Advancing African-American Filmmakers & Films

BESLA is the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association whose mission is to advance the excellence of professionals in the entertainment, sports, and related industries. We invite filmmakers to submit their short films to screen at our annual conference in Panama City, Panama, November 6-10, 2019. 

The Call for Entries: Filmmakers are invited to submit 5-10 minute short films that depict the African-American experience or films produced/directed by African-Americans. The top 4 films will screen at the 2019 BESLA conference to top entertainment industry professionals. The 1st place winner's film will show on BET's social media platforms and be featured on BET.com.

HOW THE WINNERS ARE DETERMINED: Once you successfully upload and submit your film to the BESLA Film Festival on our site, your film is reviewed by our festival screeners for admittance. You will receive notice if your film is accepted or rejected before voting opens. 

Entries will be evaluated based on the following judging criteria:
* Creativity (45%)
* Technical Merit (30%)
* Adherence to the Assignment (25%)

Once the voting opens, your film is juried by our preliminary jury panel and the global audience. From this first round, the top 10 films with the most votes and the top 10 preliminary jury-selected films advance to the finals round. If audience winners are preliminary jury selections, the preliminary jury may select additional films so that there are always 20 finalist films. From the top 20 films, the BESLA Conference team will select the top 4 finalist films that will screen at the annual conference in Panama Nov. 6-10, 2019 in Panama City, Panama. One film will win "Best Film in Competition" and show on BET's social media platforms and be featured on BET.com.

AUDIENCE AWARDS provides filmmakers with the opportunity to gain exposure & accelerate their careers. We are committed to providing a stage for diverse, emerging talent and your creative work. Our democratized video platform celebrates the power of storytelling and provides you with the tools to build an audience and get your work seen. Films submitted to film festivals and video contests on our site are juried by industry professionals and the global audience providing digital distribution deals and film festival screenings for the top film submissions. Go Pro and advance your film career.

2 things to know: 

1. Your film will be publicly viewed, so make sure it’s the right time for your film to gain an online audience. If it's too early for the public to watch your short film online, we invite you to come back to our site when your film is ready for an online audience. 

2. If you want your friends and family to vote for your film, share away. Audience voting greatly increases your views & exposure for your film and career, but social sharing is not necessary to win. The jury ultimately chooses the finalists and winners of the festival.

PLEASE USE THE DISCUSSION TAB FOR QUESTIONS

SUBMISSIONS DUE BY

Submissions Closed

VOTING OPENS

Oct 16, 2019 at 12:00pm MDT (America/Denver)

VOTING CLOSES

Oct 22, 2019 at 12:00pm MDT (America/Denver)

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Oct 25, 2019 at 12:00pm MDT (America/Denver)

FINAL TEAM AWARDS

4 Finalist: “Best Film in Competition” screens on BET. The “Best Film in Competition” and three additional finalist films screen at the 39th Annual BESLA Conference