San Francisco Three-Minute Film Festival

LAST YEAR'S WINNERS....

2008-04-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Before we charge forward with the particulars of this year's fest, we'd be remiss if we didn't congratulate last year's prize winners:

3rd Place: Mark Johnson - Daydreams
2nd Place: Holly Coley - Lady Like
1st Place: Gabriela Jimenez -Death by Scrabble

The Operation Mustang Award for the best use of fake mustaches in a film:
Holly Coley: Lady Like

The Donald Trump Award for best overall use of fake body hair in a film:
Marina Carija: Sasquatcha

The Mcadams/Gosling Award for best make-out scene in a film:
Rob Jackson and Ashley Kajelmin for their work in Slight Irritants

The Philip Glass Award for best live accompaniment to a film:
Peloton for Soundseas

The Kevin Bacon Award for the actor who has appeared in more 3-minute films than anyone else throughout 3-Minute Film Festival history:
Brad Johnson

The Marty Scorsese Award for overall excellence in writing & direction throughout 3-Minute Film Festival history:
Jeff Cleary

The Madonna Ciccone award for best audience interpretation of black tie:
Miyako Ueki

THE SAN FRANCISCO THREE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL . THE SIXTH TIME'S THE CHARM!!!

2008-03-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Three Minute Film Fans,

Time to wake up out of your winter hibernation, people. Keep your eyes peeled to this site because the 2008 3-Minute Film Festival is right around the corner.

Coming soon; Rules!, Dates!, Mailing Addresses!, and finally, Entertainment by the truck load!!

Stay tuned!

Pictures From The Festival!!

2007-08-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Click on the thumbnails for biggie size;

THE SAN FRANCISCO THREE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL TURNS 5!!

2007-06-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Three Minute Film Fans,

This year the 3 Minute Film Festival turns 5 and we are proud to be part of Root Division’s Second Saturday series. What does this mean? Charming 3 Minute award winner retrospective! More prizes! Better booze! The three-minuteiest films ever!

Get out the story boards and microphones! You have from July 1 to July 31st to write and produce your 3 minute piece de resistance, transfer it to DVD, and mail it off to 3 Minute HQ. Then, kick back and reap the rewards at the Black Tie Gala and Film Screening on Saturday, August 11th at Root Division.

Why we do what we do:
The 3 Minute Film Festival was created by the visionary Chris Baty, who had a dream of getting people to spend 30 days embracing the spirit of uncritical invention. Chris has since moved on to found National Novel Writing Month and Script Frenzy, among other awesome pursuits, and left the 3 Minute Film Festival behind to be randomly organized by a team of crackpots. Why? Because we love to make films just for the sake of making films, we love to watch films and laugh, and we love YOU. For an inspirational message from Chris, click here.

Up for the challenge? Email us by June 31st to sign up and reserve your slot in the historical 3 Minute Film Festival 2007 line-up:

threeminutefilmfestival@yahoo.com

Then mail a check to Root Division to cover the $5-$10 sliding scale entry fee. Although we’ve been able to run the festival sans entry fee in the past, we want to help Root Division purchase a new projector and all entry fees will support this. We’re keeping the cost low so as not to leave anyone left out and hope that you will contribute what you can. Please make checks payable to Root Division and mail to:

Root Division
3175 17th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Good luck all!

Are there rules?

1) Whatever you make has to be three minutes long or less. No exceptions.

2) All 3 minute films must be made expressly for the 3 minute Film Festival. No previously made movies are allowed, and all editing/assembly work must be completed between July 1st and July 31st.

3) All submissions must be mailed (postmarked) to SF 3-Minute Festival Headquarters by August 2nd. All submissions, regardless of original format, must be transferred to DVD before being submitted. Please MAIL TO: SF THREE MINUTE FILM FEST PO BOX 401019
SF, CA 94140

4) Make the best movie that you can. But remember that none of us know what we're doing and anything you do will be great.

