[PAGE]
Optimus Feedback

Moondance International Film Festival

Moondance

Contact

Boulder, CO 80302
303-818-5771 (voice)

Web:
http://www.moondancefilmfestival.com
Email:
mermaid7seas@gmail.com

Contact: Elizabeth English, Founder & Executive Director, Artistic Director

Report Card

Overall: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Professionalism: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Feedback: 4 stars4 stars4 stars4 stars (4.0/5.0)
Signficance: 2 stars2 stars (2.2/5.0)
Report Cards: 18    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

Objective

The objective of the Moondance International Film Festival is to inspire, motivate, promote and encourage the best writers & independent filmmakers, from every country in the world, and to inspire a greater understanding about the vital role of the arts in enhancing creativity, community spirit, and the preservation of our cultural heritage. Moondance also promotes & rewards work which depicts women & girls in a positive light, &/or has lead roles for women actors over 40. We strongly encourage films, TV movies & pilots & written works which show viable alternatives to gratuitous violence & that depict non-violent conflict resolution, which we actively promote within the international film community.

  • The Moondance International Film Festival is much more than an annual film festival! It is a unique community, a supportive, productive, and creative year-round collaboration between independent filmmakers and movie audiences, between writers, composers and the world of filmed entertainment. Show More

Deadline/Entry Fees

Contact contest for this year's deadline.

WinningScripts Pro $5 Off Coupon

Rules

Submission categories:
  • ANIMATION FILM
  • FEATURE DOCUMENTARY FILM
  • FEATURE FILM
  • FEATURE FILM FOR KIDS
  • FEATURE MUTI-MEDIA FILM
  • SHORT DRONE FILM
  • TRAILERS
  • FEATURE SCREENPLAY
  • FEATURE SCREENPLAY FOR KIDS
  • FILM SCORE
  • LIBRETTO
  • MUSIC VIDEO
  • MUSICAL FEATURE SCREENPLAY
  • MUSICAL SHORT SCREENPLAY
  • ORIGINAL TV MINI-SERIES (1 HR)
  • SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM
  • SHORT FILM
  • SHORT FILM BY KIDS 18 & UNDER
  • SHORT FILM FOR KIDS
  • SHORT MULTI-MEDIA FILM
  • SHORT SCREENPLAY
  • SHORT SCREENPLAY BY 18 & UNDER
  • SHORT SCREENPLAY FOR KIDS
  • SHORT STORY BY KIDS*
  • SHORT STORY FOR KIDS*
  • SHORT STORY*
  • STAGEPLAY
  • STAGEPLAY FOR KIDS
  • TV MOVIE OF THE WEEK (MOW)
  • TV EPISODIC (1/2 HOUR)
  • TV EPISODIC (1 HOUR)
  • TV FEATURE FILM
  • TV PILOT SCRIPT
  • RADIO PLAYS (drama & comedy)
  • RADIO DOCUMENTARIES
  • TREATMENTS
  • DRONE FILMS

* up to 3 stories for single fee

COMPETITION GUIDELINES: Please go to: http://moondancefilmfestival.com

Awards

SPIRIT OF MOONDANCE AWARD
This award category is for women writers, filmmakers and film score composers. Men may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a woman.

MOONDANCE SEAHORSE AWARD
This award category is for men writers, filmmakers and film score composers. Women may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a man.

MOONDANCE SANDCASTLE AWARD
This award is for male and female writing or filmmaking teams where both men and women or a man and woman work as a team on the project.

MOONDANCE SEASHELL AWARD
For men and women radio play writers. Comedy and drama, fiction and non-fiction, half-hour and hour long.

MOONDANCE COLUMBINE AWARD
Films and writings may be submitted by either a man, a woman, a male/female team or a young person 18 and under. The work must reflect non-violent conflict resolution, alternatives to violence, or show why violent resolution to conflict is counter-productive. The submitted material should not contain gratuitous violence.

