Spoco STUDENT Film festival

WELCOME TO THE SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL PAGE

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ALL FESTIVAL DETAILS AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

QUICK LINKS:

FILM EVALUATION RUBRIC *COMING SOON*

IMPORTANT DATES:

EARLY BIRD ENTRY FORM & FEE DEADLINE - JANUARY 31ST, 2020

REGULAR ENTRY FORM & FEE DEADLINE - FEBRUARY 28TH, 2020

FULL PRIZE LIST ANNOUNCEMENT - MARCH 2ND, 2020

FINAL FILMS DUE - MARCH 9TH, 2020

EVENT PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT - MARCH 13TH, 2020

FILM FESTIVAL EVENT - MARCH 23RD, 2020 @ 7:15PM

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION IMPROV SHOW - MARCH 27TH, 2020

film festival details

What is it?

The Spontaneous Combustion Film Competition is a short film competition open to all Cherry Creek School District students. The entered films will be evaluated for consideration of prizes and cash. The film competition is being hosted by Spontaneous Combustion - Smoky Hill High School’s Improv Troupe, and Mile Marker 1 Productions Ltd. - a Denver-based film and video production company.

Who can enter?

The Spontaneous Combustion Film Competition is open to students of Cherokee Trail High School, Cherry Creek High School, Eaglecrest High School, Endeavor Academy, Grandview High School, Martin W Foote Youth Services, Overland High School, and Smoky Hill High School.

All crew department head positions must be held by individuals currently enrolled in high school in the Cherry Creek School District. Crew department head positions include: Writer, Director, Cinematographer/Director of Photography, Art Director, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Special Effects Supervisor, Editor.

No film can contain a crew department head position, or a lead role held by a current member of Spontaneous Combustion.

When can I submit my intention to enter a film?

Right now!

Entries will be accepted from January 24th to February 28th.

The entry fee is a non-refundable payment of $20. 

Entries submitted on or before January 31st qualify for Early Bird entry fees of only $18.

***BONUS: All entries will receive a 20% discount to all Spring 2020 Spontaneous Combustion comedy improv shows good for the submitting individual and one guest. See bit.ly/SpoCoSHHS for show dates and times.***

When are the films due?

All finished films must be uploaded to Google Drive and shared with a downloadable link to by end-of-day March 9th, 2020.

When and where is the Film Festival event?

The Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival event will be held on March 23rd, 2020 in the Auditorium at Smoky Hill High School, 16100 E Smoky Hill Rd, Aurora, CO 80015 at 7:15pm.

***BONUS: All tickets purchased for the Film Festival event will qualify for a 20% discount to the March 27th, 2020 Spontaneous Combustion Improv Show at Smoky Hill High School.*** 

What are the prizes?

There will be a cash prize for at least the top scored film. The full list of placements, prizes, and awards will be announced on March 2nd, 2020. Follow Spontaneous Combustion on social media for all updates on prizes as they happen!

What types of films can be entered?

Films of any and all genres, including animation and documentary, can be entered into the Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival. Please see “What are the film requirements?” and “How will the films be evaluated?” for additional details on content qualifications, restrictions, and conditions.

What are the film requirements?

All films must be wholly original works. No use of established scripts, properties, entities, characters, etc. will be accepted.

Films must have a running time of less than 10 minutes* (including credits). *See "If I enter a film, is it guaranteed to be shown during the Film Festival event?" for more information regarding film length.

Films must contain both the words “SPONTANEOUS” and “COMBUSTION” (although not necessarily together) clearly spoken or written during the main body of the film (not including credits).

A signed APPEARANCE RELEASE FORM must be submitted to long with the film for every individual whose image and/or voice is included in the finished films.

No copyrighted video, audio, or images can be included in the finished films without documentation of proof of licencing of rights - required to be submitted to along with the film.

All film content must be “PG” and abide by the Cherry Creek School District Code of Conduct.

All participants of the film must be credited.

All finished films must be uploaded to Google Drive and shared with a downloadable link to by end-of-day March 9th, 2020.

By submitting a film to the Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival, the filmmaker(s) give Spontaneous Combustion and Mile Marker 1 Productions Ltd. the right to exhibit the film in its part or entirety during the Film Festival Event. They also give the sponsors the right to exhibit parts of the film for advertising purposes.

Who is going to be judging the films for the festival?

One Film, English, or Drama teacher from each participating school will be invited to join the Spontaneous Combustion Head Coach and the owner of Mile Marker 1 Productions Ltd. on the judging panel.

How will the films be evaluated?

The films entered into the Film Festival will be evaluated on 5 main categories of proficiency:

• Storytelling

• Audio/Visual

• Editing

• Performance & Subject Portrayal

• Concept vs. Execution

The judging panel will use this FILM EVALUATION RUBRIC *COMING SOON* for each submitted film. This rubric is based on the International Thespian Excellence Awards Scoring Rubric for Short Films.

In addition to the rubric, films will be rated, up to and including disqualification based on the requirements outlined in “What are the film requirements?”

How many films can I enter?

As many as you want! Each film will require a separate entry form and fee.

If I enter a film, is it guaranteed to be shown during the Film Festival event?

Unfortunately, no: The goal of the Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival event will be to showcase as many of the films entered as possible. However due to time restrictions, if the amount of films entered exceeds the event time allotment, preference for films shown will be based on run time alone. Therefore, although every film entered that meets requirements will be evaluated for prizes and awards, shorter films have a greater chance of being showcased than longer films.

Where is the money generated for the Film Festival going?

All money from Entry Fees will go toward Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival prizes.

All money from ticket sales for the Film Festival Event will go toward the Spontaneous Combustion Chicago Improv Trip in 2020.

All monetary donations will be split evenly between Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival prizes and the Spontaneous Combustion Chicago Improv Trip in 2020.

All non-monetary donations will go toward Spontaneous Combustion Student Film Festival prizes.

What if I have a question that isn’t answered here?

Any and all questions can be e-mailed to with the Subject of “SCSFF Questions.”