Media That Matters is the premiere showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day, engaging audiences and inspiring them to take action. From LGBTQ rights to climate change, the jury-selected collection represents the work of a diverse group of independent filmmakers, many of whom are under the age of 21. The films are equally diverse in style and content, including documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental work and everything in between. What all the films have in common is that they spark debate and activism in 12 minutes or less.

This year, film submissions will be reviewed and selected by a jury that couples the wisdom and experience of established media professionals, with the youthful perspective of student filmmakers, working together as mentor and mentee. Supporting these pieces of media in creating a cycle of education, advocacy and action, the 2013 Media That Matters Film Festival will include an Educators Forum. The forum will showcase educational curricula built around each film, and include moderated Q&A sessions with the curriculum designers, the filmmakers, and appropriate human rights advocates.

Early Submission Deadline:
 April 28th, 2013
FREE ENTRY

Official Submission Deadline:
 May 1, 2013
$10 ENTRY FEE - for everyone 25 years of age and over
FREE ENTRY - for students with valid ID

Final Deadline:
 May 15th, 2013
$20 ENTRY FEE - for everyone 25 years of age and over
$10 ENTRY FEE - for students with valid ID

Media That Matters is a program of Reel Lives, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Independent Film Week (September 15-19, 2013) is the oldest and largest forum in the U.S. for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent film scene. The Project Forum is a meetings-driven forum connecting filmmakers with producers, funders, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents, festival programmers, and more. Now accepting applications for Spotlight on Documentaries for U.S. filmmakers in production or post-production seeking financing partners, broadcast/distribution opportunities, and festival invitations.

Spotlight on Documentaries Deadlines: May 24, 2013

Nonfiction storytelling and technology intersect once again in New York City. Applications are open for POV Hackathon 4, July 27-28, 2013.

POV's Hackathon is inspired by the "hack days" of the open-source development community and companies such as Facebook and Google. In a traditional hackathon, software coders collaborate outside of the usual corporate constraints in compressed time frames (usually fueled by pizza and energy drinks) to solve a problem.

With POV's Hackathon, we add independent producers into the mix, adding their creativity and expertise in social-issue storytelling. POV pairs filmmakers with developers based on their Hackathon applications.

Once matched, the teams participate in a pre-Hackathon orientation session to prepare media (video, photos, data...) and make decisions about software and tools. Then, over two days, the teams work together to produce a working prototype.

Deadline to apply is May 31, 2013.

Camden International Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 2013 edition. We're looking for nonfiction features and shorts, as well as work that lives on the margins of the documentary form. If you've got a film, we'd love to see it and hope you will submit. Our programs include a feature competition, emerging cinematic vision competition, shorts programs, best of fest program and an experimental program that aims to push the boundaries of what a documentary is.

For more information: www.camdenfilmfest.org/submit