Submission Rules

The submission deadline for the 2008 Spirit Awards was Tuesday, October 9, 2007. If you have questions regarding Spirit Award submissions, contact Zoe Reiniger at ZReiniger@FilmIndependent.org.

Below are the official rules and regulations for the 2008 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards:

RULES FOR ELIGIBILITY

1. All submitted films must be at least 70 minutes long.

2. Cost of completed film, including post, must be less than $20 million.

(For verification purposes, all films with total budgets exceeding $15 million or films with budgets under $500,000 applying for the Cassavetes Award are required to submit the top sheets from the films’ Final Cost Report.)

3. Eligible films must have either:

a. Been shown at least one week in a commercial theater between January 1 and December 31, 2007; OR

b. Been shown in 2007 at one of the following six film festivals: the Los Angeles Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York, Sundance, Telluride, or Toronto.

Films that have or will have domestic theatrical distribution should be submitted the year of their theatrical run.

4. Documentary films are ONLY eligible in the Best Documentary category.

5. Foreign narrative films are ONLY eligible in the Best Foreign Film category.

NOMINATING GUIDELINES

The Spirit Awards Nominations are decided by committee. The Committee consists of industry professionals including directors, producers, actors, cinematographers, casting directors, film critics, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors.

Eligibility for all awards shall first be determined by credits as they appear on the screen and/or as supplied to Film Independent by way of this submission form, provided by the film’s Production Company or the Distributor responsible for the film.

Any variations of the rules or guidelines are at the sole discretion of the Nominating Committee. The Spirit Awards Nominating Committee applies the following guidelines in making its selections.

• Uniqueness of vision

• Original, provocative subject matter

• Economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation)

• Percentage of financing from independent sources

• Except for the category of Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film, all nominations go to American films, defined as either:

a. Having at least one U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident credited in two or more of the following categories of responsibility: writer, director, producer; OR

b. The film is set in the United States and fully financed by a company whose principal office is in the U.S.

The active membership of Film Independent as well as the members of IFP cast final votes. Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, November 27, 2007. The Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2008.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All submissions must be submitted in one complete package and must include the following:

• A hard copy of your complete and accurate submission form with signatures and synopsis.

• 25 VHS videotapes or DVDs for all American narrative films*; OR

• 10 VHS videotapes or DVDs for all documentary and foreign films.*

• One press kit that includes the following (digital press kits are encouraged):

Representative production stills from the film,

A full, complete, and authentic list of credits

Key crew bios of writer(s), director(s), producer(s), cinematographer(s)

• A check or money order made out to Film Independent for the required submission fee:

Early deadline fee (by Monday, September 17, 2007): $350.00

Final deadline fee (by Tuesday, October 9, 2007): $425.00

*Spine must be clearly labeled with title, run time, and director’s name. All information submitted is confidential. Tapes/DVDs will not be returned.

NOMINATION REQUIREMENTS

If nominated, the production company and/or the distribution company responsible for the film is required to supply all of the following materials and information within (5) five days of the nominations announcement on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.

1. An EPK with multiple film clips and trailer for use during the awards show and online promotions.

Format Requirements:

DigiBeta or BetaSP (NO visible time codes); and
copy on VHS (WITH visible time codes that match the Beta master)

2. Multiple color representative stills from the film (if sent electronically, must be at least 300 dpi).

3. Headshots of each nominee, including director(s) and writer(s) (if sent electronically, must be at least 300 dpi).

4. Title logo for Mac as Quark, tiff, eps, or pdf at 300 dpi file resolution.

5. Soundtrack or music from film on CD.

6. Direct contact information for each individual nominee including:

home or office phone; fax; email; and complete mailing address, and/or
contact information for representation (agents/manager/publicist) name; phone; fax; email; and complete mailing address.

7. At least one screening copy of the film (either 35mm or DigiBeta) for screenings in Los Angeles and New York between January 1 and February 15, 2008.

In addition:

Grant Film Independent, its successors and assigns, the right to use stills and/or clips (not to exceed three minutes) from the film for use in connection with the Spirit Awards, including promotion, publicity and advertising of the Spirit Awards, and to promote Film Independent by any means whether in existence now or hereinafter developed, in perpetuity. Use of such clips or supplemental printed material shall be subject to clearance of any other parties that may be required.