More questions/rules:

What does the "black tie" in "Black Tie Blockbuster Gala and Film Screening" mean?
Men wear suits or tuxedos. T-shirts with tuxedos on them will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Women wear gowns or dresses or suits or tuxedos. Men can wear dresses or gowns too, I guess. But they have to be fancy.

Does it cost anything to participate?
There is a $5-$10 sliding scale entry fee this year, which will help Root Division pay for its new projector. Yay! Please make your check payable to Root Division and mail to:
Root Division
3175 17thStreet
San Francisco, CA 94110

Tickets to the gala will be available at the door at a sliding scale cost of $5 to $15 to help pay for event costs and to support Root Division.

Will there be popcorn?
You bet. All you can eat and then some.

Are the movies judged? Is there a "winner"?
As in years past, the audience will vote on the three movies they liked the most and the winners will receive lavish parting gifts at the tearful award ceremony. Unlike years past, this year’s films will be prescreened by a group of informed “curators” who will select secret bonus winners and bestow special prizes and kisses upon them.

Can I work with someone else?
Yes! Please do. This is a collaboration-friendly event.

What should my film contain?
Please include a title screen and/or credits so we know who made it and starred in it and stuff.

What formats are acceptable?
Feel free to work in any wacky format. But please have the final edit of your movie transferred to DVD.

Thanks Everyone!

2006-09-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

The event went off nearly 'hitch'less, and for that we'd like to thank everyone who worked so damn hard on it. From drinks to chairs to films and every silly little detail in between, thanks for making it another great fest!!

See you next year!!

Save The Date!!!!

2006-09-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's getting CLOSE, so don't go making plans to elope in Vegas or finally dispose of that dead hooker you've got in your basement.

THE BLACK TIE GALA AND FILM SCREENING IS ALMOST HERE!!!

ROOT DIVISION
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH
Doors at 7:00 PM
Movies at 8:00 PM
$8 General Admission to benefit The Fine Folks at Root Division

COME THIRSTY! There will be booze, beer, and for designated drivers, a hose to drink from.

Remember, you won't just be patronizing the arts, you'll be helping to prevent Camille from having a premature heart attack worrying if she'll break even!!!

SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!

Attention Lazy Filmmakers...

2006-08-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

You're on notice!!!

The Kid(YOU) Stays in the Picture!

2006-08-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

For any of you who are still waiting for a Navy Seal drill sargent to kick you into shape, don't hold your breath. BUT! Here's all the motivation you need, from the original organizer, circa 1492, Year of Our Lord:

Dear Three Minute Movie Maestros,

Remember our jobs as kids? In those days of broad imaginations and free weekends, we had a crapload of odd jobs. Over the course of a single day, we might put in time as a spaceship captain, a ballerina, or a mad scientist inventor. We moonlighted as doctors and actresses and world-class BMX riders.

If we wanted to stage a concert, we did. If we wanted to make a book or paint a picture, we did that too. We tried all sorts of things---eating cat food, jumping off roofs, constructing cigarettes out of notebook paper---and from our experiments we built a log of experiences that shaped our lives. We were ambidextrous and moving, doing, making. Or watching TV. Dang, we watched a lot of TV.

Things have changed a little since then. We're still watching TV, but our jobs have gotten more specific, and our identities more concrete. We are editorial assistants. We are environmental engineers. We are marketing managers. We are boyfriends and wives.

Our weekends are a little more concrete too. We sleep late and get breakfast. We see matinee movies and go hear bands at night. We buy groceries and do laundry. We get a lot done. Most of it is errands and catch-up work, but it's important to get stuff done.

The problem, though, is that we're so busy trying to get stuff done that we're not really trying anything. With all the resources of adulthood at our disposal---drivers licenses, credit cards, unlimited access to life-nourishing candy and caffeine---we tend to walk the same familiar ground over and over.

Somehow the broad palette we used to paint our lives 20 years ago has narrowed to a few primary colors: work, relationships, travel, family. They're all important, to be sure. But they're not the whole picture. The whole picture is one of responsible adults and daredevil BMX bandits. fearsome mad scientists, and be-tutu'd ballerinas in pink frills.

