So – do you think your film is good enough to win? Prove it! And if you’re still looking for reasons to enter, well, here are ten more for you to consider.

Have any questions or concerns? Check out our Rules and Regulations and Frequently Asked Questions pages, or email us at info@cine.org.

Ready to enter? Here are the forms!

You can enter online through CINE.org by clicking here. Or you can enter online through Withoutabox here. OR you can download a PDF form to fill out, and mail/fax back to CINE here.

Questions? Email us at info@cine.org, or visit our Rules and Regulations page.

CINE holds two competitions per year to select recipients of the CINE Golden Eagle Award. The Golden Eagle is bestowed based on the individual merits of the film, and not in competition with the other entries in its category; if a category has 100 entries, there can be 100 Golden Eagle winners or none, depending on the quality of the submissions, and to receive a Golden Eagle, a production must achieve excellence in all facets.

In January, CINE’s Board of Directors meets to select the best Golden Eagle Award-winning film of the previous year for each of CINE’s categories, which become the winners of the CINE Special Jury Award. From the hundreds of submissions that CINE received in 2009, these productions are the 30 (or so) best.

Soon we’ll post clips, pictures and links from the 2010 Special Jury Award recipients, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts about these wonderful films. If you want to see your name in those ranks, enter your production into our Spring 2010 Competition, and hopefully we’ll see you back here next year.

“INTENDED AUDIENCE”

DO NOT OVERSTATE YOUR AUDIENCE.  Our juries frequently see “for a general audience,” “for all ages” or “for moviegoers from 9 to 99!” While that’s a remarkable goal, in most cases, the viewing preferences of the 9 year old and the 99 year old won’t be identical. Even a seemingly narrow audience (ie., “for grades K-6″) can in fact be too general; as any elementary school teacher can tell you, a video for a kindergarten classroom is almost never appropriate for sixth graders, and vice versa. Our jurors are always checking carefully to see if a film communicates well to its intended audience. If a production misses the mark with anyone within the stated range (and with a “general audience,” that’s virtually everyone) it will lose points – and, potentially, an award.

If your production is intended for 25 year old steel workers in western Pennsylvania, say so. The better the judges know your audience, the better they can evaluate how effectively your film speaks to them.

“PURPOSE”

DESCRIBE YOUR GOALS FAIRLY AND ACCURATELY. In the “Purpose” portion of the entry form, we ask you to answer the question, “Why was this production made?” Was it made to teach? Entertain? Raise money or awareness? Just as you should be specific about your audience, you should be as specific as possible about why you made the film, and what you hope to accomplish. This is the place to tell the jury whatever it is that you think they absolutely, positively need to know when evaluating your film. The judges will be scoring you on how well your production met its stated goals, so be honest, be thoughtful, and be realistic.

“SUMMARY”

DO NOT USE THE SUMMARY TO EXPLAIN HOW THE FILM WAS MADE. The “Summary” portion of the form should be used to describe the content of the production – ie, “This documentary tells the story of George Washington.” Don’t explain what equipment or technology you used in the production of the film; the “what” is more important than the “how.” If the technology is integral to understanding the context of the film (“this film is viewed in a multi-screen exhibit at the Museum of…”), include it in the “Purpose” – not the “Summary.”

KEEP IT SHORT. Both the “Summary” and “Purpose” should be about one (brief) paragraph in length. Anything longer requires editing, and if you don’t do it, we’ll have to. If you don’t want us messing with your carefully-crafted statements, be concise.

Do you have any other questions about the entry form or process? Let us know!