Hey filmmakers! Debating where to submit your awesome new (or old) short or feature? Well, we’re making it an easy decision for you this year with a brand new feature of the Philadelphia Filmathon: One Submission Goes a Long Way!

In addition to potentially screening at the October 2009 Project Twenty1 Film Festival, when you submit ANYTHING to the Filmathon, you have the option to let us place your film into our permanent database, which gives us the ability to submit it on your behalf to our partner organizations, screenings, and festivals, saving you time & money and possibly qualifying you for tons of awards and prizes indefinitely!

In a nutshell, if we like your film, we will keep finding ways to screen it until you tell us to stop!

A few disclaimers:

1) You have to check the box on your Entry form allowing us to do this. We understand many of you have distribution deals in place that will prevent you from allowing it to be indefinitely accessed.

2) You still have the option to JUST submit it for possible selection in our ’09 Filmathon by not checking said box.

3) This is not quite the same as what we’re able to do for our 21-Day Competition… but it’s close. The difference is that submitting does not GUARANTEE that your film will get sent to our partner festivals… we still have to LIKE it first.

4) We will still contact you ANY time there is a potential to screen your film. We know distribution deals and plans change, and we do not expect you to keep us informed of every little change in your plans. If we do not hear from you or can’t find you, don’t worry, we won’t screen your film without telling you.

5) Our screening partners for the Filmathon are usually different than our Screening Partners for the 21-Day Filmmaking Competition. If you are crazy enough to enter both, you have the chance of getting TWICE as much exposure.

We know this might be tough to follow. So I offer as a helpful guide, an…

Example of how it works: You submit us your brand new gruesome horror short with a killer twist ending, and you check the “One submission goes a long way” box. Despite our best efforts, we aren’t able to find programming time for your film in our ultra-exclusive Filmathon, but we keep it in our database because we love it anyway. We are minding our own business months later walking around Philadelphia, or attending another of the many festivals where we know the curators, and somebody says to us: “Hey, I wish I could find a short to lead into this bloody but intelligent horror feature I have screening at 10pm.” We can now say, “You know what? I think we have the perfect film for you!” We’ll get him your film ASAP. He likes it, he wants it, we contact you for permission, and voila! You just got an extra screening! More exposure for you with no entry fee paid!

Seriously, how many festivals do this for their entrants? 🙂

As this is our inaugural year using this system, we’d LOVE to hear your feedback. Especially the indie filmmakers reading this, tell us your thoughts! Good idea? Stupid idea? Will you be submitting? Our withoutabox should be active in a few days. For now, Early Entry is now officially ON, and you can submit anything (short, feature, experimental, narrative, doc, drama, comedy, etc.) for just $21 throughout April, RIGHT HERE at ProjectTwenty1.com.

More soon, everyone… stay tuned! It’s an awesomely busy month!