4 R’s Indie Film Fest
The 4 R’s Indie Film Fest is a virtual festival based on NC Climate Justice Collective’s 4 R’s framework featuring only content shot with a mobile phone. Our aim is not only to create interest and spark creativity, but also provide an accessible outlet for storytelling to a variety of potential creators. This year our theme is “Winning the World We Want: Toward a just, regenerative, ecologically vibrant world.” We are looking for submissions that feature performed text, slideshows, or captured video that highlights your vision for the world we want to live in. Submissions must be between 1-10 minutes in length. The work by finalists in each category will be featured in virtual screening events and winners will receive cash prizes. Call for entries is open now and will close on Martin Luther King holiday 2025.
Overview
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” — Brené Brown
Welcome to the NC Climate Justice Collective’s 4 R’s Indie Film Fest.
The 4RIFF has been created to showcase, nurture, and support the immense creative potential across our communities by providing a platform for content created using a tool so simple and readily available that it’s often overlooked: the mobile phone.
The theme for our inaugural festival is “Winning the World We Want: Toward a just, regenerative, ecologically vibrant world.” We want to experience your thoughts, frustrations, concerns, hopes, and aspirations when imagining the world you want to see. We want to hear calls to actions and see moments of inspiration and joy. We want to bear witness to all the wisdom, insight, and brilliance we know our communities hold. This is a space for collective visioning and ongoing discourse about the world we want to live in.
This festival is based on our Four R’s framework. We believe all people have a vital contribution to make in dealing with climate change. Achieving climate justice requires a fundamental transformation of our society based on the principles of social, environmental, and economic justice. This belief is rooted in our conceptual framework of movement building, the Four R’s of Social Transformation, that our Co-Founder Jodi Lasseter developed over many years – Reform, Resist, Re-imagine and Re-create. While individuals and organizations concerned about climate change often focus most on one of these Rs, a deep and practical commitment to each R, and linking between them, is critical to the success of our climate justice movement.
While the festival itself is an outpouring of the Re-imagine aspect of our framework, submission can reflect any of the Rs. Your submissions do not need to respond to the framework. We offer the framework as a way of thinking about the range of focuses your submissions can cover.
Guidelines
This festival is open to content detailed in the categories listed below.
Words Spoken – This is for video content that features performed text. Submissions can include songs (sung or rhymed), poetry, or monologues. Content captured at a performance is allowed as long as the submitter has the rights to the content.
Picture This – This is for slideshow videos. Slideshows can include text animation, narration, or be set to music.
Change in Motion – This is for edited video content. Content in this category is open to any interpretation of our theme.
Group submissions are acceptable.
Awards & Prizes
We will be awarding over $2500 in prizes. The finalists will be eligible for the following awards:
Best in Category (in each category) – $500
Staff Pick – $250
Best Overall – $250
Honorable Mention (in each category) – $250
Submission
All films submitted must be shot on a mobile phone. No drones, GoPro cameras, SLR cameras, or tablets can be used. Use of multiple phones is acceptable.
Submitters can submit in up to two categories.
All content submitted must have a short description that details how the submission relates to the festival theme: “Winning the World We Want: Toward a just, regenerative, ecologically vibrant world”
Submitters must also provide answers to the following questions with their submission:
- What kind of mobile phone did you use to capture your content?
- Did you use any software or apps in preparing your submission?
- How long did it take for you to prepare your submission?
The content submitted should be recorded and edited no less than 720 HD format, but we recommend 1080 HD. The length of the content should be no shorter than 1 minute and no longer than 10 minutes.
Content submitted must be newly created and captured or must have been captured between January, 2024, and December 2024.
Submitting your content does not guarantee acceptance. A notification of acceptance will be sent by NC Climate Justice Collective staff.
Content is welcome in ANY LANGUAGE, but subtitles in English are mandatory (films in English don’t need subtitles).
Multiple mobile devices can be used.
Any software to edit video (on the smartphone or a computer) and audio as well as color correction is allowed.
Use of additional equipment (professional or homemade) is limited to an external microphone, lighting, or tripod.
The content must be original. Content may not infringe on the copyright, trademark or other rights of any individual. The NC Climate Justice Collective and its staff are not responsible for any infringement of copyrights.
Submitters must have full clearance for all content, including music.
No extreme violence, hate speech, racist, sexist/misogynoir, homophobic or transphobic content is allowed.
When submitting to the festival, participants agree to the reproduction and dissemination of their content for the display and promotion of the festival.
Age Requirements: Submitters must be 18 and older.
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