The submission phase of the 2016 Star Wars Fan Film Awards is now open.
The Star Wars Fan Film Awards are back. The contest celebrating short films shot and edited entirely by fans of the franchise is open for submission through April 24th. Winners will be announced in July.
Though The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams is not eligible to compete in the competition, much to his dismay, he does have a message for budding Star Wars filmmakers.
Winners in the seven award categories (Filmmaker Select, Best Animation, Best Non-Fiction, Spirit of Fandom, Best Comedy, Best Visual Effects, and Audience Choice) will receive Star Wars-themed merchandise, an autographed print of Star Wars concept art, and a trophy.
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Past winning films range from serious and kickass lightsaber battles, as in Knights of the Old Republic: Broken Souls, to hilarious animated sketches, like Star Wars: A New Employee Orientation. As in all aspects of the franchise, there’s something for everyone in the Fan Film Awards.
StarWars.com has a few Do’s and Don’ts listed. A film cannot be longer than five minutes, and profanity and “inappropriate stuff” are highly discouraged. Any brands, logos, famous landmarks or buildings, books, and works of art must not be used; there can’t be anything with a third-party property right in the film (that includes, incidentally, references to Star Trek). Filmmakers are allowed to use sound materials from the Pack on the official Star Wars website, but any sounds outside of the Pack are forbidden.
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Most importantly, however, StarWars.com encourages filmmakers to be original and have fun.