Everybody Wants To See Your Movie

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 7, 2006 3:16PM

The old saw is that you don’t do theater or film in Chicago to make money—you do it for art’s sake. But to get all philosophical on you: if art is created and there’s no one around to witness it, does it still exist? As Keanu Reeves would say: “Woah.”

Lucky for you, Mr. or Ms. Aspiring Indie Filmmaker, there are plenty of opportunities to get your work seen in town. The Chicago Underground Film Fest, the granddaddy of indie film showcases, is now accepting applications for their 13th (oooh scary!) annual event in August. The early bird deadline is March 1st and the final deadline is April 15th. Click here to submit your entry.

Indiefest Chicago has also begun accepting entries for their mid-summer night’s dream. Indiefest isn’t just a film showcase. It’s also a screenwriting contest and script market and a hella good time that runs from July 28th through August 4th. The early deadline is already gone but their regular deadline is March 1st so click here to download the entry form. If you list discount code ES601 on your app and tell ‘em where you heard about the fest, you’ll get $5.00 off your entry fee (note: there is only one “S” in Chicagoist).

Finally, the Chicago Short Comedy Video and Film Festival is also accepting entries through March 17th. Notice the word “short” in the title. All submitted films should be less than 12 minutes. Keep in mind that these films should also be funny. Don’t bother submitting the loosely autobiographical film you made about the existential crisis you experienced while you were living with your parents for a year. We’ve all been through that once and no one’s going to pay an admission fee to sit through it again. Click here for a PDF entry form.

Now stop worrying your relatives with your work and go find your audience!