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2025 SPE Media Festival

Society for Photographic Education   /   Deadline: 10/18/24

The SPE (Society for Photographic Education) Media Festival (originally the SPE Women's Film Festival) has featured innovative and provocative short documentaries, animation, fiction, video art, and new media projects by, for and about women, POC, and members of the LGBTQIA community since 1995. This year, new categories have been added to create a more expansive and dynamic program.

The 2025 Media Fest will be held March 6 - 8, 2025 at the Peppermill Reno Resort in Reno, Nevada during the annual Society for Photographic Education Conference.

Categories include:
Women: works 30 minutes or under by, for, or about women.
Multi-Cultural: works 30 minutes or under on cultural issues by, for, or about people of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Pride: works 30 minutes or under by, for or about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people.
Documentary: non-fiction works 30 minutes or under that cover a wide range of topics including social issues, nature, environment, history, science, culture, and more.
Narrative: works 30 minutes or under that tell stories in a wide range of genres, including drama, comedy, action, science fiction, romance, horror, and more.
Animation: works 30 minutes or under that encompass a wide variety of techniques, including traditional hand-drawn animation, stop-motion animation, computer-generated imagery, 3D animation, and more.
Experimental: works 30 minutes or under that explore unconventional, innovative, or abstract techniques that push the boundaries of form, structure, and aesthetics.
Short Shorts: works that are 5 minutes or under.
SPE members: works 30 minutes or under by current SPE members.

Submit at: https://filmfreeway.com/SPEFilmFestival-2025

Location

Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
2707 South Virginia Street
Reno, Nevada 89502
United States

Fees

$10 - $30

Eligibility

All submissions are through FilmFreeway:
https://filmfreeway.com/SPEFilmFestival-2025

Requirements

Films, video art, animation, and new media projects must be 30 minutes or under. Projects submitted to the Short Shorts category must be 5 minutes or under. Projects over time will be automatically disqualified.

Entries must include the following information:
Web link to the full video – If password protected, include password.
Contact information (name, address, email and telephone number, website optional)
Distributor information if different than filmmaker
Short film synopsis (no more than 50 words)
Short director's bio (no more than 50 words)
Year of completion
Exact running time down to the second (do not count color bars, black, etc.)

SPE membership is not required to enter the festival. Entry fee for submissions received by 11:59 PM, September 20, 2024 is free for SPE members. SPE members must check off that they are members and enter the member's waiver code sent by SPE to members at checkout to receive the SPE early-bird free entry.

Films can only be entered in one category. Filmmakers can enter multiple films, but each film can only be entered in one category.
Festival organizers reserve the right to move entries to a different category.
Films entered in previous years are not eligible.
All entries must be submitted through FilmFreeway
All rights must be cleared.

Accepted films will be screened March 6 - 8, 2025 at the Peppermill Reno Resort in Reno, Nevada during the annual SPE conference.
Accepted filmmakers will be notified by December 13, 2024.
Accepted filmmakers must provide a Quicktime H.264 file at the original dimensions, up to 1920px x 1080px, by Jan. 17, 2025.

Awards

Laurels for Best Women Film
Laurels for Best Multicultural Film
Laurels for Best Pride Film
Laurels for Best Documentary Film
Laurels for Best Narrative Film
Laurels for Best Animation Film
Laurels for Best Experimental Film
Laurels for Best Short Short Film
Laurels for Best SPE member film
Laurels for Audience Choice

Contact Information

Amanda Kline
1276 Frebis Ave
Columbus,

P: 6104515753
E: amandalkline@gmail.com