MOONDANCE DOLPHIN AWARD
This award is for young people 18 years of age or younger, male or female. Moondance accepts submissions for this award in the genres of short narrative, documentary or animation video film, as well as short screenplays, short stories or short stageplays.

MOONDANCE CALYPSO AWARD
This award is to encourage a spirit of enterprise in saving the environment, habitats and wildlife by creative individuals from around the world. The award is presented to the person who expands knowledge of our world, seeks to improve our quality of all life on the planet.

MOONDANCE GAIA AWARD
This award is to encourage and inspire contemplative, meditative, spiritual and inspirational films and scripts. The award is presented to the person who seeks to elucidate and improve the spiritual quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of the world spirit.

MOONDANCE ATLANTIS AWARD
This award is for writers and filmmakers who have submitted projects from a foreign country outside the US.

MOONDANCE STARFISH AWARD
This is an award for comedy projects submitted by writers and filmmakers.

MOONDANCE NEPTUNE AWARD
This unique award is presented to a male or female writer or filmmaker, over the age of 75, who has created either a single work of the highest quality or a body of quality work, and who continues to strive for excellence in his or her career in the entertainment industry, and who inspires and encourages others by his or her example.

THE MOONDANCE ABYSS AWARD
This new Moondance award was created for very well-made and meaningful thriller, horror or supernatural films, written works & film scores. An abyss, usually in the ocean, is a chasm that is so deep and vast that its extent is not readily visible, without further exploration. The winning works in this awards category also have a deeper, and often hidden, message, lesson, moral, or important idea that bears further thought.

MOONDANCE MERMAID’S PEARL AWARD
The award is presented to honor and recognize women in the film industry who have contributed most to insuring that women’s work is recognized and appreciated for its worth, who help women achieve success in film, writing & music, and who have themselves contributed a vital body of work, and who continue to contribute to this vital effort. The pearl in the award is a symbol of women’s efforts to make something meaningful and valuable from our struggles to overcome that “grain of sand” women often encounter, when trying to express themselves and succeed within the international film and entertainment industry. The resulting lovely pearl is a reminder of what beautiful things women can accomplish.

MOONDANCE SEVEN SEAS AWARD
A new award category has been created: the MOONDANCE SEVEN SEAS AWARD. This is an award for a winning project created by writers, filmmakers & composers, who enlighten others, help change perceptions about another culture and/or place, and promote cross-cultural knowledge and awareness, through the art of film, writing or music, and, thus, encourage a better understanding of the world’s people.

Moondance

Contact

Boulder, CO 80302
303-818-5771 (voice)

Web:
http://www.moondancefilmfestival.com
Email:
mermaid7seas@gmail.com

Contact: Elizabeth English, Founder & Executive Director, Artistic Director

Report Card

Overall: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Professionalism: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Feedback: 4 stars4 stars4 stars4 stars (4.0/5.0)
Signficance: 2 stars2 stars (2.2/5.0)
Report Cards: 18    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

Contest Comments

You must login to post a comment.

First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!

Moondance International Film Festival

Contact

Boulder, CO 80302
303-818-5771 (voice)

Web:
http://www.moondancefilmfestival.com
Email:
mermaid7seas@gmail.com

Contact: Elizabeth English, Founder & Executive Director, Artistic Director

Report Card

Overall: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Professionalism: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Feedback: 4 stars4 stars4 stars4 stars (4.0/5.0)
Signficance: 2 stars2 stars (2.2/5.0)
Report Cards: 18    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

Contest News

MovieBytes Interview:
Screenwriter David Bertoni

An interview with screenwriter David Bertoni regarding the Moondance Writing Competition.

Q: What's the title of the script you entered in this contest, and what's it about?

A: Well, this is interview number three about The Stunning Box ... which is fitting, I suppose, since the screenplay keeps changing and my results keep improving. Contests (with feedback and deadlines) have become a surrogate for formal screenwriting training, though I did take a wonderful screenwriting class last summer with Kyle Rankin. The Stunning Box grew out of that class, although it's changed quite a bit. So, you can skip the other interviews about The Stunning Box. This one is the Real McCoy -- at least for now!

