Film & Visual Media Studies Awards
The Department of English's Film & Visual Media Studies Awards is an annual competition open to any currently registered undergraduate student at CMU and began in 2024. The awards are monetary in nature.
Currently enrolled undergraduate students in any major or minor may submit their original screenplays, short films, and/or academic papers about film and/or media studies for award consideration.
Eligibility:
Any currently registered undergraduate students may submit their work, regardless of their major(s) and/or minor(s).
Categories & Submission Formats:
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Screenplays
Entries should be submitted in screenplay format. Any length screenplay will be accepted. The story must be complete, but the length is up to you. You should submit two title pages. The first title page should have your name and the title of your screenplay. The second title page should have your title and the logline, but not your name. Your name should not appear anywhere in on the script. Pages should be numbered.
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Short Films
You should upload your mp4 file to your CMU Google account. Copy the shareable link (make sure anyone who has the link can view it) and submit that URL when prompted on the submission form. DO NOT SUBMIT URLs to your film on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. Films should run between five and ten minutes and should be submitted WITHOUT cast or production credits (but should have a title). All genres are eligible (narrative, documentary, animation, etc.).
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Academic Papers
Entries should be 14 to 20 pages in length (12-point, double-spaced) and may address any aspect of film history or theory. Papers should have a title, and written references should be properly annotated. Film citations of specific scenes should include a timestamp. A bibilography should be included, but it does not count as part of the length requirement. Your name should not appear anyone on your paper.
Deadline:
The deadline each year is typically mid-April. Check back at that time for the next year's awards submission deadline.
Questions?
Contact Professors Jeff Hinkelman (jh51@andrew.cmu.edu) or Sharon Dilworth (sd20@andrew.cmu.edu).