Student Filmmaker Competition
Submissions open: August 1, 2021
Submissions close: November 19, 2021
Who:
Student filmmakers of all experience levels. (all are welcome, you don’t need to be Jewish to apply!)
What:
New or previously created documentaries or narrative. Short films that celebrate the Jewish experience or reflect (10 minutes or less, including credits.)
Why:
Celebrate the Jewish experience connecting your film to (one or more) of the Jewish values or themes of – trustworthiness, compassion, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, community, kindness, positivism, role modeling, repairing the world, any Jewish holiday or historical event.
Winners:
Two $250 prizes for 1st place entries in both high school and college/post grad categories. The winning films will Be screened in a theater during the 9th annual JCC Chicago Jewish film festival in 2022.
**Please note: You must complete the entire FilmFreeway submission form, including date of birth and city/state, for your entry to be reviewed. Any submission missing this information will be disqualified.
Submissions accepted from students who reside in the Chicago land area, parts of Indiana or Wisconsin or participate in a JCC Chicago program (Camp Chi, Jewish Student Connection or Springboard) to be eligible for this competition.
Questions:
Contact us at cjff@jccchicago.org for more information.
Student Competition Judges
We are grateful to our guest judges for lending time and talent to help foster the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers:
Eli Adler is a professional cinematographer/director. He’s won numerous awards, including the CINE Golden Eagle and two National Emmys. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, he has filmed several Holocaust-related films, including Hope Out of the Ashes (1985), Loosening The Grip (1999), filmed in Berlin and Auschwitz, and One Day In Auschwitz (2015), produced by The Shoah Foundation to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. His acclaimed film, Surviving Skokie was part of the 2016 JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival.
Gail Gendler is an accomplished digital and television acquisitions executive with extensive experience licensing content for TV and on-demand platforms. She’s the founder of Buffalo Girl Productions, a boutique consulting company focused on content acquisitions, editorial and programming strategies. Gail previously served as Head of Programming at Fandor. She was Vice President of Acquisitions for AMC Networks/Sundance Channel Global, and worked at IFC, Showtime and the NBC Network.
