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Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series

Brooklyn, NY, United States, North America

24 - 25 Oct, 2020

Festival cover image
Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series logo
Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series

Brooklyn, NY, United States, North America

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General Information

edition

23rd

Contact details

Reel Sisters c/o African Voices 325 Lafayette Avenue, C.F. Suite Brooklyn, NY 11238 United States

11238

coordinator@reelsisters.org

212-865-2982

Web & social

Venues

Alamo Drafthouse - Downtown Brooklyn 445 Albee Square West Brooklyn, New York 11201, , United States Show me on the map
Dwyer Cultural Center 258 Saint Nicholas Avenue 1 University Plaza New York, New York 10027, , United States Show me on the map
SVA Theatre 333 West 23rd Street New York, New York 10011, , United States Show me on the map

About the festival

The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series is a two-day annual film festival founded by African Voices magazine and LIU's Media Arts Dept., Brooklyn Campus. Established in 1997, Reel Sisters (www.reelsisters.org) is dedicated to providing opportunities for women of color to advance their careers in the film industry. Reel Sisters accepts films written, directed, or produced by women/non-binary filmmakers of color. Reel Sisters is the first Academy Qualifying Film Festival devoted to women of color across the globe. Reel Sisters is an IMDb qualifying film festival.

NOTE: Due to the pandemic, Reel Sisters is hosting our first virtual film festival. Theaters in NYC remain closed and we are excited about reaching our international audience in 2020! Reel Sisters 23 Anniversary event will kick off virtually on Oct. 24-25, 2020 and showcase films until November 17, 2020. STAY TUNED for more updates!

Reel Sisters is a competitive festival and films are selected by an independent jury. Please submit films early as deadlines are final. The festival provides quality customer service and does not offer fee waivers. The fee helps pay for a small fraction of the administrative costs for running a professional film festival.

Reel Sisters accepts all genres and formats with a special interest in submissions from animated and web series producers. Send us films that will make our audience “cry, dance, laugh, sing and explore." Reel Sisters is an Academy Qualifying Film Festival for Short Narratives. The festival curates events throughout the year so all entries will be considered for Reel Sisters Tea & Cinema series. Join our worldwide community of film professionals in celebrating stories produced, directed and written by women of color!

REEL SISTERS HIGHLIGHTS

• Listed in Film Daily's Top 10 Women Centered Film Festivals (2018)

https://filmdaily.co/news/female-focused-film-festivals/

• Profiled in Bushwick Daily, Shadow & Act, Film Daily, the Washington Post and Black Enterprise for presenting outstanding films by women of color from across the globe!

• Reel Sisters is a top tier film festival that provides a chance for women to gain distribution, network and access to opportunities in the film industry.

Reel Sisters screens original films by women across the globe each year — the festival has screened over 5,000 films since its inception. Awards for Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Screenplay, Best Experimental, Best Animation, Best Feature, Best Short, Best Narrative, Best Web Series, Best Original Soundtrack and the Reel Sisters Spirit Award are selected by an independent jury composed of filmmakers, community leaders and artists. In 2016, Reel Sisters presented the Reel Sisters/Centric Awards, which includes a distribution deal with Centric/BET Networks. The cash awards depend on our funding level. It was a pleasure to bring back our scholarship awards to the film festival and with your support we can continue this tradition.

CASH AWARDS FOR 2020

Best Narrative Short - $1,000
Best Director - $500
Best Screenplay - $300
Best Animation - $200

About

The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series is a two-day annual film festival founded by African Voices magazine and LIU's Media Arts Dept., Brooklyn Campus. Established in 1997, Reel Sisters (www.reelsisters.org) is dedicated to providing opportunities for women of color to advance their careers in the film industry. Reel Sisters accepts films written, directed, or produced by women/non-binary filmmakers of color. Reel Sisters is the first Academy Qualifying Film Festival devoted to women of color across the globe. Reel Sisters is an IMDb qualifying film festival.

NOTE: Due to the pandemic, Reel Sisters is hosting our first virtual film festival. Theaters in NYC remain closed and we are excited about reaching our international audience in 2020! Reel Sisters 23 Anniversary event will kick off virtually on Oct. 24-25, 2020 and showcase films until November 17, 2020. STAY TUNED for more updates!

Reel Sisters is a competitive festival and films are selected by an independent jury. Please submit films early as deadlines are final. The festival provides quality customer service and does not offer fee waivers. The fee helps pay for a small fraction of the administrative costs for running a professional film festival.

