Celebrating and Elevating Indigenous Filmmakers

The fourth annual Indigenous Documentary Challenge is back and it's better than ever! AudPop, in partnership with Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, is thrilled to bring you the 2023 Indigenous Documentary Film Challenge.

We invite filmmakers to submit documentary films, 20 minutes and under, directed or produced by Indigenous filmmakers residing in North America, including Native American, Alaska Native, Kanaka Maoli, First Nations, Métis and Inuit of Canada, and those of Indigenous heritage from south of the US border and of Pasifika heritage living in North America. Three films will be chosen for exhibition in a special program at the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and if selected for competition, films could be eligible for Oscar consideration.

How It Works: Filmmakers have until December 20, 2023 to upload and submit their short documentary films to the challenge. From the accepted submissions, the AudPop team will select three finalists by December 30th. The top 3 finalist films will be announced and will screen at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival between February 16-25, 2024 in Missoula, Montana. A panel of Indigenous industry professionals will jury the films and award a Grand Prize Winner and two Honorable Mention awards - announced at the festival. In partnership with our prize winners Clearwater Credit Union and  MPB, the grand jury winner will win $1000 + a $250 credit to the MPB camera and gear store. Two honorable mentions win $500 each. Cash prizes generously donated by Clearwater Credit Union of Western Montana. 

Uploading your film checklist: 

• Use Google Chrome for optimal uploading. 
• Ensure your film is under 500 MB. If you screen at BSDFF, we will ask for an mp4 for the screening.
• If you have done the above 2 and experience difficulty, reach out to monique@audpop.com.

The mission of the 2023 Indigenous Documentary Challenge:

• To accelerate the careers of Indigenous documentary filmmakers
• Stream the films across eyeball driven platform
• Provide more opportunities for Indigenous doc filmmakers by screening their work at the largest doc film fest in the West

Entries are evaluated based on the following judging criteria:

• Creativity (45%)
• Technical Merit (30%)
• Adherence to the Assignment (25%)

Awards and prizes for the winning films:

• Grand Prize Jury Award +$1000 + $250 gift certificate to MPB.com
• 2 Honorable Mention Jury Award + $500 each
• All access festival passes to Big Sky Doc Fest - you are an official selection and will receive all of the perks of the fest. 

ABOUT BIG SKY DOC FEST: Now entering its 21st year, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is the premier venue for non-fiction film in the American West. Big Sky offers an ideal setting for filmmakers to premiere new work and develop lasting relationships with fellow filmmakers and industry. The festival draws an audience of 20,000 and film entries from every corner of the globe to a uniquely intimate mountain town setting with a local Montana flavor. A hybrid festival, audiences can enjoy the festival prrogram in Big Sky's virtual cinema from nearly anywhere in the world. Selected for 5 years running by MovieMaker Magazine's 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, BSDFF is a top-100 rated festival on FilmFreeway and is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short documentaries.

About our prize sponsor, MPB: MPB transforms the way that people buy, sell and trade photo and video gear. As the largest global platform for used photography and videography equipment, MPB is a destination for everyone, whether you’ve just discovered your passion for visual storytelling or you’re already a pro. Founded by Matt Barker in 2011, MPB has always been committed to making gear more accessible and affordable, and helping to visualize a more sustainable future. MPB recirculates more than 485,000 used products every year, extending the life and creative potential of photo and video equipment for creators around the world.Headquartered in the creative communities of Brooklyn, Brighton and Berlin, the MPB team includes trained camera experts and seasoned photographers and videographers who bring their passion to work every day to deliver outstanding service.
 

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More about this challenge:

The finalist films in this challenge may be used across additional multiple distribution channels.

Your film may have been previously screened and distributed but it must be a first time submission to this challenge. 

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 next year and submit.
 

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AudPop is a social impact video platform connecting filmmakers, brands, and audiences globally. We believe that real stories can change the world. That’s why we connect Creators with brands and audiences through the creation, curation, and promotion of authentic video content. AudPop powers turn-key video submissions and video production through connecting mission- driven brands and creators/filmmakers. Brands use AudPop to crowd-source addictive, gorgeous video content at scale from our award-winning diverse global filmmaker collective and to get the exact video that they need. AudPop has worked with many brands including Verizon, Southwest Air, GoDaddy, Hilton Worldwide, and DELL. AudPop supports a community of 75K global filmmakers and creators, has 14K short films on its platform, and has operated over 500 online film festivals, video contests, and film challenges awarding over $10M in cash and prizes to global diverse creators. Founded in 2013, AudPop is committed to facilitating collaboration and creating meaningful change.

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Become a PRO member of AudPop and submit to every opportunity for free. Up to 20GB a week of upload space + 4K/1080p uploads. PRO members receive opportunities to license and monetize their films. PROs are connected to brands looking to hire local filmmakers. Other opportunities for PRO filmmakers include production funding for feature documentaries, narratives, and animations and marketing your career to our followers. $14/month or $140 paid annual (2 months free). Go PRO here: https://audpop.com/upgrade

SUBMISSIONS DUE BY

Submissions Closed