Regulations & How to Submit
Important Dates
Deadline – Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 11:59 PM.
Film Festival entries available online – Friday, May 14, 2021 after 7:00 PM
Deadline – Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 11:59 PM.
Film Festival entries available online – Friday, May 14, 2021 after 7:00 PM
Rules
Your movie must oblige by the HoCo FilmFest rules. There is a different set of rules for story based films and Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
Story Based Films
- Films must be produced from a middle or high school student that lives in Howard County.
- Must be student directed, produced, and edited.
- The entered film should be 3 to 10 minutes in duration.
- Must be an original concept or idea.
- Must be appropriate for family viewing. The film must be limited in sexuality, language, and violence.
- Must follow traditional storytelling elements. This includes the use of plot, characters, setting, etc.
HC DrugFree PSA Films
Please Note: PSA Films MUST correlate with HC DrugFree’s regulations of Public Service Announcements. All PSA’s submitted must be related to the theme as set by HC DrugFree. Find out more on the HC DrugFree Category page.
- The entered PSA produced must be from a middle or high school student that lives in Howard County.
- The entered PSA must be student directed, produced, and edited.The entered PSA should be 30 to 120 seconds in duration.
- The entered PSA must be an original concept or idea.
- The entered PSA must be appropriate for family viewing. The PSA must be limited in sexuality, language, and violence.
Copyright Infringement and Fair Use
PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY.
The Howard County Student Film Festival in past years has received excellent films. HOWEVER, they were IMMEDIATELY disqualified due to copyright infringement. Please read this section very carefully in order to prevent your film from being disqualified.
Regarding Video
Students “may use portions of lawfully acquired copyright works in their academic multimedia,” under two conditions. 1. The media is in the public domain (news footage) OR 2. the student has received written permission from the copyright owner to use the footage in their production.
Regarding Music
Copyrighted music is prohibited for use in films unless the student has explicit written permission from the copyright owner. Instead, music should be obtained from royalty-free music sites and include proper attribution. Films including copyrighted music will be automatically disqualified.
Electronic Submission Process
After you create your film, upload your film to your HCPSS.me account or your personal Google Drive, and copy/paste the URL of the film into the 2021 Film Submission Form. The electronic submission form will ask for the name of your film, the name of directors, the school the directors attend, director’s cell phone number, and the director’s email address. Please make sure that you fill out the electronic submission form appropriately. The names included on the submission form will be the names that are included in the program. Please use real names, not nicknames or the names of the characters in your film. Make sure you provide a email address that you use regularly. We may email you verification of the information you provided us with or ask for clarification.
2021 Film Submission Form: upload your film by April 17th, 2021 at 11:59 PM
After you create your film, upload your film to your HCPSS.me account or your personal Google Drive, and copy/paste the URL of the film into the 2021 Film Submission Form. The electronic submission form will ask for the name of your film, the name of directors, the school the directors attend, director’s cell phone number, and the director’s email address. Please make sure that you fill out the electronic submission form appropriately. The names included on the submission form will be the names that are included in the program. Please use real names, not nicknames or the names of the characters in your film. Make sure you provide a email address that you use regularly. We may email you verification of the information you provided us with or ask for clarification.
2021 Film Submission Form: upload your film by April 17th, 2021 at 11:59 PM
Please make sure that you have read all of these regulations very carefully. If any of these regulations are compromised, your film may be disqualified from competition. At HoCo FilmFest we want to make sure all films are able to compete. If you have any questions regarding the regulations or submission process, email us immediately at: hocofilmfestival@gmail.com. It may help to look at our website , Instagram, (@hocofilmfest) or Twitter page (@HoCoFilmFest).
HoCo FilmFest sponsors can be reached at:
From all of us at the Howard County Student Film Festival, we wish you the best of luck in competition. Thank you for entering your film into HoCo Film Fest, and we will see you at the festival on Friday, May 14, 2021 at 7 P.M.
HoCo FilmFest sponsors can be reached at:
- Jill Lee, Long Reach High School (jill_lee@hcpss.org)
- Tracy Richter, Mt. Hebron High School (tracy_richter@hcpss.org)
- Binki McKenna, Reservoir High School (Binki_McKenna@hcpss.org)
From all of us at the Howard County Student Film Festival, we wish you the best of luck in competition. Thank you for entering your film into HoCo Film Fest, and we will see you at the festival on Friday, May 14, 2021 at 7 P.M.