The Stunning Box is about a young psychiatrist who helps others unlock and deal with painful memories -- memories that are hidden away, but which never stop causing pain and grief. Not surprisingly, Dr. James Danko has repressed memories of his own, but he has yet to turn the searchlight on his own subconscious mind. Until now.

As he finally delves into the dark recesses of his own mind, James discovers that, like him, friends and family are turning their attention to confronting their own demons -- convinced that the world lies on the brink of a spiritual transformation. It's up to James to learn the truth.

Q: What made you enter this particular contest? Have you entered any other contests with this script? If so, how did you do?

A: I've entered The Stunning Box in about a dozen contests -- each with a further evolved version of the story. I picked the contests based upon their reputation -- with a focus on those which provide feedback that can improve the screenplay. Moondance provided excellent feedback in the form of three pages of detailed notes -- which resulted, in my opinion, in an even better version of the story than the one which won this contest.

I've won first place in Blazing Quill and second place in Acclaim Film. I've been a finalist in several others, too. Luckily, I've managed to place in just about every contest I've entered, with a few still pending.

Q: Were you satisfied with the adminstration of the contest? Did they meet their deadlines? Did you receive all the awards that were promised?

A: Very professional -- generally ahead of time on everything.

One slight wish. I was one of a large group of finalists, and I couldn't justify the cost of a trip to LA for the festival with the odds stacked against me. If they could've narrowed the list a bit ahead of time, I probably would have attended and been able to accept my award in person. Ah well.

I have yet to receive the award, but it's on the way ...

Q: Were you given any feedback on your script? If so, did you find the feedback helpful?

A: Yes, see above.

Q: Has your success in this contest helped you market your script? Were you contacted by any agents, managers or producers?

A: No contacts yet on Moondance, but it is fairly soon and the results haven't been widely circulated yet.

Fingers crossed.

Q: What's your background? Have you written any other screenplays or television scripts?

A: I've written a number of screenplays, and one television pilot script. I've also written a novel (which remains in first draft form until I get the nerve to revisit it). I'm a lawyer by day (and night sometimes), with a passion for speculative fiction. My greatest inspiration is Rod Serling ... I love the energy and passion he brought to the task of telling stories that mean something. In some regards (structurally at least), The Stunning Box owes its inspiration to the original Planet of the Apes.

Which leads me to a bit of an artistic detour that may be worth sharing. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was so brilliantly realized that it almost made me quit ... just like Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest almost made me give up writing altogether. It's easy to wither in the face of genius, and to conclude that your stories will always be pale reflections in comparison. At that point, all you have left to cling to is whether you really love the writing process itself -- and whether it helps you live a better life and be a more reflective human being.

Since we're all pretty much rolling rocks uphill our entire lives, writing isn't a bad rock to be pushing.

Q: Do you live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?

A: I live in Maine. I can imagine living in LA, but presently have no plans to move (although after three weeks of rain, the prospect grows more appealing).

Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script?

A: Working my tail off on a comedy, with a writing partner this time.

Right now, I've learned so much about writing through the dynamics of doing it as a team that I would highly recommend that everyone try it.

Posted Monday, June 19, 2006

Moondance International Film Festival

Contact

Boulder, CO 80302
303-818-5771 (voice)

Web:
http://www.moondancefilmfestival.com
Email:
mermaid7seas@gmail.com

Contact: Elizabeth English, Founder & Executive Director, Artistic Director

Report Card

Overall: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Professionalism: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Feedback: 4 stars4 stars4 stars4 stars (4.0/5.0)
Signficance: 2 stars2 stars (2.2/5.0)
Report Cards: 18    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

Submit Report Card

You must login to read or submit report cards.

First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!

Subscribe to WinningScriptsPRO

Go Pro!