Reel Sisters accepts all genres and formats with a special interest in submissions from animated and web series producers. Send us films that will make our audience “cry, dance, laugh, sing and explore." Reel Sisters is an Academy Qualifying Film Festival for Short Narratives. The festival curates events throughout the year so all entries will be considered for Reel Sisters Tea & Cinema series. Join our worldwide community of film professionals in celebrating stories produced, directed and written by women of color!

REEL SISTERS HIGHLIGHTS

• Listed in Film Daily's Top 10 Women Centered Film Festivals (2018)

https://filmdaily.co/news/female-focused-film-festivals/

• Profiled in Bushwick Daily, Shadow & Act, Film Daily, the Washington Post and Black Enterprise for presenting outstanding films by women of color from across the globe!

• Reel Sisters is a top tier film festival that provides a chance for women to gain distribution, network and access to opportunities in the film industry.

Reel Sisters screens original films by women across the globe each year — the festival has screened over 5,000 films since its inception. Awards for Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Screenplay, Best Experimental, Best Animation, Best Feature, Best Short, Best Narrative, Best Web Series, Best Original Soundtrack and the Reel Sisters Spirit Award are selected by an independent jury composed of filmmakers, community leaders and artists. In 2016, Reel Sisters presented the Reel Sisters/Centric Awards, which includes a distribution deal with Centric/BET Networks. The cash awards depend on our funding level. It was a pleasure to bring back our scholarship awards to the film festival and with your support we can continue this tradition.

CASH AWARDS FOR 2020

Best Narrative Short - $1,000
Best Director - $500
Best Screenplay - $300
Best Animation - $200

Awards & Winners

There are no winners yet for this festival

Terms and rules

GENERAL RULES

TRANSLATION: Your film must be English dubbed or have English subtitles if it is in any other language.

PRODUCTION STILLS & TRAILERS: Please make sure you upload production photos with your submission and a trailer. If you do not have photos, you can screen shot a photo by pausing a scene in your film to create one. If you do not have a trailer, please mention this fact when you submit. Your submission will not be complete without some form of promotional materials uploaded.

NO WAIVERS: Entry fees cover a small portion of the festival’s administrative costs for processing submissions and are non-refundable. We do not offer waivers.

TO SUBMIT A FILM to REEL SISTERS:

- Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting your film as we do not issue refunds for entry fees. It is your responsibility to ensure your film meets our criteria and submission guidelines.

- You are required to send us a downloadable link of your film via FilmFreeway only. Please contact FilmFreeway staff if you have any issues uploading your film and making it downloadable for our production staff if you receive an acceptance letter.

- We will need trailer links from Vimeo and Youtube to help promote your film in our festival. Please submit them with your application.

- Complete the details required, providing brief synopsis of the film, credits, production stills and additional promotional items. We accept photographs in all formats including JPEGs, TIFFs and EPS (electronic photos must be 300 dpi resolution for promotional purposes).

- Entries must be delivered by the deadline.

**Failure to deliver a digital screening file on time Forfeits any previous accepted invitation

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

Narrative Feature
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs.

Documentary Feature
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs.

Narrative Short
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs.

Documentary Short
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other festivals and fees support the festival's administrative costs.

Animation
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $30
Regular (15th May, 2020) $35
Late (15th June, 2020) $45
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs.

Web/New Media
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs. Web/New Media can submit up to 3 episodes (20 minutes) under one submission application.

Work-In-Progress
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters accepts work-in-progress of all genres. The category seeks uncompleted film and video submissions no longer than 30 minutes. Reel Sisters seeks to shine a light on giving exposure and support to promising new work produced, directed and written by women of color. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other festivals and fees support the festival's administrative costs.

Experimental
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs. Reel Sisters encourages experimental & non-narrative forms of storytelling that seeks to explore, expand and invent new visual frontiers for our viewers.

Comedy
Entry fees
Early Bird (1st November, 2019) $40
Regular (15th May, 2020) $45
Late (15th June, 2020) $50
Description

Laughing is healing and healthy. Reel Sisters encourages narrative, web series and documentary short form comedy films. Exceptional comic sketches will be considered in this category. Reel Sisters encourages early submissions. Fee waivers are rarely granted as our fees are low when compared with other Academy Qualifying film festivals. We are a non-profit organization and fees support a small fraction of the festival's administrative costs.

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