Lucas, John Landis, Steven Spielburg, and Tim Burton just to name a few. He is well known for his collection of science fiction and fantasy movie memorabilia that he had garnered over the many years. Because of his this, Forry has appeared in over one hundred movies, and has known some of the great actors of the day like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Vincent price, just to name a few of them.

HOW TO ENTER:

There will be eight (8) categories and two divisions. The divisions are:

Long Form: Films over 45 minutes in length.

Short Form: Films under 45 minutes in length.

THE CATEGORIES ARE:

Science Fiction: Films in this category should contain some basic science fiction tropes like interstellar space travel, robots, aliens, or time travel. Movies like Logan's Run, Star Wars, or First Men in the Moon are examples of science fiction movies.

Fantasy: Films in this category should make use of the elements of magic, fantastical creatures and sword and sorcery types of tropes. Movies like Robin Hood, King Arthur, or Lord of the Rings are examples of these types of movies.

Horror: Films in this category should have elements of your standard horror movie. Monsters, vampires, ghosts, and haunted houses are all example of some of the horror tropes. Movies like Carrie, Scream, and Frankenstein are all examples of this type of movie.

Comic Book Related: Films in this category should have some relationship to a comic book character or setting. Movies about characters like Batman, Vision or locations like Skull Island, or Mongo are examples of what can be used in this type of movie.

Fannish: Films in this category must have elements of fannish activities in them. Interviews with authors, artists, masquerades, conventions, or any fannish activity are things that should be in a film in the fannish category.

Series Inspired: Films in this category are inspired from some television show or movie series. The original setting may be movies or shows like Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But the ensuing idea for nomination in this category must be original.

Animated: Films in this category, while also capable of being nominated in one or more of the other categories, must have over 75% of it's action, characters, or backgrounds animated in some way. Stop motion, clay, puppets, or CGI are all forms that are suitable in this category. Movies like Wizard of Speed and Time, Wallace and Gromit and Nightmare Before Christmas are examples of this type of movie.

Music Video: Take your favorite piece of music, and put a fannish spin on it. Tom Pettys "Don't Come Around Here No More" uses an Alice in Wonderland theme. Almost anything by Weird Al Yankovic has a fannish spin to it. These are the examples of things you can put to music.

JUDGING:

This will be a juried competition. We will have judges from fandom, writers, and professional film people on the jury.

We are still in the process of gathering a few more judges. Other judges will be announced at a later date.

SUBMISSIONS:

We require all submissions to be either on VHS videotape, CD or DVD by September 1, 2013. It should also be formatted for NTSC broadcast standards. Works submitted will not be returned to you. All films submitted should have been produced from January 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012.

ENTRANCE FEE:

All submissions must be accompanied by a $20 entry fee. The entry fee will be used to cover administrative expenses related to the preview of each entry. You can send a check, bank draft or money order in American funds to:

The Forrest J Ackerman Fan Film Awards
C/O The Rochester Fantasy Fans
P.O. Box 23201
Rochester, New York 14692-2301

MAKE CHECKS, BANK DRAFTS OR MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO:

THE ROCHESTER FANTASY FANS

or you can use paypal:

SELECTION:

Selection of the films that will make it to the final round of judging will be made by the judges. If there are too many submissions an independent selection committee will be appointed to view all submissions for pre-selection and final selection. Once that is done all final selection will be done by our judges. Decisions of the judges and selection committee will be final. All films submitted will be shown in our fan film room during Astronomicon.

NOTIFICATION:

Finalists will be notified by e-mail and or snail mail of the selection results approximately one month before the awards. Finalists will receive free admission to Astronomicon and the awards banquet.

PRIZES:

We are still in the design process of what the award will look like, but we hope all the winners will be pleased. If you have a design that you think will fit the awards we would be more than happy to see it. You can e-mail us at: Fanfilms@astronomicon.info.

ENTRY FORMS:

Below are two links to the forms needed to submit your film. Just e-mail the completed forms to:

FAN FILM SUBMISSION

Fan Film Entry Form .pdf Fan Film Entry Form .doc

Rules and Regulations:

1.) Films submitted must have been completed before December 31, 2012.
2.) Films submitted in the "short" category must not exceed 45 minutes in length including credits.
3.) Any non-English language film must have English subtitles
4.) Films should be submitted in either DVD or VHS NTSC formats for judging.
5.) Films submitted for viewing at the convention should also be in either VHS or DVD NTSC formats.
6.) Preview Tapes or DVD's will not be returned.
7.) Illegible or incomplete entry forms will not be accepted. Please type or print your entry form clearly.
8.) Submissions cannot be withdrawn once they have been entered, except at the discretion of the con or judging committee.
9.) All films may be excerpted up to 2 minutes to use for publicity purposes.
10.) A Separate entry form and entrance fee must accompany each film submitted.
11.) Preview tapes and DVD's must be labeled with the title, running time, and contact information. Do not send film prints, video masters or any other originals.
12.) After entry, acceptance/rejection letters will be sent electronically. Please supply an email address.

IN CLOSING:

What we're trying to do is to provide that little bit of ego boo that might you might be able to parley into something good. If we can help any fan film producer get their big break, or just get their work a little more publicity then we've done a good thing.