Video Contests, Film Festivals, and Awards

AFI FEST 2013 presented by Audi officially has announced its dates and call for entries. The American Film Institute's annual celebration of artistic excellence brings the audience and the entertainment community together to explore the year in global cinema through the new works of film masters, moving image icons and breakthrough talents, and is the only film festival of its stature that is free to the public. This year AFI FEST will take place November 7 through 14 in Hollywood, California, the movie capital of the world, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly known as Grauman's Chinese), the Chinese 6 Theatres at the Hollywood & Highland Center, the Egyptian Theatre of the American Cinematheque and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

AFI FEST mixes nightly red carpet galas of Hollywood films with award-winning and highly anticipated new auteur works from filmmakers around the world. Emerging in 1987 as a program of the American Film Institute, the festival has paid tribute to numerous influential filmmakers and artists over the years, including Pedro Almodóvar, Bernardo Bertolucci and David Lynch as Guest Artistic Directors, as well as top film talent such as Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle, Marion Cotillard, Catherine Deneuve, Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep, to name a few. In addition, AFI FEST has showcased scores of films that have produced wins at the Oscars® in recent years, including A SEPARATION, AMOUR, THE ARTIST, BLACK SWAN, THE KING'S SPEECH, LIFE OF PI, LINCOLN, PRECIOUS and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

"AFI FEST is where the films of talented emerging filmmakers have the opportunity to screen alongside the current works of masters of the art form," said Jacqueline Lyanga, Director, AFI FEST. "Last year's festival included many extraordinary films from across the globe, from the World Premiere of Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN and Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI to first-time feature filmmaker Tosh Gitonga's NAIROBI HALF LIFE, whose film was AFI FEST's Audience Award Breakthrough winner and Kenya's first-ever Foreign Language Film Oscar® submission."

The 2012 festival featured the World Premieres of HITCHCOCK from Sacha Gervasi and the previously mentioned LINCOLN from Steven Spielberg, as well as the Secret Screening of SKYFALL from Sam Mendes, and brought over 200 filmmakers from all over the world to Los Angeles to present their films to the city's audience of film-lovers, including new films from established filmmakers such as Léos Carax, Matteo Garrone, Michael Haneke, Kim Ki-duk, Cristian Mungiu, Sally Potter, Walter Salles and Hong Sang-soo, among many others.

Submissions are now open and filmmakers are invited to submit narrative, documentary, experimental, animated and short films at AFI.com/AFIFEST or through Withoutabox.com. The final submission deadline for short films (under 30 minutes) is August 2, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards®. The final submission deadline for feature-length films is August 16. Films found solely through the submissions process are presented in the festival's Breakthrough section, providing an opportunity for new filmmakers to share their vision with the world and receive a $5,000 cash prize.

"Festivals are a place of great discovery, and every year we look forward to finding new films and filmmakers through our submissions-based Breakthrough section and in our Oscars®-qualifying Short Film program," said Lane Kneedler, Associate Director of Programming, AFI FEST.

Filmmakers can e-mail [email protected] or call 866.AFI.FEST for more information about the submissions process.

Film stills from the 2012 edition of the festival and the official AFI FEST logo are available for press use only and can be downloaded at: flickr.com/photos/afifestpublicity/collections

About the American Film Institute
AFI is America's promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.

AFI preserves the legacy of America's film heritage for future generations through the AFI Archive, comprised of rare footage from across the history of the moving image and the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative record of American films from 1893 to the present.

AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of annual programs and special events, including the AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards. Celebrating its 41st year in 2013, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the Institute's almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year. AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers. And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the Institute's annual year-end celebration of artistic excellence in cinema; AFI Docs, the largest documentary festival in the U.S.; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, DC area.

AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its AFI Conservatory, which has been consistently recognized as one of the world's top film schools, boasting alumni including Darren Aronofsky, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Heidi Levitt, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Wally Pfister, Robert Richardson, Ed Zwick and so many more. AFI Conservatory offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling.

For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, twitter.com/AmericanFilm and youtube.com/AFI.

About AFI FEST presented by Audi

The American Film Institute's annual celebration of artistic excellence, AFI FEST presented by Audi brings the audience and the entertainment community together to explore the year in global cinema through the new works of film masters, moving image icons and breakthrough talents, and it is the only film festival of its stature that is free to the public. AFI FEST mixes nightly red carpet galas of Hollywood films with new auteur works from around the world, ensuring that an extraordinary array of foreign filmmaker voices are heard. Launching awards season each year, AFI FEST offers a crucial avenue of exposure to the entertainment community, while providing audiences with the very best of global cinema, right in the center of the movie-making capital of the world.

Celebrating its 27th year as a program of the American Film Institute, the festival has paid tribute to numerous influential filmmakers and artists over the years, including Pedro Almodóvar, Bernardo Bertolucci, and David Lynch as Guest Artistic Directors, and has screened scores of films that have produced Oscar® nominations and wins including, most recently, A SEPARATION, AMOUR, THE ARTIST, THE KING'S SPEECH, LIFE OF PI, LINCOLN and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.

AFI FEST 2013 presented by Audi will take place from November 7 through 14 in the heart of Hollywood. AFI FEST is the only FIAPF-accredited film festival in the United States, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category for the annual Academy Awards®.

Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST. Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFIFES.

About Audi

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products, facilities and technologies. Visit audiusa.com or audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.

Resources:

www.afi.com