Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival

Philadelphia, PA, United States, North America

30 Sep, 2020 - 04 Oct, 2020

Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival logo
Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival

Philadelphia, PA, United States, North America

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Is this your festival?

About the festival

A note about COVID-19: We're monitoring COVID-19 very closely and want filmmakers to know we're still planning on holding #PUFF5 in the fall of 2020. We have invested in masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant for the event, and our venue is spacious enough to accommodate social distancing if necessary. PUFF is not held in a traditional theater which grants us more flexibility than other festivals. We will be screening 4 blocks of short films Saturday, October 3rd. Categories will include Bizarre, Horror/Sci-Fi, Local and Other. We will screen physically at the 2223 Theater if Philadelphia reaches the "green" phase by October 2nd. The festival will be condensed into a couple of days with the online portion. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

We hope you all stay safe and look forward to seeing your films.

The Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival (PUFF) selects 95% of its micro and short films from its FilmFreeway submissions. We have featured 30+ films in each of our 4 years, and work hard to showcase as many independent filmmakers as possible. More than just a "horror" film festival, each year PUFF includes an eclectic mix of features and shorts, including sci-fi, action, documentary, bizzare, drama and more.

PUFF was founded as an alternative festival to bring new and undiscovered films to cinema fans in Philadelphia. The festival has previously featured such notable films as Tragedy Girls, Witch in the Window, Happy Face, Antrum, and Karate Kill. We tout an excellent success rate for our selections, with 95% of our feature films from the first few years of the festival receiving independent distribution.

PUFF works to connect upstart filmmakers with distribution outlets by working with local independent film distributors, and to offer a place for filmmakers to gain exposure and network with as many industry professionals as possible. Filmmakers are welcomed to participate in our digital screening library to spread awareness about their projects.

All accepted films are screened at the 2223 Theater (2223.fish) on our theatrical sized screen. The theater is located in the trendy neighborhood of Fishtown, known for its popular restaurants, bars and art scene.

Festival Director Alex Gardner offers a long history of film festival and horror journalism experience, working with other film festivals in the past such as Another Hole in the Head, Buffalo Dreams and the Bay Area’s SiliCon.

In addition to the annual festival, PUFF also partnered with South Street Cinema to offer a weekly screening series, and give independent filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their films with its "PUFF Presents" series.

PUFF's aim is to grow into a multimedia experience where people can enjoy our great city while experiencing the best in new cinema.

Win the famous PUFF tiara for Best Feature and Best Short, plus awards and prizes for Best Local Film. Awards are chosen via weighted audience voting. Additional prizes to be announced.

BEST FEATURE AUDIENCE : Famous PUFF Tiara
BEST FEATURE JURY: Famous PUFF Tiara
BEST SHORT: Famous PUFF Tiara
BEST MICRO SHORT: PUFF Swag
BEST LOCAL SHORT AUDIENCE: Local Gift Certificate
BEST LOCAL SHORT JURY: Local Gift Certificate

About

A note about COVID-19: We're monitoring COVID-19 very closely and want filmmakers to know we're still planning on holding #PUFF5 in the fall of 2020. We have invested in masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant for the event, and our venue is spacious enough to accommodate social distancing if necessary. PUFF is not held in a traditional theater which grants us more flexibility than other festivals. We will be screening 4 blocks of short films Saturday, October 3rd. Categories will include Bizarre, Horror/Sci-Fi, Local and Other. We will screen physically at the 2223 Theater if Philadelphia reaches the "green" phase by October 2nd. The festival will be condensed into a couple of days with the online portion. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

We hope you all stay safe and look forward to seeing your films.

The Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival (PUFF) selects 95% of its micro and short films from its FilmFreeway submissions. We have featured 30+ films in each of our 4 years, and work hard to showcase as many independent filmmakers as possible. More than just a "horror" film festival, each year PUFF includes an eclectic mix of features and shorts, including sci-fi, action, documentary, bizzare, drama and more.

PUFF was founded as an alternative festival to bring new and undiscovered films to cinema fans in Philadelphia. The festival has previously featured such notable films as Tragedy Girls, Witch in the Window, Happy Face, Antrum, and Karate Kill. We tout an excellent success rate for our selections, with 95% of our feature films from the first few years of the festival receiving independent distribution.

