Applications open for Catchlight Film Festival

The Festival continues its mission to encourage filmmakers at all levels, from passionate amateurs to industry veterans, showcasing the exceptional talent and abilities of cinematographers and filmmakers who are using the Sony system to capture their stories.

Categories

• Fiction (Scripted)
  • Duration: 2-20 minutes
  • Fiction film, narrative film, or fictional film is a film that tells an original (undocumented) fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative.  A fictional film is wholly unique and is considered original by the production team. Lighting and camera movement, among other cinematic elements such sound and musical components, and visual editing, are deployed to create a cohesive fictional narrative and are considerations for judging in this category.
  • Any film content depicting real life people, events, or narratives, is considered Non-fiction and these films should be submitted into the Non-fiction category.
• Non-Fiction (Documentary)
  • Duration: 2-20 minutes
  • Non-fiction is any film that is presented as a depiction of real-life events, people, or narratives. Non-fiction (i.e documentary) content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and can take the form of a story. Typical submissions for this category are documentary and mockumentary films.
  • Films that present information, events, or characters that are largely imaginary, or are fictionalisations of real events, are considered to be fiction and these films should be submitted into the Fiction category.
• Music Video
  • Duration: according to track
  • A music video is a short film which is shot and edited to a pre-existing piece of music. The use of cinematic elements such as camera movement, lighting, and editing, are deployed to support the piece of music.
  • There is no restriction on music genre, and purely instrumental work is also eligible for submission.
  • If the video is largely made of a narrative and only partially features an original song/musical score, consider submitting the film into the Fiction or Non-fiction categories.
• Student Fiction
  • Duration: 2-20 minutes
  • Created to provide a platform to share the extraordinary work done by filmmakers who do not yet have the benefit of larger budgets and broader industry connections, the Student Fiction category is open to scripted films in which the Director, Cinematographer and Producer were all enrolled in a recognised tertiary education institution during the year in which the film was completed.
• Cinematic Social
  • Duration: 2-20 minutes
  • This category is for the kind of short form evocative content that has risen to prominence on Social Media in recent years, most often in the form of travel and lifestyle Reels. This content does not follow a typical fiction or non-fiction story line. The sequence of content may follow a theme, idea, location, or concept. The key is the visual identity of the content remains the same which unifies the short film.

Prize Information

• In partnership with the sister companies Sony Pictures Releasing and Sony Music, winners in Fiction, Non-Fiction and Student Fiction will be awarded with a unique experience as well as a prize package of Sony digital imaging products.  In addition, thanks to the support of the partners at Atomos, Lemac, VA Hire, Videocraft and Southern Cross Cameras, they are conntinuing the Catchlight laurel awards that highlight exceptional cinematography, as well as the skillful use of Sony’s native lens range, each with a valuable prize attached.
• Fiction Winner
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
  • A film-maker’s prize package consisting of:
    • $5,000 worth of Sony Digital Imaging products,
    • A Sony Digital Imaging product loan, up to the value of $5,000, subject to acceptance of the terms.
    • a $5,000 grant, subject to acceptance of the terms.
  • Up to 3 people from the production team will receive a Sony Pictures Professional Development/Mentoring Session with a Senior Executive at Sony Pictures Releasing and a prominent Australian Producer.
  • A double pass to attend the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards 2024.
• Fiction Runner-Up
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
• Non-Fiction Winner
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
  • A film-maker’s prize package consisting of:
    • $5,000 worth of Sony Digital Imaging products,
    • A Sony Digital Imaging product loan, up to the value of $5,000, subject to acceptance of the terms.
    • a $5,000 grant, subject to acceptance of the terms
  • Up to 3 people from the production team will receive a Professional Development Session with a panel of industry professionals.
  • A double pass to attend the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards 2024.
• Non-Fiction Runner-Up
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
• Music Video Winner
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
  • A film-maker’s prize package consisting of:
    • $5,000 worth of Sony Digital Imaging products,
    • A Sony Digital Imaging product loan, up to the value of $5,000, subject to acceptance of the terms.
    • a $5,000 grant, subject to acceptance of the terms.
  • Up to 3 people from the production team will receive the opportunity to work with the Sony Music team (and be credited on) visual content for a Sony Music emerging artist, relevant to your skills set and subject to acceptance of the terms.
  • A double pass to attend the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards 2024.
• Music Video Runner-Up
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
• Cinematic Social Winner
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
  • A film-maker’s prize package consisting of:
    • $5,000 worth of Sony Digital Imaging products,
    • A Sony Digital Imaging product loan, up to the value of $5,000, subject to acceptance of the terms.
    • a $5,000 grant, subject to acceptance of the terms.
  • An opportunity to work with Sony Australia Limited on a Social Media & Digital Marketing campaign, subject to acceptance of the terms.
  • A double pass to attend the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards 2024.
• Cinematic Social Runner Up
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew
• Student Fiction Winner
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew.
  • A film-maker’s prize package consisting of:
    • $5,000 worth of Sony Digital Imaging products,
    • A Sony Digital Imaging product loan, up to the value of $5,000, subject to acceptance of the terms.
    • a $5,000 grant, subject to acceptance of the terms.
  • Up to 3 people from the production team will receive a Professional Development Session with a panel of industry professionals.
  • A double pass to attend the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards 2024.
• Student Fiction Runner Up
  • VIP tickets for the Catchlight Film Festival award ceremony in Sydney for up to 5 people from the production crew
• 5 x Cinematography Laurels, one per Category as follows:
  • The Cinematography Laurel winner in the Non-Fiction category will receive a $2500 rental equipment package, courtesy of VA Digital Hire Pty Ltd.
  • The Cinematography Laurel winner in the Fiction category will receive a $2500 rental equipment package, courtesy of Videocraft Australia Pty Ltd.
  • The Cinematography Laurel winner in the Music Video category will receive a $2500 rental equipment package, courtesy of Lemac Films Australia Pty Ltd.
  • The Cinematography Laurel winner in the Cinematic Social category will receive a $2500 rental equipment package, courtesy of Southern Cross Cameras.
  • The Cinematography Laurel winner in the Student Fiction category receives the following equipment, courtesy of Atomos Pty Ltd (“Atomos”);
    • 1 Ninja Ultra Kit
• Best Sony Lens Work Laurel, as follows:
  • The Best Sony Lens Work Laurel winner across all submissions receives $2,500 worth of Sony lens gear from the Promoter.

What’s new in 2024?

• In 2024, the prize structure for the major categories has been tweaked to better suit the needs of the prize winners.  Where previous prize winners would take away $10,000 worth of Sony camera gear, that value is now split into $5,000 worth of gear and a $5,000 filmmaking grant, allowing the winners much more flexibility to make the most of their winnings.  In addition, the Student Fiction category prize has been brought in line with the other major categories, now awarding the same split $5,000 gear/$5,000 grant prize pack.
• Finally, 2024 sees the debut of the “Cinematic Social” category, designed to recognise striking and beautiful work created specifically for the small screen.
• Cinematic Social is for the kind of short form evocative content that has risen to prominence on Social Media in recent years, most often in the form of travel and lifestyle Reels.  This content does not follow a typical fiction or non-fiction story line. The sequence of content may follow a theme, idea, location, or concept. The key is the visual identity of the content remains the same which unifies the short film.

Eligibility Criteria

• ​​Entries are open to individuals who are Australian and New Zealand residents, and:
  • entrants must be over the age of 18 at time of entry;
  • employees of the Promoter and their immediate families are ineligible to enter;
  • contractors of the Promoter in connection to digital imaging are ineligible to enter; and
  • A maximum of three entries per person per category will be accepted.

For more information, visit Sony.