Film Independent

Submissions for the 2007 Spirit Awards are now closed.

Postmark deadlines for 2007:

Early - September 15, 2006

Final - October 6, 2006

Rules for eligibility

All submitted films must be at least 70 minutes long.

Cost of completed film, including post, must be less than $20 million (For verification purposes, all films with a total budget exceeding $15 million are required to submit the top sheet from the film's Final Cost Report).

Eligible films must have either:

Been shown at least one week in a commercial theater between January 1 and December 31, 2006; or
Been shown in 2006 at one of the following six film festivals: the Los Angeles Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, New York, Sundance, Telluride, or Toronto. (Films that have or will have domestic theatrical distribution should be submitted the year of their theatrical run.)

Nominating Guidelines/Requirements
The Spirit Awards Nominating Committee applies the following guidelines in making its selections. Any variations of the rules or guidelines are at the sole discretion of the Nominating Committee:

Uniqueness of vision

Original, provocative subject matter

Economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation)

Percentage of financing from independent sources.
After the committee selects the nominees, final votes are cast by the members of Film Independent as well as the members of IFP.

Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, November 28, 2006. The Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 24, 2007.

Category Information & Selection

The distributor and/or production company submitting this form must choose the categories for which they would like the film to be considered by checking the appropriate boxes on the submission form. If a film is eligible within a category, but the category is not checked, the film will not be considered in that category.

If the film is entered in multiple categories, it will be considered in all categories in which it is entered. The final category(s) for which a film may be nominated will be at the discretion of the nominating committee.

Films may be eligible in several or all categories. However, films will be nominated only once in each category type (i.e. a film cannot be nominated for both Best Feature and Best First Feature).

Except for the category of Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film, all nominations go to American films, defined as either: a. Having at least one U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident credited in two or more of the following categories of responsibility: writer, director, producer; or b. The film is set in the United States and fully financed by a company whose principal office is in the U.S.

Submission Requirements
All submissions must be submitted in one complete package and must include the following:

A hard copy of your form's complete signature page with signatures and synopsis.

For American Narrative films only, a hard copy of your complete and accurate Producer Questionnaire(s), one for each eligible producer. NOTE: Films submitted in the Documentary and Foreign Film categories do not need to submit this questionnaire.

25 VHS videotapes or DVDs for all American narrative films*; or 10 VHS videotapes or DVDs for all documentaries and foreign films.*

One press kit that includes production stills, key crew bios, and a complete credit list (digital press kits are encouraged).

A check or money order made out to Film Independent for the required submission fee. Early deadline fees (by September 15, 2006): $300 for Film Independent members, $350 for non-members. Final deadline fees (by Friday, October 6, 2006): $375 for Film Independent members; $425 for non-members.
*Spine and tape cover must be clearly labeled with title, run time, and director. All information submitted is completely confidential. Tape/DVDs will not be returned.

If nominated, the distribution or production company is required to supply and do the following:

A screening copy of the film (either 35mm or DigiBeta) must be made available for screenings in Los Angeles and New York between January 1 and February 15, 2007.

An EPK with multiple film clips and trailer for use during the Awards Ceremony. Required: one (1) DigiBeta or BetaSP with no visible timecodes; and one (1) copy on VHS with visible timecodes that match the Beta master.

Color still photos and/or slides. If sent electronically, must be at least 300dpi. We require multiple images from the film, photos of each nominee including director(s) and writer(s).

Title logo in Mac Quark in tif, eps, or pdf format at 300dpi file resolution.

Soundtrack or music from film on CD.

Direct contact information for each individual nominee, including: home or office phone; fax; email; and complete mailing address AND/OR contact information for representation (agent/management/publicist name, phone, fax, email, and address).

Grant Film Independent the right to use still(s) from the Film and/or clips (not to exceed three minutes) for use during the Awards Ceremony and to promote Film Independent and the Independent Spirit Awards in print, on radio, on television, and the Internet, both before and after the event, for broadcast and sponsorship purposes.