DAFT Teacher Updates: May 5th Festival Deadline, Bulk-Deals, Judging & New Podcast

Spring has officially arrived and festival season is on the horizon! We are so excited to see what our student filmmakers and member schools throughout the state have been producing this year. The 54th Michigan Student Film Festival returns in-person this year to the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts on June 4. We hope to see you there!

Entries are open through May 5 for the 54th Michigan Student Film Festival. All submissions go through FilmFreeway. Entries are $12 and every submission is eligible for category prizes and receives feedback from a judging committee.

Bulk festival vouchers are a great way to save money on entry fees. If your school has multiple entries, check out our savings options for festival entry vouchers.

And it’s not too late to get free festival entries with one of our membership packages. Memberships are a wonderful way to support student filmmaker and our mission here at DAFT.

Zeke Anders, Dearborn, Michigan native and production director for North America for the oat milk company–Oatly–talks with Kathy Vander, DAFTs Co-Director of the Michigan Student Film Festival, about his career and the experiences that have made him an award-winning director, cinematographer, executive producer and all around creative! Check out “Master Shot” Episode 2 at this link.

This interview can be shown anywhere and will be a great experience for your students. Play it from start to finish or use the runtime in-points to help play targeted key discussion topics.

Festival judging is back! This is a great opportunity to support student filmmakers and network with teachers, film fans, and industry professionals.

Round 1 judging will occur online May 6-9. Registered judges will be sent links of entires to review anytime over that four-day period. Their written feedback will be considered by the Round 2 judging panel in creating the festival reel.

Round 2 judging will occur at Lawrence Tech in Southfield on Saturday, May 14, from 8:30 AM- 3:00 PM. This round will involve more detailed viewing and discussion of the best of show finalists from Round 1.

If interested, complete this form. Let us know how many entries you can comfortably handle over the four day judging period and if you are interested in the in-person judging for Round 2 on May 14.