RKDS Film Fest ()

Festival start: 11 July 2019      Festival end: 14 July 2019

The RKDS FILM FEST was created to bring awareness to the Film Industry in South Georgia. RKDS Entertainment & Media, LLC owners and Filmmakers, Roy Kirkland and Doug Sebastian, have been working diligently to build the film industry in Valdosta, GA. This will be the 2nd annual RKDS Film Festival! Chosen films will be featured and shown on a huge screen in a 1200 cushioned seat historic auditorium. Filmmakers will also have the opportunity to speak, have Q & A with the media and audience during the event in the huge 5,000 s/f multipurpose room. A concession area will be provided along with entertainment from area musicians. RKDS Film Fest will be a Red Carpet event with backdrop banners available for photography. The 1st Annual 2018 RKDS FILM FESTIVAL WAS AN ABSOLUTE SUCCESS FEATURING HOLLYWOOD LEGEND, BURT REYNOLDS AND OTHER CELEBRITIES, SONNY SHROYER, SIMONE GRIFFETH and RICKY SHRODER. The 2nd Annual RKDS FILM FEST will be even bigger. Celebrity guest to be announced soon.

Jury awards are given for the following categories:

Best Narrative Feature
Best Narrative Short
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Actor

We strongly encourage you review the following carefully. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to all of the following rules and terms. All projects that have been submitted by our final deadline and that adhere to the following terms will be considered for inclusion in the 2019 RKDS FILM FEST.
If you have any further questions, please visit our page: www.RkdsFilmFest.com

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Each submission must be accompanied by a submission fee paid in full and a working screener in order to be considered. Once we have all necessary materials, the submission will be marked “In Consideration”. It is the submitter’s responsibility to make sure that all requirements are met. If your film has not been listed “In Consideration” within 7 business days of submission, please contact us to find out what is needed to move your film into consideration.

Press kits and cover letters are required and appreciated. Please attach it to your submission. DO NOT send hard copies to our office; they will be recycled.

SCREENERS

All projects must be submitted via secure online screener - either as a password protected Vimeo link attached to your submission, or uploaded directly to FilmFreeway. The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password is active through at least January 1, 2019. In the event of a password or URL change after submitting, email us immediately. If we discover an error with the screener, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to respond by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification without refund of submission fees.

We accept DVD... BUT PREFER Blu-Ray screeners. In addition, we cannot accept screener links via email, they MUST be attached to your submission.


SUBTITLES

All foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. If we discover a submission is missing subtitles, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to provide working subtitles by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification without refund of submission fees.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Works-in-progress are accepted with the following stipulations:
Incomplete projects must be clearly listed as such. Films should be marked as either a “Rough Cut” or “Work In Progress/WIP”. All incomplete materials or changes to be made should be clearly indicated (ex: temporary score, missing VFX, no color-correction) both in your cover letter and the film cut itself (ideally as a title card at the start of the film).
The entrant may update their screener up until the final deadline, as long as the link and password for the submission remains the same. However, RKDS is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. We are under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been seen. Therefore, you should not submit your project if it is not complete enough to adequately represent the final product.
Updated cuts must be accessible via your Festhome account. We cannot accept updated cuts via email.
No updated cuts will be accepted after the final submission deadline: APRIL 1, 2019.
If selected, the final version of the film must be available by JANUARY 1, 2019.


COMPLETION DATE

All projects must have been completed on or after July 1, 2018 to be considered for the 2019 RKDS FILM FEST. (Exceptions may apply)

PREMIERE STATUS

We do not require a World Premiere in any category, but premiere status is taken into consideration when making final selections. Feature films must be premieres in the state of Georgia. Exceptions to this rule may be made on very rare occasions and are solely at the discretion of the programming team. However, feature films that are not Georgia Premieres will NOT be eligible for competition. Similarly, films that have acquired U.S. distribution of any kind prior to selection at RKDS are not eligible for competition.

Feature films AND Shorts that have been (or will be) released online, on VOD, or DVD prior to the 2019 RKDS Film Festival are not eligible to screen.

There is no premiere requirement for short films, but a Georgia premiere is strongly preferred. Short films that are available online are programmed on a case by case basis, but we typically prioritize films that have not yet been released to the public.

It is the submitter’s responsibility to notify RKDS of any updates in premiere status as they occur, especially if the film is selected for another festival in the state of Georgia.

DEADLINES

Please keep track of deadlines closely if you plan on submitting within a certain submission window. All deadlines are set for 11:59pm EDT.

Any submissions with an unpaid balance after a deadline will be required to pay the following deadline’s submission fee. Failure to pay the appropriate fee will result in disqualification without a refund.

You can find a full list of deadlines (and associated submission fees) at the following link: www.RkdsFilmFest.com

ACCEPTED FILMS

All works selected must be available by March 1st, 2019 for inclusion in the festival.

Should your film be accepted in the 2019 RKDS FILM FEST, you grant RKDS the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.

All accepted films will screen at least once during the festival, with the possibility of an encore screening for select films/shorts blocks when appropriate. All scheduling is purely at the discretion of the RKDS staff.

You may submit Blu-ray or a digital file. Flash drives will only be returned upon request, and local drives are pick-up only. We cannot return international flash drives, so we highly recommended sending online. Flash drives left after a year will be recycled.


SCREENING FEES

The RKDS FILM FEST DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that RKDS will not pay to present your work.

COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS

By entering your film for consideration to the 2019 RKDS FILM FEST, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The submitter and all filmmakers associated with the project shall indemnify and hold harmless the RKDS FILM FEST, and any representative or affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

REFUNDS & DISQUALIFICATION

Once a project is listed “In Consideration” on FilmFreeway, we are unable to offer refunds for any reason, including (but not limited to):
Submission to the wrong category
Change in premiere status or distribution
Duplicate submissions
Failure to pay the full submission fee by the final deadline
Failure to provide a working screener by the final deadline
Project’s failure to comply with submission Rules & Terms
Rejection from the festival
Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart)

RKDS reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited or final programming has been announced, at the sole discretion of RKDS staff.