The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival

Hoboken, New Jersey, United States, North America

05 Feb, 2021 - 29 Dec, 2021

Keywords

environment, race, experimental, class, lgbtq, climate change, immigration, short, family, disabilities, sustainability, social justice, public health

Category

Short

Genre

Documentary, Animation, Comedy, Romance, Sport, Action, Drama, Crime, Experimental, Fantasy, Historical/Epic, Musical/dance, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Live-Action

The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival logo
The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival

Hoboken, New Jersey, United States, North America

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General Information

founded

1981

edition

40th

organizer

Jane Steuerwald

festival executive director

Contact details

Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival

PO Box 3426

HobokenNew Jersey, United States 07030

jane@blackmariafilmfestival.org

201-856-6565

Web & social

About the festival

Since 1981, the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival has been celebrating and preserving the diversity, invention, and vitality of the short film. The Festival is named after Thomas Edison's original West Orange film studio dubbed the "Black Maria" because of its resemblance to the black-box police paddy wagons of the same name. Edison’s films did for the eye what his phonograph did for the ear. He made 75, 20-second long films in the “Black Maria.” The earliest included magic shows, plays, vaudeville shows with dancers and strongmen, cowboys, boxing matches, kisses, and sneezes.

 

We welcome all genres including narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary that push the boundaries of film. The festival's touring collection addresses topics such as the environment, public health, climate change, substance abuse, gun violence, sustainability, immigration, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ issues. Short films are celebrated as central to the festival - not as a sidebar to feature length films.

Black Maria welcomes all genres including narrative, experimental, animation, documentary, and hybrids. We celebrate films which address the environment, race and class, family, sustainability, immigration, the LGBTQ community, social justice, and people with disabilities. Short films are celebrated in their own right - not as a sidebar to feature length films. We bring our extraordinary collection of films to the people by reaching out to audiences in diverse settings including universities, museums, libraries, community-based organizations, cinemas, and schools. We visit inner city, rural, and suburban locations as varied as Jersey City, NJ; Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; and Gloucestershire, UK. Custom curated film programs are showcased in all these unique venues throughout each year.

Mission

The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival is an international juried film competition. We have embraced our mission for decades by focusing on short films including those which shine a light on issues and struggles within contemporary society. We advance and exhibit the work of diverse filmmakers from across the US and around the world. These artists often represent an under-served constituency who may not have the opportunity for live public exhibition.

About

Since 1981, the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival has been celebrating and preserving the diversity, invention, and vitality of the short film. The Festival is named after Thomas Edison's original West Orange film studio dubbed the "Black Maria" because of its resemblance to the black-box police paddy wagons of the same name. Edison’s films did for the eye what his phonograph did for the ear. He made 75, 20-second long films in the “Black Maria.” The earliest included magic shows, plays, vaudeville shows with dancers and strongmen, cowboys, boxing matches, kisses, and sneezes.

 

We welcome all genres including narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary that push the boundaries of film. The festival's touring collection addresses topics such as the environment, public health, climate change, substance abuse, gun violence, sustainability, immigration, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ issues. Short films are celebrated as central to the festival - not as a sidebar to feature length films.

Black Maria welcomes all genres including narrative, experimental, animation, documentary, and hybrids. We celebrate films which address the environment, race and class, family, sustainability, immigration, the LGBTQ community, social justice, and people with disabilities. Short films are celebrated in their own right - not as a sidebar to feature length films. We bring our extraordinary collection of films to the people by reaching out to audiences in diverse settings including universities, museums, libraries, community-based organizations, cinemas, and schools. We visit inner city, rural, and suburban locations as varied as Jersey City, NJ; Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; and Gloucestershire, UK. Custom curated film programs are showcased in all these unique venues throughout each year.

Mission

The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival is an international juried film competition. We have embraced our mission for decades by focusing on short films including those which shine a light on issues and struggles within contemporary society. We advance and exhibit the work of diverse filmmakers from across the US and around the world. These artists often represent an under-served constituency who may not have the opportunity for live public exhibition.

Gallery

Awards & Winners

There are no winners yet for this festival

Terms and rules

The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival is a juried international film festival and showcase for short works. We NEVER accept films over 60:00 in length and give short films foremost consideration. If you have a long-form film you wish us to consider, you MUST provide a cut with a maximum running time of 60:00.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Maria Film Festival will hold to a low $30 entry fee throughout the entire submission period from June 1st, 2020 through October 15th, 2020. There is a separate fee for each film entered. ENTRY FEES ARE NOT WAIVED.

Throughout the 2021 festival touring season, Black Maria will provide opportunities for host venues to present custom-curated Black Maria screenings remotely. These programs will be designed to view on Vimeo for a limited window of time agreed upon by the Festival and the host venue. Additionally, an option for audience members to log-in to a live discussion with the Festival Director and featured filmmakers will be offered whenever possible. By submitting a film(s) to the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival’s 2021 Festival Competition, filmmakers (i) grant the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival a non-exclusive, royalty-free right and license to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, and otherwise use the submitted film(s), in whole or in part (including excerpts, trailers, and film stills), in the programming planned for the 2021 festival tour including both in-person screenings and custom-curated secure streaming events, throughout the 2021 festival tour, and in any marketing and promotional materials (including, without limitation, in trailers, anthologies, and other marketing materials); and (ii) represent and warrant to the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival that the film(s) is an original work and does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party, and that the submitting filmmaker(s) has/have the rights to grant us the foregoing right and license.

Additional terms and conditions of entry are found here: https://blackmariafilmfestival.org/page.php?content=content-SubmissionTerms

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

AnImation
Regular (15th October, 2020) $30
Late (15th December, 2020) $30
Runtime - 60 minutes
Age restriction No age restriction
Country Any country
Director's age No restriction
Director's gender Any gender
Student films No
First films No

The festival seeks spirited short pieces that explore, enrich and expand the expressive possibilities of animation including technological advances in animated filmmaking, embracing traditional animation methods, and creative storytelling.

Documentary
Regular (15th October, 2020) $30
Late (15th December, 2020) $30
Runtime - 60 minutes
Age restriction No age restriction
Country Any country
Director's age No restriction
Director's gender Any gender
Student films No
First films No

The festival seeks spirited short pieces that explore, enrich and expand the expressive possibilities of documentary including shining a light on issues and concerns in contemporary society, and incorporating techniques such as animation, re-creation, and hybrid forms.

Experimental
Regular (15th October, 2020) $30
Late (15th December, 2020) $30
Runtime - 60 minutes
Age restriction No age restriction
Country Any country
Director's age No restriction
Director's gender Any gender
Student films No
First films No

The festival seeks spirited short pieces that explore, enrich and expand the expressive possibilities of experimental approaches to storytelling, technical innovation, pure form, and hybrids.

Narrative
Regular (15th October, 2020) $30
Late (15th December, 2020) $30
Runtime - 60 minutes
Age restriction No age restriction
Country Any country
Director's age No restriction
Director's gender Any gender
Student films No
First films No

The festival seeks spirited short pieces that explore, enrich and expand the expressive possibilities of narrative storytelling, such as the incorporation of animation, non-linear structures, and hybrids.

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