MISSION & OBJECTIVE
One of the oldest and most respected festivals and film arts organizations in the U.S., the 51-year old USA Film Festival is a Dallas-based, 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in the film and video arts. Through its YEAR-ROUND "live cinema" programs and special events, the USA Film Festival provides an opportunity for the public to discover new films and sheds new light on familiar films by facilitating discussion and encounters with master, mid-career and emerging filmmakers. Programs include a major annual film festival, now in its 51st year; the International Short Film & Video Competition; the annual KidFilm festival, the oldest and largest-attended children's film festival in the U.S.; tributes and retrospectives organized around important themes and filmmakers; and extensive educational community outreach activities. With the exception of special member screenings, all events are open to the public.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
51st Annual USA Film Festival (Spring 2020)
A curated event featuring only the best new features & shorts; U.S. and foreign films; Tributes to master artists; International Short Film & Video Competition with awards administered by national jury. Filmmakers present their works and discuss them with the audience; If your short film is also selected to play in the curated showcase, air travel (U.S. filmmakers) and lodging (all filmmakers) are provided to enable you to be with us to present your film. (Air vouchers and hotel are limited quantities; We distribute as films are booked until the resources are exhausted.)
Master Artist Tributes
Tributes & retrospectives honoring master artists including directors, actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, composers, art directors, editors and more.
Since its inception in 1971, the USA Film Festival has presented the world, national or regional premieres of thousands of studio and independent feature films and short experimental, animated, documentary and dramatic films. The eye-popping roster of filmmaker guests numbers in the thousands and is too long to list in total, but includes ACTORS Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Benjamin Bratt, Brian Cox, Thomas Haden Church, M. Emment Walsh, Chris Cooper, Peter Fonda, John Turturro, Andy Garcia, Dakota Fanning, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Christopher Walken, Tommy Lee Jones, James Earl Jones, Ed Asner, Jimmy Smits, Jodie Foster, Marcia Gay Harden, Richard Dreyfuss, Audrey Hepburn, Diane Baker, Dennis Hopper, James Stewart, Robert Duvall, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Jackie Chan, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Richard E. Grant, Josh Lucas, Wanda Sykes, Martin Short, Charles Durning, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harry Shearer, Dennis Quaid, Gregory Hines, Terry Jones, Ray Liotta, Rene Auberjonois, Timothy Busfield, Melissa Gilbert; SCREENWRITERS/WRITERS George Axelrod, Robert Towne, Buck Henry; James V. Hart, Paul Rudnick; EFFECTS WIZARDS Dennis Muren; VOICE ARTISTS June Foray, Will Ryan; ANIMATORS Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Michael Sporn, John Dilworth, Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Ray Harryhausen, Henry Selick; AUTHORS John Grisham, Kimberly Willis Holt, Cari Best, Rosemary Wells, Richard Condon, John Boyne, Dominick Dunne; PRODUCERS Bernie Brillstein, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Polly Platt, Christine Vachon; COMPOSERS Mark Mothersbaugh, Quincy Jones, Elmer Bernstein, Hans Zimmer, Paul Williams; EDITORS Dede Allen; Dennis Virkler; CINEMATOGRAPHERS Owen Roizman, Conrad Hall, Laszlo Kovacs; ART DIRECTORS Henry Bumstead, Richard Sylbert; CRITICS/FILM WRITERS Roger Ebert, Leonard Maltin, Mike Clarke, Stephen Rebello; DIRECTORS Milos Forman, Danny Boyle, Mark Herman, Neil LaBute, Ken Russell, Ismail Merchant & James Ivory, Albert Maysles, Peter Greenaway, Blake Edwards, Robert Benton, Michael Apted, Wim Wenders, Norman Jewison, Arthur Penn, Alan J. Pakula, Paul Mazursky, Sydney Pollack, Stanley Donen, Paul Schrader, Martha Coolidge, Mel Stuart, John Waters, Andy Warhol, Charles Burnett, Budd Boetticher, Robert Altman, Oliver Stone, Atom Egoyan, John Frankenheimer, Martin Ritt, Alan Rudolph, Michael Powell, Chuck Jones, Richard Brooks, Frederick Wiseman, John Cassavetes, Frank Perry, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Wise, Rouben Mamoulian, Sidney Lumet, George Cukor, King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, William Wyler, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Raoul Walsh, Frank Capra, George Stevens, and many more.
ORGANIZERS
Ann Alexander (Managing Director)
Tori Collatos (Program Coordinator)
The festival is open to professional and nonprofessional filmmakers.
International Short Film & Video Competition
Winning filmmakers will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film.
Fiction
(Free DCP conversion)
Includes narrative works, dramatized events and adaptations of literary or dramatic works. Winning filmmaker will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000
Non Fiction
(Free DCP conversion)
Includes documentaries or portraits of actual persons or events. Winning filmmaker will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000
Animation
(Free DCP conversion)
Includes animation of graphics or three-dimensional objects. Winning filmmaker will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000
The Experimental Award
(Free DCP Conversion)
Works that explore personal experience or film and video forms in innovative ways (can employ elements of animation, fiction or documentary). PSAs, music videos, industrials and educational films may also be submitted in this category. Winning filmmaker will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000
The Texas Award
(Free DCP conversion)
Works shot in Texas, or made by current residents of Texas and filmmakers with ties to Texas are eligible for this additional award. Winning filmmaker will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000
The Student Award
(Free DCP conversion)
Student works may be entered in any of the main categories, but only student works qualify for this additional award. Winning filmmaker will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000
Special Jury Awards
(Free DCP conversion)
The National Jury awards multiple prizes at will for special achievement in any category. Winning filmmakers will receive a complimentary DCP conversion of their film (approximate value $1,000 - $5,000 depending on length of film).
Value of Goods/Services: approx. $1,000 each award