Comedy Film Festival

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A comedy film festival is a great way to view short and feature length films from independent and professional sources. If it is a smaller film festival, it's very likely you will view works from local filmmakers. Larger comedy film festivals feature bigger names and even movies from actors' or actresses' own production companies.

Wall of Film Reels

Popular Comedy Film Festivals

First Sundays Comedy Film Festival is held on the first Sunday of every month. It is sponsored by the New York improvisational comedy troupe, Chicago City Limits. You can watch of lot of the entries online, with films going all the way back to 2002. There is a lot to watch.

For something on a wider scale, check out Giggleshorts International Comedy Short Film Festival. For three times a year in Toronto, you can watch the "largest international short film festival" showcase some of the world's best. This year, they have acquired the Giggleshorts Theatre.

The Boston Comedy Festival hosts some of the best of Boston's finest filmmakers and comedians. This comedy film festival is usually held in September and you can usually find some of the Boston area's hometown boys like Lewis Black and Dennis Leary.

In association with NBC, the Comedy Short Cuts Diversity Festival allows filmmakers all over the country to get a short comedy film in front of some high-powered decision makers at NBC Universal.

Unusual Festivals

Youtube has Sketchies, an online festival and contest. Clips are three minutes maximum and winners get some nice prizes. The best thing about Sketchies is that is has already garnered a huge following and your short will be viewed extensively.

Slapsticon dedicates showings to silent comedy films of yesteryear. Each July in Rosslyn, Virginia, over four days, you have a chance to meet like-minded individuals in terms of silent films.

Have a Palm Device? Then you can make a 60-second comedy clip and submit it to the Treo Film Festival for a chance to win some great prizes. They are gearing up for 2008, so keep checking the site for submission dates.

Holding Your Own Comedy Festival

You can hold your own comedy film festival if there's not one in your town or there's no festival of high caliber. Whether themed or not, just follow a few simple guidelines:

  • Have set submission dates. If you have an open-ended submission policy, you'll never be able finish watching the films. They'll just keep coming.
  • Advertise. Obviously, you'll need to let people know you are holding a film festival.
  • Try to have at least one "celebrity" judge. This could be someone local that everybody knows or an actual celebrity.
  • Have local business donate prizes. Exchange advertising flyer space for donations.
  • Set a maximum time limit on the films. This will help you better space out time.
  • Use a submission form to stay organized. Nothing says unprofessional than improvising a film festival. Use this form at British Council.org as a guide.

They Seem to be Everywhere

If you are a comedy enthusiast or just want to laugh, you can find comedy film festivals almost everywhere. Check out your local university and colleges or the newspaper. One other option might be your local movie theatre. Sometimes they hold film festivals on off-days or at non-peak times in order to generate some revenue.

Don't get frustrated if you can't find a festival, hold one of your own! Break out a few comedy movies and invite your friends for an evening of laughs. Just stay laughing.

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Comments

Jeannie, thanks for the information!

-- Contributed by: CrystalSchwanke

There is a brand new comedy film festival in Los Angeles!

L.A. Comedy Shorts and L.A. Comedy Scripts call for entries!

Sponsored by ‘The Onion’, the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival is a four-day, nonstop celebration of comedic short films including screenings, industry panels and a red-carpet awards event. It has been endorsed by some of the biggest names in comedy, including Bill Engvall, Kevin Nealon, and Fax Bahr (co-creator of MADtv). Judges and presenters include SNL alum Laraine Newman, MADtv’s Michael McDonald, Austin Powers’ Mindy Sterling, Boondocks’ creator Aaron McGruder as well as Wendi McLendon-Covey, Cedric Yabrough and Carlos Alazraqui from Reno 911!

Winners will receive over $40,000 cash and prizes and priceless industry exposure. The winning comedy short film will be viewed by the heads of production at Benderspink (American Pie movies, The Ring, Monster-In-Law) and Generate (Comedy Central’s Chocolate News with David Alan Grier)

L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and L.A. Comedy Scripts Screenplay Competition are now accepting submissions for the 2009 festival in the following categories: Comedy Short Films (30 minutes or less), Comedy ‘Shortie’ Shorts (5 minutes or less) and Animated Comedy Shorts (30 minutes or less) Feature Scripts (80-135 pages) and Short Scripts (30 pages or less)

The regular deadline is November 3, 2008, the late deadline is December 3, 2008 and the extended final deadline is December 19, 2008.



-- Contributed by: Jeannie

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