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WELCOME TO THE AUTUMN'S DAWN FILM FESTIVAL

Because Summer's Dusk didn't sound as cool.

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YEAR TWO

Autumn is the time of the year that heralds the changing of times but can also be used to describe the stage of when one fully reaches maturity. This is both your fun fact for the day but also relevant as to why we’re here. It’s a very bizarre time of the year as it’s the only season where you go back to school, watch leaves fall from trees, get haunted and then eat an oversized chicken that you try to tell yourself tastes better just because you paid more for it.

Did you make a movie that you’re having some trouble submitting to film festivals? A dark comedy that’s too intense for your average comedy festival? A brutal horror whose gore factor isn’t high enough? Some genre blend that makes it difficult to market? Well, we want to see it! Got a horror romance? A grindhouse film noir? A hard-R-rated parody of Teletubbies? All that and more is welcome at Autumn’s Dawn Short Film Festival.

While we will give special consideration and preference to films that are what you would consider “tough sells,” we also just enjoy any movie that’s good. So, don’t worry; if you’re nervous that your movie isn’t “weird” enough for this festival, we can assure you that it is.

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, we realize that not everyone may feel safe showing up in person for the actual festival. While we hope the pandemic may be turning a corner come autumn, there’s no way of knowing. That’s why Autumn’s Dawn is going to be a hybrid film festival: come in person or come online, we’ll be hosting both with an open group link for everyone to join in! That’s right, you don’t even need to be local to New York City, come as you are wherever you are!

In the words of the late Billy Mays: BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Autumn’s Dawn will also feature a sweepstake for all filmmakers who submit. More details will come when we officially launch tickets for the event itself but, for now, here's the basic gist. We know how quickly all of the entrance fees to festivals can add up over time. So if you can get at least four guests to purchase a ticket, we will refund your entrance fee!

With Q&As with industry professionals, awards and the opportunity to meet fellow filmmakers after a long period of incubating, Autumn’s Dawn presents the perfect time for everyone to hit the ground running with whatever great project they made in quarantine. We don’t care where the movie’s from, what language it’s in (as long as it’s subtitled) or who made it. If you’re a fan of the unusual, the funny, the scary or just the plain ol’ good time at the theater, we’d love to see you here.

Stay tuned for more info, such as when the actual event tickets go on sale, and we can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with!

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UPDATES

And WE'RE LIVE! The 2nd Annual Autumn's Dawn Film Festival will take place Saturday, October 1st from 2pm-6pm at the stylish and cool Film Noir Cinema in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (about 2 blocks from Nassau Av on the G).

You can find tickets for sale on our FilmFreeway page. $20 for in-person and $15 for online ($25 if purchased at the door). For online attendees, you'll have 5 days to watch the films on the website (not this one). For in-person attendees, you'll get to experience the awards show in-person and attend the networking party afterwards.

If you're as excited as I'm being paid to be, then click right on that chain in the top-right corner to go to our FilmFreeway page and purchase your tickets. You won't want to miss it (unless you do want to miss it in which case I don't know what to tell you).

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Well, hi hi hi there! We’re right in the thick of the next great season of the year: the winter! Where the sun sets before 5pm, you freeze halfway to death on a daily basis, play the fun game that is, “Allergies, Head Cold, Hangover or COVID?” and you get to watch virgin snow slowly turn into a pile of putrid sludge.


Okay, so winter freaking sucks after the holidays are over so let's remind you of better times, shall we?


The inaugural Autumn’s Dawn Film Festival was a success and we’re glad that everyone who attended had a great time. We took most of your criticisms and advice to heart and were sure to take careful notes so it can be even better this year.


Even more importantly, we are now on FilmFreeway, hooray! So, if you don’t want to submit via our website/e-mail, just register and make an account on FilmFreeway. If you don’t know how to do that, just go to the bar at the top of your browser, click on the URL, type in filmfreeway.com and then type the Sign Up button. From there, it gets pretty self-explanatory.


The link to our FilmFreeway page can be found by clicking on the chain insignia in the header and footer of this website. So, if you have a short that couldn’t make it last year or made a new one, we’d love to see it. Sign-ups will be open until August 21st with an early bird discount until May 1st.