PUFF works to connect upstart filmmakers with distribution outlets by working with local independent film distributors, and to offer a place for filmmakers to gain exposure and network with as many industry professionals as possible. Filmmakers are welcomed to participate in our digital screening library to spread awareness about their projects.

All accepted films are screened at the 2223 Theater (2223.fish) on our theatrical sized screen. The theater is located in the trendy neighborhood of Fishtown, known for its popular restaurants, bars and art scene.

Festival Director Alex Gardner offers a long history of film festival and horror journalism experience, working with other film festivals in the past such as Another Hole in the Head, Buffalo Dreams and the Bay Area’s SiliCon.

In addition to the annual festival, PUFF also partnered with South Street Cinema to offer a weekly screening series, and give independent filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their films with its "PUFF Presents" series.

PUFF's aim is to grow into a multimedia experience where people can enjoy our great city while experiencing the best in new cinema.

Win the famous PUFF tiara for Best Feature and Best Short, plus awards and prizes for Best Local Film. Awards are chosen via weighted audience voting. Additional prizes to be announced.

BEST FEATURE AUDIENCE : Famous PUFF Tiara
BEST FEATURE JURY: Famous PUFF Tiara
BEST SHORT: Famous PUFF Tiara
BEST MICRO SHORT: PUFF Swag
BEST LOCAL SHORT AUDIENCE: Local Gift Certificate
BEST LOCAL SHORT JURY: Local Gift Certificate

Awards & Winners

There are no winners yet for this festival

Terms and rules

An authorized representative of the project being submitted must agree via digital signature that the film being submitted does not break any laws, and that all necessary licenses, royalties, release forms have been obtained. By submitting to the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival (PUFF) you are granting the PUFF the right to screen any submitted Films twice during the scheduled Festival dates. You are also granting the Festival permission to use footage, stills and/or titles, and information from or relating to the Film for promotional purposes.

Films already available on home video will not be eligible for competition, but are still invited to submit to be screened out of competition.

New films that have recently had a festival screening in the city of Philadelphia will not be eligible.

Films that have premiered before 2019 are not eligible.

If your film is accepted you must provide us with both a physical and digital copy. Filmmakers are responsible for all shipping costs. Physical media submitted to the Festival will not be returned. There is a $15 service fee for any films PUFF has to burn to physical media. Payments can be made through PayPal or Venmo.

Suggested film specs:

1920x1080 or 1280x720
16:9 Aspect Ratio
24FPS
Audio Sample 48 kHz
Video Bit Rate, at least 5000 kbps
NTSC
.mp4 container
Apple ProRes 422 or codec of similar quality

Accepted films will also need to provide images, one-sheet and downloadable links or files for all available trailers. Trailers will be uploaded to the official Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival YouTube page.

Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival reserves the right to change any rules or scheduling. All accepted entries will be notified of any changes.

Please make sure all physical copies mailed to the Festival are titled, and include running time plus contact information. Please also provide a brief synopsis of your film, genre and if you're a local or student entry when submitting.

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

Horror Short
Early Bird (30th March, 2020) $15
Regular (15th August, 2020) $25
Late (4th September, 2020) $30

Short film between 5 and 39 minutes in the horror genre.

Sci Fi Short
Early Bird (30th March, 2020) $15
Regular (15th August, 2020) $25
Late (4th September, 2020) $30

Short film between 5 and 39 minutes in the science fiction genre.

Bizarre Short
Early Bird (30th March, 2020) $15
Regular (15th August, 2020) $25
Late (4th September, 2020) $30

Genre-less short film between 5 and 39 minutes. Celebrating the weird and wild (anything experimental).

Other Short
Early Bird (30th March, 2020) $15
Regular (15th August, 2020) $25
Late (4th September, 2020) $30

Any film longer than 5 minutes that does not fit the other categories (weird but not experimental, comedy, drama, nonfiction and so on)

Local Shorts
Early Bird (30th March, 2020) $15
Regular (15th August, 2020) $20
Late (4th September, 2020) $25

Made in Philadelphia or surrounding suburbs, including South Jersey. Films made by past Philadelphia residents will also be accepted. All genres accepted.

Micro Short
Early Bird (30th March, 2020) $10
Regular (15th August, 2020) $15
Late (4th September, 2020) $20

Any short film under 5 minutes. All genres accepted.

Matchmaking

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