We are just as imaginative as we were as kids. Probably more so. That creativity doesn't just atrophy and fall away. It builds and swells. The fewer the outlets we allow it, the harder it pushes to bust out. Yep, our inner spaceship captains are still there, still looking to fly. And our ignored painters have been constructing masterpieces while we sleep.

This month, as you work on your three-minute movie, remember that spirit of uncritical invention. Let your imagination run freaky and free. Revel in the joys of creating messy, hands-on art. This month, it’s your job, and there’s no finer one on the planet.

See you at the movies!

-Chris

THE SAN FRANCISCO THREE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL

2006-07-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

A Brand New Beginning!

2006-07-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Every year in Northern California an event occurs that sends the best of the best scrambling from all corners of the globe, all to converge with the singular goal of creative competition at the highest level. That event is the Mavericks surf tournament, this is not it.

BUT! Similarly, it is once again time for the 3 Minute Film Festival (brought to you by Schlitz and Dave's Insanity Sauce). So dust off that joke you want to tell, the point you want to make, the observation that must be shared. These are no longer the stuff of post-last call slurrings! Besides, people were way too gone to pay attention, and they wouldn't have "gotten it" anyway. You need a (slightly) larger stage! No longer shall you wallow in unappreciated coffee-shop obscurity! Like a good cry or a bout with food poisoning, let your creativity out!

Here's the rules:
Write & produce a 3 minute film in the month of August and then, as always, reap the rewards at the Black-Tie Gala festival screening in September. The showcase location this year has been moved from Park City, Utah to Root Division in the Mission (AKA "The Sundance of 17th Street"). Keep scrolling down for submission rules. Here's the details on the screening;

BLACK TIE GALA AND MOVIE SCREENING
ROOT DIVISION
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH
7:00 PM

This year, playing the roles of sleazy Hollywood studio executives, -All your friends! -It's that simple. Please feel free to shoot in any format, but only DVD-transfer submissions will be accepted, the format of champions.

Contact us at this address if you're interested:
threeminutefilmfestival@yahoo.com

Good Luck you all. I'll see you on the other side.
-Jeff

OFFICIAL RULES

2006-07-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

Are there rules?

1) Whatever you make has to be three minutes long or less. No exceptions.

2) All 3 minute films must be made expressly for the 3 minute Film Festival. No previously made movies are allowed, and all editing/assembly work must be completed between August 1st and August 31st, when they are due.

3) All submissions must be mailed (postmarked) to SF 3-minute Festival Headquarters by September 2nd. All submissions, regardless of original format, must be transferred to DVD before being submitted. Please MAIL TO: SF THREE MINUTE FILM FEST PO BOX 401019
SF, CA 94140

4) Make the best movie that you can. But remember that none of us know what we're doing and anything you do will be great.

More questions/rules:

What does the "black tie" in "Black Tie Blockbuster Gala and Film Screening" mean?
Men wear suits or tuxedos. T-shirts with tuxedos on them will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Women wear gowns or dresses or suits or tuxedos. Men can wear dresses or gowns too, I guess. But they have to be fancy.

Does it cost anything to participate?
There's no fee to submit your movie. Tickets to the gala will probably cost $8 to $10 or so to help pay for the costs of renting a theater, equipment, and whatnot.

Will there be popcorn?
You bet. All you can eat and then some.

Are the movies judged? Is there a "winner"?
Gene Shallit from NBC's Today Show has been invited to emcee the event and act as judge. We understand his schedule is a busy one, though, and in the likely event of a Gene no-show, we will allow the audience vote on the three movies they liked the most.

Can I work with someone else?
Yes! Please do. Unlike National Novel Writing Month, this is a collaboration-friendly event.

What should my film contain?
Please include a title screen and/or credits so we know who made it and starred in it and stuff.

What formats are acceptable?
Feel free to work in any wacky format. But please have the final edit of your movie transferred to DVD.