Same rules for applying apply as last year’s application. Happy Singles’ Awareness Day and we can’t wait to see what awesome movies you beautiful people come up with.

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Our first event was wonderful. Congratulations to our first winners!

Best Film: The Show Must Go On by Paul Grant and Nathan Cohen

Best Cinematography: Soyka by Anastasiya Sergienya

Best Editing: Soyka by Anastasiya Sergienya

Best Use of Sound: The Shack by Dark Hoffman

Best Cast: Kaiba the Kidd by Ben Morris

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We are now live with our event. The 1st Annual Autumn's Dawn Film Festival will take place at the stylish Film Noir Cinema in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Guests have the option of attending either in-person or online. Show will go from 3:30-6:30 with a networking event afterwards and an online interview with an industry professional beforehand. All tickets are $18, get them while they're hot on Eventbrite!

All in-person guests must be vaccinated. No exceptions.

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We have the list of awards we'll be giving out the night of the event!​ They are as follows:

Best Film: The big kahuna.

Best Cinematography: For those that point the camera real good.

Best Editing: For those that can best channel their inner Edgar Wright.

Best Use of Sound: For those that make the sounds sound more soundy.

Best Cast: Actors still like winning awards, right?

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Currently accepting submissions. You can use the form below or, if attaching files, contact us directly at AutumnsDawnFilmFestival@gmail.com. Submission fees are $10.

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RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SUBMITTING

By submitting to Autumn’s Dawn, you agree to the following rules and terms:

Since this is a “year one” festival, please submit all films to our e-mail, autumnsdawnfilmfestival@gmail.com. Feel free to send a funny note!

Upon submission, we will reply with our PayPal. Submit the entrance fee through that and the process will be complete. If you don’t have a PayPal, just get one, it’s free. If you have some sort of pathological hatred towards PayPal, let us know and we’ll see what we can work out.

We will e-mail you directly upon receiving the film and also upon deciding whether or not your film has been accepted. If you don’t receive either, please let us know at our e-mail: autumnsdawnfilmfestival@gmail.com.

This festival is for short films only. 30 minutes in the maximum running time allowed. At the festival itself, films will be divided by films that are 0-15 minutes long and ones that are 15-30 minutes long.

Entrance fee is $10 per film. Filmmakers are allowed to submit more than one film but only one film per filmmaker will be selected.

If filmmakers refer at least 4 guests to purchase tickets, the entrance fee will be refunded. (Tickets apply to both online and in-person.) (More details will be given when tickets go on sale.)

Event date and location is TBA but will be at the end of September/beginning of October.

Filmmakers are responsible for obtaining all rights, licenses, royalties etc. to present their work. Autumn’s Dawn holds no legal ramifications if filmmakers don’t own the rights to anything in their film. If you get in trouble for copyright infringement, that’s on you.

Films that are racist, sexist, ageist or any other kind of ist will not be considered.

All projects must be submitted to our e-mail via Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, YouTube link or Vimeo link. If you have other ways of submitting it, we’re open to hearing them so long as it doesn’t give our computer a Trojan. If we’re having trouble opening it, we will let you know.

If submitting film files, they should ideally be exported in 1080p HD video at 23.97, 24 or 30 frames per second and openable in QuickTime.

We have no rules for premiering. If you are premiering, though, let us know and we’ll mention it at the event!

Films had to have been completed no earlier than January 1st, 2018.

The fee you pay for submitting your film is exactly that and does not guarantee acceptance into the festival. Outside of the aforementioned sweepstake, there will be no other refunds offered.

All guests and filmmakers will be treated with the utmost respect and we ask that you extend that same courtesy to all of our staff and your fellow filmmakers. Seriously, don’t be a jerk. It’s not cool.


All films must either be in English or have English subtitles.

Submission deadline is September 3rd, 2021. Notifications on acceptance will go out from September 10th-12th.

In order to qualify for an award, you must come to the event (either in-person or online) and be present for at least 5 other films.

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CONTACT AUTUMN'S DAWN FILM FESTIVAL

This is where you can ask any questions or submit a film via URL.

Thanks for submitting!

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