Unnamed Footage Festival

San Francisco, CA, United States, North America

25 - 28 Feb, 2021

Category

Feature, Short

Unnamed Footage Festival logo
Unnamed Footage Festival

San Francisco, CA, United States, North America

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About the festival

The Unnamed Footage Festival showcases features and short films all in the genre of found footage horror or faux documentary. With this event, we want to present to an audience these films as a legitimate cinematic movement, not a mere subgenre of horror. Spanning from shot on video experiments of the early 90s to new unreleased and underseen features, and not focusing specifically on horror, the Unnamed Footage Festival is set on opening a dialogue regarding the entertainment and artistic values of first person narrative filmmaking.

The slate of films will consist of narratives shot in the first person, and show the exciting diversity within the medium that has gone uncelebrated until now. While THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY defined the genre, many others have expanded and explored it more yet remain off the radar. UFF will offer audiences the chance to revisit older titles and discover new ones, while exploring comedy, science fiction, and drama, with an emphasis on the genre most often linked to found footage — horror movies.

UFF is currently looking for films made by anyone, anytime — there are no limits regarding completion date, or release status. Due to the nature of this genre, sometimes films take years to complete and slip through the cracks, and UFF’s goal is to hunt down and revive these movies, and give new films the chance to screen theatrically.

Films submitted and accepted will be considered in competition, to be voted on by the audience and a jury. Awards given:

JURY AWARD - BEST FEATURE
JURY AWARD - BEST SHORT
AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST FEATURE
AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST SHORT

About

The Unnamed Footage Festival showcases features and short films all in the genre of found footage horror or faux documentary. With this event, we want to present to an audience these films as a legitimate cinematic movement, not a mere subgenre of horror. Spanning from shot on video experiments of the early 90s to new unreleased and underseen features, and not focusing specifically on horror, the Unnamed Footage Festival is set on opening a dialogue regarding the entertainment and artistic values of first person narrative filmmaking.

The slate of films will consist of narratives shot in the first person, and show the exciting diversity within the medium that has gone uncelebrated until now. While THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY defined the genre, many others have expanded and explored it more yet remain off the radar. UFF will offer audiences the chance to revisit older titles and discover new ones, while exploring comedy, science fiction, and drama, with an emphasis on the genre most often linked to found footage — horror movies.

UFF is currently looking for films made by anyone, anytime — there are no limits regarding completion date, or release status. Due to the nature of this genre, sometimes films take years to complete and slip through the cracks, and UFF’s goal is to hunt down and revive these movies, and give new films the chance to screen theatrically.

Films submitted and accepted will be considered in competition, to be voted on by the audience and a jury. Awards given:

JURY AWARD - BEST FEATURE
JURY AWARD - BEST SHORT
AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST FEATURE
AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST SHORT

Awards & Winners

There are no winners yet for this festival

Terms and rules

Submissions must comply with one of the 4 categories listed:
Found Footage Horror
Faux Documentary
POV Cinema
Social Media Found Footage

There are no limits regarding completion date or release status as long as the submitter has the authority to grant us permission to screen, can provide the needed materials, and consent forms or proof of ownership.

Screening formats: DCP, Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS tape.

Once accepted, materials must be provided promptly.

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

Found Footage Horror - FEATURE (over 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $15
Regular (30th November, 2020) $20
Late (31st December, 2020) $25

Found Footage Horror features are films captured by an in-world camera, reimagining standard filmmaking practices and storytelling narratives, in pursuit of maximum verisimilitude. This raw or post-recovery assembled footage often consists of a cast that is completely killed or considered missing. For example, The Blair Witch Project would be catagorized under Found Footage Horror and not Faux Documentary because the footage was at some point "recovered", according to the film's context (whether the audience is informed or not).

Found Footage Horror - SHORT (under 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $5
Regular (30th November, 2020) $10
Late (31st December, 2020) $10

Found Footage Horror shorts are films captured by an in-world camera, reimagining standard filmmaking practices and storytelling narratives, in pursuit of maximum verisimilitude. This raw or post-recovery assembled footage often consists of a cast that is completely killed or considered missing. For example, The Blair Witch Project would be catagorized under Found Footage Horror and not Faux Documentary because the footage was at some point "recovered", according to the film's context (whether the audience is informed or not).

Faux Documentary - FEATURE (over 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $15
Regular (30th November, 2020) $20
Late (31st December, 2020) $25

Faux Documentary features are cinema verite, direct cinema, or propaganda films shot true to form about a fictional subject. This category is not limited to horror. For example, both The Poughkeepsie Tapes and Pheonix Forgotten are Faux Documentaries since they are films centered around documenting recovered footage.

Faux Documentary - SHORT (under 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $5
Regular (30th November, 2020) $10
Late (31st December, 2020) $10

Faux Documentary shorts are cinema verite, direct cinema, or propaganda films shot true to form about a fictional subject. This category is not limited to horror. For example, both The Poughkeepsie Tapes and Pheonix Forgotten are Faux Documentaries since they are films centered around documenting recovered footage.

POV Cinema - FEATURE (over 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $15
Regular (30th November, 2020) $20
Late (31st December, 2020) $25

POV Cinema features are films shot from a first-person perspective. For example, Hardcore Henry is POV Cinema.

POV Cinema - SHORT (under 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $5
Regular (30th November, 2020) $10
Late (31st December, 2020) $10

POV Cinema shorts are films shot from a first-person perspective. For example, Hardcore Henry is POV Cinema.

Social Media Found Footage - FEATURE (over 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $15
Regular (30th November, 2020) $20
Late (31st December, 2020) $25

Social Media Found Footage features are films assembled from videos on various social media platforms. For example, The Road Movie was completely curated from YouTube.

Social Media Found Footage - Short (under 40 minutes)
Early Bird (31st May, 2020) $5
Regular (30th November, 2020) $10
Late (31st December, 2020) $10

Social Media Found Footage shorts are films assembled from videos on various social media platforms. For example, The Road Movie was completely curated from YouTube.

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