The floodgates are open as the St. Francis College Women’s Film Festival, Brooklyn Heights, is now accepting submissions for the third annual celebration of women in film.

Last year more than 1,000 filmmakers from 27 countries vied for almost 60 slots in the festival.

“The outpouring of talent, creativity, and meaning in the films that were submitted was almost overwhelming,” said Festival Co-Founder and St. Francis Professor Augusta Palmer, a director of multiple documentaries including her forthcoming film, “The Blues Society,” about the historical Memphis Country Blues Festivals of the late 1960s.

“This year, we hope to have the same high level of films and are adding a category for Virtual Reality pieces. I can’t wait to see the entries!”
Among the requirements, each film must have a maximum length of 15 minutes and either a female director, producer or screenwriter, with preference given to works created by female directors. Entry is free for St. Francis students, alumnae, faculty, and staff.

Submissions are due Jan. 20, 2018.

The festival is scheduled to run March 20-22 and will screen films in seven different categories, including female student and non-student film festival student Narrative Shorts, Documentary Shorts, Animated Shorts and the new category of Virtual Reality Work.

In addition to film screenings, the festival hosts multiple panels and workshops on topics like crowdfunding, the entrepreneurial aspects of filmmaking, as well as the past, present and future of women’s filmmaking.

“By bringing together all these works and the female college and professional filmmakers who made them, we are building a bridge that will become a real pipeline for talent moving into the film industry,” added Professor Palmer.

The festival is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Communication Arts Department, the Women’s Studies Center and the Center for Entrepreneurship.