The SYMBIOSIS Film Competition challenges 6 team pairs comprised of both scientists and filmmakers to create a short film in just 1 week.
Participants will have 7 days to write, shoot, edit, and score their film. They are asked to follow the guidelines below or else will not be eligible for the award:
All creative work must take place within the "1 Week Time Period".
Any work created in advance of the competition period will be prohibited. This includes Scriptwriting, Shooting, Costume & Set design, Use of preexisting footage. Specific requests should be forwarded to us at symbiosis@imaginesciencefilms.org.
Participants are allowed to announce their involvement as of September 15. Note that participants are only paired during the festival. The only initial preparation that may be started prior to the festival includes the following: Securing Equipment, Finding Possible Crew/Cast, Scouting/Securing Locations.
Filmmakers and scientists will be given stipends of $2500 per pair and this can be used for cast/crew. Cast/crew cannot be paid beyond this allotted stipend.
Both scientist & filmmaker should work equally in all aspects of production and be engaged in the process together. They will be asked to talk about their collaboration several times and this will be a factor in choosing the winning the film.
All participants must attend three open key dates: Opening Night (Oct 13), Lab meeting & Reception (Oct 16), Closing Night (October 20). A no show will automatically disqualify you from the final award. Certain exceptions are possible upon request.
Total runtime of film must be between no less 3 minutes and no more than 5 minutes.
Each film will begin with a brief slate, with TITLE, NAME OF BOTH PARTICIPANTS. At the end, please add IMAGINE SCIENCE FILMS LOGO.
Delivered files should be Quicktime ProRes or H264 in HD (720p or 1080p).
The entrant shall not distribute or advertise their film in any way during the competition period.
Films belong to the filmmaker/scientist and can be shared online after the competition. Imagine Science Films reserves the right to showcase the film on science video platform LABOCINE after the competition.